For a Vietnamese, the Romanian language would be considered exotic. It differs in most aspects from the language spoken on the streets of Hanoi. If it weren’t spoken, actually, there would be no common ground between the two. And yet there are people in this world who can understand both these languages perfectly. Translators can do that, for example. Even though they required years of practice and studies to be able to do so.
The truth is, it’s subjective to call a language exotic. Different, or atypical, may be better words to describe it. Or rare, given that there aren’t many people speaking Japanese or Persian in 2023 Romania. Curious by nature, we interviewed some of our top linguists among the 2000 we work with globally. The subject was how is it for them to translate to and from some of the most exotic languages for clients all over the globe.
Japanese translations: The Samurai language
For Europeans or Americans, Japanese is just a bunch of words they know from the world around us, maybe five or so. Sushi, ramen, samurai, and a bunch more like that. The Japanese language is spiking up in terms of requests for linguists. The expansion the country is seeing in the industries and cultures of the world is felt in the translation business first and foremost.
Sînziana Dobrogeanu is a certified Japanese translator. She said “I’m often asked why Japanese? My answer is, out of a desire to throw myself into the unknown. Approaching a Japanese piece of text implies, without exception, a jump into the abyss and with no safety net.
The writing system looks to be a bit more occult than the Egyptian hieroglyphs. The verb goes at the end of the phrase, not between the subject and the complement, as it is with Romanian and other languages. You need to remodel, starting with your first phrases, your brain, used to work in a different way, and have the patience to really understand what the words say.
In the simple interaction between a Japanese and a Romanian you’re not just interpreting, you’re becoming a cultural mediator. You should be able to accurately match the style of a high-context language such as Japanese to a low-context one such as Romanian. You need to create a bridge between the two people, as they speak two very different languages with almost nothing in common.
Finally, Japanese will turn you into an apprentice for the rest of your life. You will never know enough, and will always see a new character, word, or phrase. Although this may sound a bit discouraging, it is in fact an extremely positive thing. You will keep your mind alive and excited, and you will always be able to acknowledge that you, in fact, don’t know anything!”
Anahita Zolfaghari is another Japanese translator who was kind enough to share her insights with us.
She told us that “Japanese has a certain ambiguity to it, which makes it almost magnetic to me as a translator. There is a terminology and conjugation difference, whenever you talk to someone, regarding politeness in a conversation or a text, as there are 3 tonalities within the language, from colloquial (in which the verb can actually be missed in the sentence) to keigo, or honourable. The missing genre or number is important when you translate “There is a bird on a branch” or “There are birds on a branch”. There is also kanji to be added to the list above, mainly ideograms which you will find plentiful in this language.
Japanese is an interesting language regardless of the type of translation, offering a vast and profound selection of possible adaptations, especially in regard to literary translations. To me, it is impossible to not be captured by the magic of it, with every new project having to deal with the Japanese culture. The word is culture, and the word is feeling.”
Translating from Vietnamese, the “Chinese on steroids”
Although Chinese leads in terms of difficulty, or particularities, Vietnamese is more “exotic” as it is a derivation of the language of the Great Wall. Which makes it even more “special” and harder, in some aspects and rules, than Chinese. Vietnamese is spoken by over 100 million people, most of whom are living in Vietnam. Over the past 5 years, the demand for the language among linguists skyrocketed.
Simona Diac, our Vietnamese translator, told us that “between 1990 and 1993, I’ve studied the language and literature of the country at Hanoi University and, as a major, I picked legends, traditions, and customs of the Vietnamese people. My passion for Vietnam was embedded in me by my father, the first Romanian-to-Vietnamese translator in the history of the two countries. He worked for 45 years in diplomacy, exclusively in Vietnam. For the first 6 years of my life, I played around the courtyard of the Romanian Embassy in Hanoi.
In 1999, after coming back from Hanoi, I wanted to translate my diploma while back in Romania. As I couldn’t find any translator for Vietnamese, I decided to apply for authorisation at the Justice Ministry to be able to translate the documents on my own. This is how my translator and interpreter journey began for this incredible language combo. For 15 years and counting, I translated from Vietnamese to Romanian and back as a hobby, and all my activity was pro bono.
Vietnamese is an interesting language, as I could talk about it for days. Everything that has to do with Vietnam is fascinating and full of stories, as the country is quirky, even for Asian standards. The main characteristic of this musical language is the Latin alphabet containing 7 accents, forever changing the meaning of its words.
Besides translating the normal documents for some translation offices, I go to the courthouse, the police or the prosecutor’s office. I always request to introduce myself before each and every interpretation job, as I’m able to create a bond and put some common sense between me and the people who are being questioned, the suspects. This cuts a lot from the possible weary behaviour some of them might show while under oath.
The best thing is when a Vietnamese tells me I’m one of their own.”
Persian translations, the language of magical storytelling
About 130 million people speak Persian. Although one of the oldest languages on the planet, Persian is still in high demand even today. Many tales and stories have been written in this incredible dialect, now spoken in countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Uzbekistan and other places in Central Asia. An Indo-European language, Persian is mostly unknown to the masses.
Luminița Spânu solves Persian to Romanian or English translations. She told us that “Persian is a relatively hard to translate language, into Romanian, simply because, structurally speaking, the two are very different from one another.
Here are some reasons why the language can be challenging to translate: different alphabet and orthography; no grammatical genre; despite the subject-object-verb rule of thumb in a phrase, the subject of the phrase is often not clear until by the very end of it, where you can find the verb; a different colloquial language than the literary one; the abundance of composed verbs and expressions.
Given these facts, it’s important to mention that translating from Persian is not just about the linguistics. There is a strong bond between language and culture, and so a great translation implies a great familiarity with the culture, first and foremost.”
At the agency, we translate into and from over 100 languages from all around the world. We have over 2000 collaborators, mostly native speakers, who know how important it is to work meticulously on each language combination we offer. If you’re looking for translation services, we know someone who can help you!