Marianna Tsatsou

Hello.

Hello.

You’re Ms. Marianna Tsatsou, and we’d like to ask you some questions. Let’s begin. Was it a lifelong dream to get into translation?

Not lifelong, but from the moment I heard about the Department of Translation in Corfu. I hadn’t known about its existence before. From then on it was a one-way street, there was no other choice for me, that was all I wanted to do.

What was your view on translation before getting into it and after taking it up professionally?

Right or wrong, I saw it the same way as everyone else. Not being able to distinguish between a translator and an interpreter, or believing it to be an easy job, and thinking that if you speak a language it means you can translate it. In practice, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. It takes a lot of effort and persistence. You need a clear mind to be productive, you need to read a lot and constantly work with yourself to be able to find the terminology, or to capture a style, it takes hard work.

Is there a translator you admire, or look up to as a role model?

I might do some injustice, and I’m sure I will, but for example Mr. Yorghos Kentrotis, whom I had as a professor, is one of the translators that I’ve promised to surpass one day. Meanwhile, I keep meeting more and more remarkable people. I read a lot of books, so I remember the names. There’s Efi Kallifatidi, Kleopatra Elaiotriviari ― I don’t want to leave anyone out ― Anthi Wiedenmayer is quite prominent, so I think everyone knows her. I think that’s it for now, I can’t think of anyone else, sorry.

That’s okay. How do you feel when translating a work?

First of all, unfortunately, you’re never just translating one work. For reasons of subsistence. You might be translating a technical text, a medical, and a literary one simultaneously. So technically, the ideal of sitting at home translating one book, does not exist. You do feel very creative, though. It’s a time-consuming process, but when you shut it down, when you turn off your mind, when the day is over, you feel that you accomplished something. That you managed to pass on something that the reader will see through your eyes. The way that you perceived a sentence or a phrase. That’s a wonderful feeling.

Since you said it is a matter of subsistence from a certain point on, are you satisfied with the financial rewards of the job?

Having spoken to translators who are older in age, and have experienced the market in the past, fees have gone way down in general. And fees are a difficult issue, because many people think they can translate, and that knocks fees down. People who aren’t in the field can’t tell a professional from an amateur, so you have to be very careful in how you handle it. You certainly can’t demand the same fees as an amateur, and you shouldn’t, because you won’t work the same way. I personally can’t say that I’m especially dissatisfied, although having to pay taxes and all the rest doesn’t make it easy. You can’t live a life of leisure. Simple as that.

Why is translation important to you, and what is your motivation?

Firstly, as I said, you feel like you created something. For someone like me who doesn’t have music, or other such hobbies and other outlets for their creativity or talents, this is my chance to create. Besides that, you enable people like, say, my grandpa, who is 80 years old, to read a book they wouldn’t have if there hadn’t been a translator to turn it into their language.

Are you also a writer on top of being a translator?

No, I’m not. Nothing of the sort.

Do you do anything besides translation?

No, you mean professionally, right? I just translate different types, like technical, or medical texts.

What are the special requirements of a translator? What do you think is necessary for them to have?

Do you mean to be a good translator, or what might their everyday needs be?

I mean as a profession. What do you personally need? Where does the bulk of a translator’s income go?

Where does it go… Self-improvement seminars that might be specializing in a specific terminology. A trip that might have just been for fun, you will view it from another perspective, you’ll want to get to know that culture. Like, if I was to go to Germany, since it’s the language I work with, I’m not going to just look around and enjoy the architecture. I’m going to look into other aspects that’ll help me in my work. Other than that, your daily expenses ― if that’s what you’re asking ― are pretty basic. A computer, the internet, the books you’ll buy, your dictionaries…

Let’s move on to another topic. What do you think the future of translation in Greece is, and are you optimistic?

I’m always optimistic about everything. The future of translation in Greece depends on the future of the country, just like everything else does. I see a lot of actions, thankfully by younger people, I think it will all work out in the end. That we will be able to promote our profession, provided we take the client and the job itself seriously. So I want to believe things will keep getting better.

As regards to, in your case, the languages you translate, what is your relationship with them?

It’s a loving one. The joy you feel when you’ve translated something is comparable to getting a message from your loved one, and you smile to yourself, nobody else can appreciate that joy. And you usually don’t share it, because it sounds crazy, but that’s how it is. You want to keep improving on it and improving on yourself, to be able to understand more and more nuances of the language, and to find more reasons to be in contact with it.

What is your relationship with the authors that you translate?

The relationship depends on the writer simply because some are no longer alive, so there can’t be any physical communication. What you do, and ought to do as a translator, is to research as many sources as you can on the writer before starting the work, like reviews, biographical facts, all the things that constitute a personality, so that you can enter their mind as much as you can, and understand their mentality to be able to convey their style. If I believe that someone… Let’s say someone had a life as a public servant, working at a bank, and was, say, abusive to his partners, those are things that should be taken into account when translating.

Which literary genre piques your interest the most?

What genre… You mean detective novels, etc?

Children’s and young readers’ books, or theater for example…

Look, if I’m being honest, I like poetry, mainly. That’s where my preference lies. Lately, thanks to Mr. Nikolaou, a professor at the Ionian University, I discovered creative translation, which led me down a different path. It’s a very interesting area, you should look into it.

How do you think the quality of translation can be improved, or how has it already improved, generally?

Do you mean in Greece, or personally?

Both would be equally interesting.

The quality of translation. Let me think about it. Right. As we said, it is up to us, mostly. We’re the ones that have to do our best, to give it our 100% and even more, if we can. Further, academic institutions should make sure they abet these efforts, our professors should support us, not just universities as institutions but our professors, with whom we have everyday contact. Then, it also depends on the client. But for the client to appreciate that ― by client we mean everyone: Publishers, agencies, companies, individuals, anyone ― we have to first show them that our translations are of a certain quality, and that’s why we have more demands.

As for the difficulties of translation, what are they, in your opinion?

Very long hours. I mean, for what we earn that you asked before, it isn’t… The financial rewards are disproportionate, because you don’t work an 8-hour shift. It might have been good enough for 8 hours, but you might end up working 16 hours since deadlines aren’t up to you. What other difficulties? To keep current, always be in touch with your subject matter.

Have you come across a specific cultural element that you found especially difficult to render?

In language, it’s always idiomatic expressions and metaphors, where you have to take care not to get carried away in the word order because things are said differently in German than in Greek, even if the wording is similar. Then there are simple things, like the grammar and syntax of a sentence in another language being different. You don’t want a text that screams it was written in another language. You want it to sound Greek, so you have to adjust everything. Names are also an issue. The translation I’m working on now has Russian names. You have to find someone who speaks the language ― I don’t ― to help you transcribe them. So you need to be in contact with other professions. There might be medical jargon, for which you’ll need the help of a doctor.

Has there been anything in your life, rather, in your work so far, that gave you an especially hard time? A specific example.

Like what…

Like a word.

Usually, and this has nothing to do with literature, but when translating technical texts or European Union texts, oftentimes a term doesn’t exist in Greek at all, it’s either too new or it hasn’t ever been rendered ― sometimes, in medical texts for instance, we get by with the English term ― so you have to try to understand the exact meaning of the term and suggest one that is succinct, and easy for one to remember and use in their profession. The problem is usually either multiple interpretations of a term, or terms that don’t exist at all, and therefore you have to figure one out.

I’m sure you get criticism of your work, how do you deal with it?

It’s always welcomed. As a person, you obviously want to get positive feedback. You’ve worked hard on something, you want to get praise. That doesn’t mean others don’t have their own opinions. You might get a negative comment that is actually valid. What you do is you hear it, you tolerate it, and you keep it in mind the next time you start a translation, so that you can… So that your translation caters to that, as well.

Great. What’s your opinion on copyright law?

For the translator? Because that brings up…

Mainly the translator’s work, yes.

I believe it’s also the translator’s baby. In literature, especially, you can’t say that you’re translating terminology that’s predetermined. You’ve put in something of your own. It goes without saying that the creator’s word comes first, but I’m not qualified to answer that, as it is a legal issue and I wouldn’t want to say anything that may be inaccurate.

Okay. As for editing, do you think it’s necessary?

Essential. Full stop, exclamation mark, whatever. No question. And nobody should be offended. The role of the editor isn’t to find and point out your mistakes as a translator. They’ve got a clear view of your text with a chronological distance, without being impeded by whatever you found confusing while translating it. Not only is it welcome, in my view it’s mandatory. It should play a bigger part than it does in the Greek publishing world.

Are you influenced by anyone on the selection of the title?

Usually, you suggest a title to the publisher, and after that the marketing department comes in. It isn’t up to you. You suggest a title, and support it with arguments based on the translation. But the publisher might decide that the title won’t appeal to the Greek reading audience, so they’ll make adjustments.

One last question. What’s your relationship like with publishers, or a specific publisher?

What do you mean? Whether I have a good impression? Personally, I do. I do hear a lot of bad things, though. I hear about publishing houses that don’t pay and owe years’ worth of fees, thousands of euro to translators. Not all publishers operate the same way. You have to be cautious. Check them out before working with them, ask people who have done so in the past, find out what they were like. Did they grant the room to work, were they punctual in their payments? It all plays a part.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, too.