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Literary Translation: A long way to dream job

Who will make the translation of texts to the profession, which are open to different areas. Exerts a special charm to many literary translation, namely the transfer of novels, poems or plays in a different language. But on the way to literary translators a number of hurdles are overcome.

"The main difficulty lies first in the fact that there is no fixed learning path," says Ulrich Thiele. Ulrich A graduate of the postgraduate course "Literary Translation from English" at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich. He now works as a freelance literary translator and currently lies in the middle of his second order: For a publisher, he carries a book from English into German.

As the term "translator" is the specialization "literary translators" are not a protected professional title, in principle, everyone can call it that. Ulrich has chosen a more traditional path to his dream job. Prior to his postgraduate studies to literary translator, he has completed a degree in Germanic. One of the

Faculty of the Munich postgraduate course is Rudolf Hermstein. For more than 35 years, he translated English into German Bellestristik and non-fiction and has won the prestigious 2009 Munich translation prize. Literary translator to be so Hermstein is, far more than just concentrated work at the desk. "Besides the actual translation work includes research, library visits, acquisition of contracts, negotiations with publishers, proof reading, traveling abroad and participating in seminars on professional image."

to make himself constantly as a translator is far from easy. "Advantage, of course, personal connections to Publishers. Who does not have any, they may, for example by developing an internship, "says Ulrich. His former professor Rudolf Hermstein points out: "From the study directly to independence - that is not true for most professional literary translators. Many have only worked in other professions. "

And what does the work? Graduates Ulrich gives an insight. After the contract is completed with the publisher, and thus payment and deadline are set, the translator only once "more or less on their own," he says. "With dictionaries and various research resources digs you then by the text. For problematic places you can agree of course with the lecturer. "If the work is finally done, it is edited by the publisher or editor to a freelance editor. "The hurdles that must be taken when translating different from book to book. But the basic problem is probably always. To preserve the style of the author and recreate the atmosphere of the original in their own language "