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A translator who talked

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Thomas Kis-Major
Thomas Kis-Major  Identity Verified
Australia
Local time: 12:27
English to Hungarian
+ ...
Re-scooped Jul 22, 2014

Thanks, I published it on: scoop.it/t/what-would-you-loose-if-nobody-would-translate
(Imagine a world where you would have no access to worldwide culture, politics, business, supplies, etc., if you only speak your own language´)


 
NUFCrichard (X)
NUFCrichard (X)
Germany
Local time: 02:27
German to English
Lose, not loose Jul 22, 2014

you mean "what would you lose?"
Loose is the opposite of tight, lose is the opposite of win.


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 02:27
Spanish to English
+ ...
No favours Jul 22, 2014

IMHO, this "self-proclaimed whistleblower" does the translation profession no favours by breaching client-translator confidentiality.

 
Allison Wright (X)
Allison Wright (X)  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 01:27
Agree with neilmac Jul 22, 2014

Confidentiality is paramount. Apart from taking the high moral ground, and bringing to the public's attention aspects of the faulty vehicles which would otherwise have remained under wraps, this translator has unwittingly shot herself in the foot, career-wise.
I believe that translators should not give opinions within the ambit of the work they are contracted to do. For example, I can do a great job of a translation promoting a food product, but privately may not even consider that product
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Confidentiality is paramount. Apart from taking the high moral ground, and bringing to the public's attention aspects of the faulty vehicles which would otherwise have remained under wraps, this translator has unwittingly shot herself in the foot, career-wise.
I believe that translators should not give opinions within the ambit of the work they are contracted to do. For example, I can do a great job of a translation promoting a food product, but privately may not even consider that product as "real food" at all, and may even consider one of its ingredients to be harmful to human health. Translating material to do with this product does not give me the right to talk about it though - even among my closest friends.
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Theo Bernards (X)
Theo Bernards (X)  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 02:27
English to Dutch
+ ...
There is a limit to confidentiality, though... Jul 22, 2014

Allison Wright wrote:
...
I believe that translators should not give opinions within the ambit of the work they are contracted to do. For example, I can do a great job of a translation promoting a food product, but privately may not even consider that product as "real food" at all, and may even consider one of its ingredients to be harmful to human health. Translating material to do with this product does not give me the right to talk about it though - even among my closest friends.


...because I too believe in confidentiality as one of the lynch pins (if not the lynch pin) of the translation industry. Nothing prevents me, however, to have pillow talk with my wife about a certain project that troubles me, or discussing a certain project over drinks with close friends, when the subject arises. As long as I don't divulge specifics or reveal names, there is no issue there.


 
LilianNekipelov
LilianNekipelov  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 21:27
Russian to English
+ ...
Oh, she can go to jail for that Jul 22, 2014

It is absolutely illegal. If she felt the materials she was about to translate were immoral--hiding some dangers that the cars posed from the general public, she should have declined the jobs, or try talking to the company that they should disclose certain things.

It is a violation of the confidentiality agreement.

[Edited at 2014-07-22 09:29 GMT]


 
Renée Annabel W.
Renée Annabel W.
Cameroon
Local time: 02:27
Member (2011)
French to English
+ ...
Comment Jul 22, 2014

Very interesting!

 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 02:27
Spanish to English
+ ...
No excuses - it's lose not looses Jul 22, 2014

Richard Rae wrote:

you mean "what would you lose?"
Loose is the opposite of tight, lose is the opposite of win.


Exactly! I didn't want to mention it, but this widespread misspelling makes me see red and can even turn me against whoever perpetrates it, although I might otherwise have been likely to agree with the point they were originally making.


 
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 02:27
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
She did not act professionally Jul 23, 2014

There are professions that require a firm commitment with confidentiality. Safeguarding customer privacy and confidentiality is as important for translators as it is for doctors, psychiatrists, or lawyers, to name a few.

If this person had real concerns about the safety of her customer's products, she should have clearly written to the appropriate person in the company, after informing/asking permission from her contact person, instead of divulging data in the public sphere.
<
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There are professions that require a firm commitment with confidentiality. Safeguarding customer privacy and confidentiality is as important for translators as it is for doctors, psychiatrists, or lawyers, to name a few.

If this person had real concerns about the safety of her customer's products, she should have clearly written to the appropriate person in the company, after informing/asking permission from her contact person, instead of divulging data in the public sphere.

Bad, bad decision, for her and for the translation community.
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Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:27
Member (2008)
Italian to English
I agree with Richard Rae and Neilmac Jul 23, 2014

neilmac wrote:

Richard Rae wrote:

you mean "what would you lose?"
Loose is the opposite of tight, lose is the opposite of win.


Exactly! I didn't want to mention it, but this widespread misspelling makes me see red and can even turn me against whoever perpetrates it, although I might otherwise have been likely to agree with the point they were originally making.


The misuse of "loose" and "lose" trumps whatever it is this thread was supposed to be about.


 
Diana Obermeyer
Diana Obermeyer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:27
Member (2013)
German to English
+ ...
Explains a lot... Jul 23, 2014

I was wondering why some recent NDAs included a clause that I must not make any public statements about any end clients, even if not directly related to a specific translation assignment. These clauses appeared to have been added in a rush and needed careful rephrasing before I was able to sign them. Now I know why this issue cropped up in the first place...

 
Amandine Added
Amandine Added  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:27
Member (2010)
English to French
+ ...
No limit to confidentiality Jul 23, 2014

That's bad publicity for all translators. There is no limit to confidentiality. Most of cases we do not know when, where, why, what for etc the document we translate is going to be used for, so this is so unprofessional from her part, I hardly believe it. There are some topics I refuse to work on but I will not break the confidentiality. For me it's the basis for a good professional relationship. Our power is not to judge the content of the document to be translated but to translate it to the be... See more
That's bad publicity for all translators. There is no limit to confidentiality. Most of cases we do not know when, where, why, what for etc the document we translate is going to be used for, so this is so unprofessional from her part, I hardly believe it. There are some topics I refuse to work on but I will not break the confidentiality. For me it's the basis for a good professional relationship. Our power is not to judge the content of the document to be translated but to translate it to the best of our capacity. Moral or use of said document is just another question. Or she could have contacted the conformity team of the company for good and valid whistleblowing. Not informing the public and medias....Having the feeling of being rightful does not mean you can do whatever you want however you want.....Collapse


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:27
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Confidentiality Jul 23, 2014

Normally, I would say that all my translations are strictly confidential, and should remain so in perpetuity. But Betsy Benjaminson's experience makes me think again.

If through no fault of my own I inadvertently come into possession of confidential documents apparently relating to the intention of keeping the lid on an issue of major public concern, I wonder what I'd have done. Just forget about it?

On the other hand, if the client commissioning the translation was so ina
... See more
Normally, I would say that all my translations are strictly confidential, and should remain so in perpetuity. But Betsy Benjaminson's experience makes me think again.

If through no fault of my own I inadvertently come into possession of confidential documents apparently relating to the intention of keeping the lid on an issue of major public concern, I wonder what I'd have done. Just forget about it?

On the other hand, if the client commissioning the translation was so inattentive as to release sensitive documents to third parties, I don't think Betsy Benjaminson's head should necessarily be the one on the chopping block.

Ask yourself: if you get an email today asking you to translate a document that says "Gentlemen: please do not tell anyone that eating our food product causes cancer" what would you do?

[Edited at 2014-07-23 10:05 GMT]
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Orrin Cummins
Orrin Cummins  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 10:27
Japanese to English
+ ...
My thoughts exactly Jul 23, 2014

Tom in London wrote:

Normally, I would say that all my translations are strictly confidential, and should remain so in perpetuity. But Betsy Benjaminson's experience makes me think again.

If through no fault of my own I inadvertently come into possession of confidential documents apparently relating to the intention of keeping the lid on an issue of major public concern, I wonder what I'd have done. Just forget about it?

On the other hand, if the client commissioning the translation was so inattentive as to release sensitive documents to third parties, I don't think Betsy Benjaminson's head should necessarily be the one on the chopping block.

Ask yourself: if you get an email today asking you to translate a document that says "Gentlemen: please do not tell anyone that eating our food product causes cancer" what would you do?

[Edited at 2014-07-23 10:05 GMT]


Yes, I was thinking the same thing when I read this article and everyone's comments.

It seems to me that saying that you would never, ever break confidentiality is a fairly sweeping statement. If a translator, through the course of regular duties, accidentally stumbled upon or was inadvertently exposed to information describing an imminent terrorist attack, would silence be the right course of action? What if breaking a client's confidence in a particular instance was guaranteed to save dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of lives?

It is certainly up for debate whether this Toyota incident is such a life-saving example; I know very little about the whole defect at issue, though from what I gather Toyota has already recalled millions of supposedly affected vehicles, so it seems unlikely that blowing the whistle in this case will actually save lives. But it doesn't take that much effort for me to imagine this happening in a much more dangerous environment where, say, a biological agent was released and some government or agency was attempting to cover it up, at the peril of a great number of people.

Surely there is some kind of personal "moral threshold" when it comes to this type of thing, no?


 
Renée Annabel W.
Renée Annabel W.
Cameroon
Local time: 02:27
Member (2011)
French to English
+ ...
Confidentiality Jul 23, 2014

With regard to Orrin Cummins' comments, surely there IS some kind of personal "moral threshold" when it comes to that type of thing, yes!

 
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A translator who talked







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