Politically Correct Translations

Is there politically correct translations? Should a translator alter a text in order to make it politically correct? My answer would be no.

As translators, we have to be neutral and simply transfer a message from one language into another.  We cannot alter its content.

When translating a document, we have to be careful enough to choose the right words, so the reader of the target language has exactly the same impact the reader of the source language. We have to take in consideration both cultures to be able to adapt it in a way it passes the same message in a culturally perceptible way, but never alter it. We are not authors, we are translators.

Then is a question of context. And if the original uses a swear word you have to translate it, even if it’s a swear word. If the original is harsh we have to be harsh in the translation.

If the original has views which we don’t agree with, we can always reject the job, but once we accept it, it is our duty to translate it correctly and 100% accurately.

Cátia