Challenges and Approaches When Translating Non-literary Texts from Slovak into English

Predominantly undertaken by native speakers of Slovak, non-literary translation in English requires a set of skills which differ from the translation of literary texts; in addition to solid linguistic knowledge, translators need a firm cultural grounding in the languages they work with as well as the preference for a “sense for sense” rather word-for-word translation approach so that the intended meaning is delivered in an accurate yet concise and readable way. Ideally working alongside a competent proofreader, who is also a native speaker of English, and taking advantage of numerous online resources, Slovak translators into English can perform high quality work. However, market realities emphasizing cost and speed over translation quality mean that editing and proofreading processes are shortened or skipped; furthermore, the rise of machine translations is pushing would-be translators into the position of text editor rather than text creator. This is happening alongside constant challenges facing translators, which include working on texts which carry an abundance of local specificities as well as scholarly texts and other formal writing, where the English writing tradition’s priorities of clarity, simplicity, and conciseness are not present to the same degree in the Slovak one. Nonetheless, by using all the linguistic resources that the current technological age provides, not sticking religiously to source language conventions, and with confidence in the richness of their own linguistic and cultural knowledge, Slovak translators into English can deal with the above issues, make a living, and even prosper.