Top ten misconceptions people have about translators, according to Jez on July 5th.

An excellent list. Examples:

bq. 10. Anybody with two years of high school language (or a foreign-tongued grandmother) can translate.
9. A good translator doesn’t need a dictionary.

Like the first commenter, I queried only number 4:

bq. 4. Becoming a translator is an easy way to get rich quick.

I don’t think people imagine that translators are getting rich quick – well, perhaps some of them do. And I do think you can earn well from translation, although I agree translation takes longer than most people think.

Another comment mentions the belief that it’s equally easy to translate into and out of one’s native language.

Some localized misconceptions about literary translation occur to me:

(The term literary translation has two meanings. It can be used to mean translating fiction, drama and poetry, which is what I mean here; it can also mean translating for publishers, including non-fiction.)

1. Literary translation uses different and superior brain cells from non-literary translation.

2. Literary translators make a good living; non-literary translators don’t.

3. When you find that the translator you’re talking to only does non-literary translation, it’s tactful to change the subject.

I have arrived back and have two complaints:

1. Why can’t I light a German gas stove without holding the knob and counting up to twenty? This drives me mad.

2. Am I the last person to discover that if you use Movable Type (before version 3.0) in Firefox, the buttons B, i, U and URL don’t appear? This is unbelievable.

(Posted from Internet Explorer, which I had abandoned because of browser hijackers)

For those who missed out on the revolutionary seventh edition of Black’s Law Dictionary, the eighth was published on June 4th. Here is the description at amazon.com, and here to order from amazon.de:

The editorial review says:

bq. Edited by Bryan A. Garner, the world’s leading legal lexicographer, Black’s Law Dictionary, 8th Edition is now better than ever! The new 8th Edition has more than 43,000 definitions, plus almost 3,000 quotations. Alternative spellings or equivalent terms and expressions are provided for more than 5,300 terms and senses, serving a thesaurus-like function. The extensive appendix on legal abbreviations is a major addition. It’s the first time such a comprehensive guide has been included in a modern law dictionary, and is an invaluable aid to the legal researcher.
-17,000 more definitions than the 7th Edition
-Newly enhanced with West Key Numbers for research reference
-Includes changes made since the creation of the department of Homeland Security
-Almost 3,000 quotations from authorities drawn from sources over at least five centuries
-More than 1,000 law-related abbreviations and acronyms are defined
-Extensive appendix on legal abbreviations
-Faculty recommended

Blogpause für etwa 2 Wochen.

I shall not be blogging for two weeks or so. I can’t absolutely promise, because I have some technical equipment at my disposal, but it may not work, and even if it does, I might not have anything to say.

eXil.co.uk ist eine Website für Deutsche in England, mit exzellenten Links.

A website in German for Germans in the UK, with excellent links.

Allergiker haben ein Recht auf eine katzenfreie Nachbarschaft, entscheiden Amtsgericht und Landgericht München. Kurzmeldung in der FAZ, nur Print oder kostenpflichtig online (nach dem Wort Allergiker suchen; Amtsgericht Az. 191 C 10647/03, Landgericht Az. 34 S 16167/03).

Somehow I can’t see this happening in England and Wales. The Munich Amtsgericht and Landgericht found in favour of a flat-dweller who wanted his neighbours to get rid of their cat. He submitted a doctor’s certificate showing that the cat hairs might lead to a life-threatening asthma attack, or at least that this possibility could not be excluded. The neighbours argued that the cat was not let out, and that it was important for the psychotherapeutic treatment of their twelve-year-old son, who had panic attacks and a speech disorder. The Amtsgericht, which deals with minor cases at first instance, held that it was clearly more important to avoid a serious asthma attack than for the cat to support psychotherapeutic treatment. On appeal, the decision was upheld.

One wonders if this person with the allergy stays at home all the time, because if he leaves the building he’s going to encounter cats all over the place. The paper is silent on this.

(Thanks to Anon of Frankfurt)