Abstract

Large organisations are special environments for the practice of translation—especially public institutions. In-house translators in these organisations enjoy working conditions they share with few other colleagues; for instance, they don't do piecework but earn a salary. They have special relations with their clients, who are often also their colleagues. Finally, a large organisation provides many opportunities for translators to show their abilities, knowledge, and skills beyond translation.

My presentation will focus on these abilities, knowledge, and skills. The premise is that many practitioners and some scholars have too restricted a picture of what good translators are good at. Drawing from the experience gleaned in the European Commission and a few other international organisations, I will argue that translators turn out to be excellent in the replacement of textual material and in a number of other tasks. This is what I call their 'collateral excellence'. Finally, I offer this experience and the reflections it suggests as a source of inspiration for the theory and the teaching of translation.

Biography

Ubaldo Stecconi has taught translation theory and practice in Italy, the Philippines and the United States for 14 years. For the past seven, he has worked for the European Commission in Brussels as translator and speechwriter. His publications include three translated books and about 30 papers appeared in international journals. He is a member of the Executive Board of the European Society for Translation Studies.