The Difficulties of Translation

Right now, I am translating a book from Portuguese to English. It's been a fun project, but it is challenging and requires a lot of time and research to get things right.

To translate is to come to terms that most of the times, your translation will not be 100% accurate to the source material. By definition, any conversion will cause some information to be lost, and as a result, the text has to be reworded to accommodate for it.

I am not a professional translator, but I know how serious translation is. After all, my work is what will allow more people to experience the original text in a language they know, and with it, make the contents in the book accessible for a bigger number of users.

Any choice that I make will have large repercussions and rippling effects, and while my goal is to minimize this and respect the source material as much as possible, the truth is that my work is, ultimately, a thing on its own. And this is fine.

It is true that no conversion will ever be 100% accurate, especially in a large-scale work as the one I'm working on. But that doesn't mean my effort is useless, or that any translation is a waste of time. By applying what I know about the subject, correcting typos and formatting the text with modern sensibilities, I can add more value to my version, while being respectful to the work of the original author, and their goal with the book.

At the very least, my work shall serve as the foundation for better works in the future.

I am diligently working on the text as I write this leaflet. I hope to publish it soon! I can't wait to finish it.