Lost in translation!

PUNE: When Durga Dixit, director of the Aikyabharati Pratishtan gets requests for translation jobs, she just has to call up her regular translators and get the job done. For, Dixit has a group of trusted people who can translate documents into target languages. When the quantity of the work increases and she faces a deadline, however, she feels the crunch. There are just not enough people to go around. Many agencies have the same story, a dearth of skilled translators in the city.

As Pune grows into an international industry and IT centre, translators and interpreters are in high demand. And, surprisingly, the situation is worse for Indian languages. "There sure is a scarcity of translators, especially from vernacular languages to English and vice versa. Most of our work comes in these languages. The quantity of work is growing and the job can be done even at home. Still, there are just not enough skilled persons. And, where Pune loses, Mumbai gains. "Trained manpower for this work is needed. We have proposed that the government start a new course aiming at translation from English to vernacular languages," says Dixit.

BITS International handles translation works for domestic as well as foreign clients. Chairman and managing director of the organisation, Sandeep Nulkar says, "Skilled manpower is not increasing at the same rate as the work is. One problem is the lack of specialised courses for this purpose. Even existing courses have not been tailored keeping in mind the concerns of practising translators. Since translation needs special skills, even though the number of students learning languages is increasing, that does not amount to the availability of the good translators."

Interestingly, Pune seems to do well in grooming translation talent. "Delhi and Pune are cities where a conductive ambience for emerging translators exists. Even Bangalore does not have Masters-level courses in as many languages as we have here. That is why so many IT companies there are hiring translators from Pune," Nulkar says. Madhura Datar, founder of the Language Services Bureau, has 45 years of experience in translating. "There are many translators, but professional ones is hard to find," she says. "For some not-so-common and Indian languages, the problem is more acute." Datar has trained many students over the years and still teaches those willing to learn. "The situation has changed very much in the last few years. Though more people are learning the skills, there’s scope for everyone."

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(The news can also be read at Times of India site here)