As we mentioned in the Translator's Day interview that we did with Jordi Mas , the interviewee of Caràcter xinès, our section dedicated to Chinese literature, is Irene Tor Carroggio . Irene completed her Degree in Translation and Interpreting with English and Chinese as working languages. She is currently preparing her thesis for the Doctorate in Translation and Intercultural Studies at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​and she does research both in our country and in China. She also has a Master's in International Business from the Shanghai University of Economics and Finance and has taken several training courses related to Sinology in China and Taiwan. 

Today we will talk to her about her academic training and the professional experience that is linked to it and, in passing, we will take the opportunity to get a little closer to the Chinese literature that we like so much.

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We'll start with the most obvious question, Irene. When you enrolled in the Translation and Interpreting Degree you had to choose a second foreign language, which in your case was Chinese. Why did you choose this language? Did you have an interest in it before?

Unlike many people who later went on to study Chinese, when I was a child, neither China nor Chinese ever caught my attention. In fact, I thought I would study medicine and spent my entire high school years struggling to get into the Clinic. My change of direction came when I discovered (a little too late, to be honest) that I am uncontrollably afraid of blood. It's a very long story...

I had to come up with a plan B and at no point did it cross my mind to pursue another science career. I had started studying Chinese at the Official Language School at the age of 17 because a friend convinced me to do so and I liked it so much that I was convinced that, if it wasn't medicine, I would do something related to Chinese. But I repeat that I discovered this "passion" when I was almost halfway through university! I could have done East Asian Studies, for example, but, despite having studied science, I have always had a fairly strong humanistic side (I have always really enjoyed reading and writing, I had entered literary competitions, I had done my high school research paper on literature, etc.) and I made the decision quickly. 

As we have already mentioned in previous interviews with Sara Rovira and Mireia Vargas , the profile of a sinologist is usually a bit scattered, since most of them combine several activities: teaching, research, Chinese translation, intercultural mediation... You also touch on several aspects that we will discuss later, but... do you like to vary? Or would you prefer to dedicate yourself to just one thing?

Yes, I do a lot of things at the same time. To give you an example, recently I have had to teach classes, correct a translation of a children's book from Catalan to Chinese made by a native speaker, start translating a new novel from Chinese, act as a language proofreader for some Chinese doctoral students, interpret two business meetings from Chinese, finish an academic article, correct a standard on audio description, work on a database that collects all the Chinese literature translated in Spain that we are doing from the TXICC research group , among others.

To be honest, I'm very happy not to dedicate myself to translation all day. Let me explain: I really like translating, a lot, but I need to control the hours I spend in seclusion because it ends up being a bit obsessive... I'm talking, above all, about the experience of translating literature, of course. I know that many translators complain that you can't make a living from literary translation, and even less so in the case of Chinese. I feel sorry for my colleagues who would like to do it (and because that means we don't translate enough), but, even if the option were there, I don't know if I would want to do it. My nature forces me to do different tasks and change activities. Even so, I'm aware that you have to be careful because when you play too many keys, you can end up going out of tune!

And among all these facets... do you have a favorite one? 

Everything I do now is enriching, but I have to admit that teaching has been my latest (and greatest) discovery. I have discovered that I like sharing with students what I have worked so hard to learn. I like students to trust me, to see their progress, to share with them my experiences abroad so that they can make more informed decisions... I like to take care of them, I don't know if it's because I associate it with the "doctor" profile that I have never developed... And, in this case, I save myself the blood! (laughs) In any case, I don't stick to any one facet because I like to cover them all.

Okay, so let's go over these various fields you're involved in. We could start with the academic field, since you're doing a PhD in Translation and Intercultural Studies. What aspect are you specializing in? What research path are you following? Have you had to do field research? 

This has been another surprise of life. I thought I would do it about (the writer) Sanmao … The thing is, I got a grant from a European project to do research on media accessibility. I have to work for this project, since I get a salary from it, but it also allows me to write my doctoral thesis at the same time. I wanted to link the thesis to China in some way because I felt like the five years I had already spent in China couldn't end up in the trash.

Finally, we decided with my directors ( Sara Rovira and Helena Casas ) that we would investigate audio description in China, especially in Shanghai, where I spend long periods of time every year. In the thesis we studied the possibility of using synthetic voices to audio describe films in China, where this service is in its infancy despite being the country with the most disabled people in the world. This would help the service reach more places and reduce costs.

Although audio description is studied within the field of audiovisual translation, it was very difficult for me to “fall in love” with the thesis because it was a very new field for me, one that I had never considered. Things have changed after my last trip to China because I had to go from house to house to visit the blind people who participated in my reception study and I was able to learn more about their needs and everything we can do for them from our field, even if we are neither doctors nor politicians. I like to think that the academic work we do can go beyond the walls of universities…

On the other hand, you have been awarded a scholarship to study economics and business in China. Have you exploited this aspect, that of tasks in the business environment, much?

I've been to more than one company and I've had very different experiences. Despite having a business background, they've almost always wanted me to translate and interpret. Sometimes, it's a little frustrating that they only see that side, but I also have to be realistic and I know that I've never been there long enough to develop that side much more. 

Perhaps the tasks that come closest to this area of ​​business that we were discussing are those that you have done as an interpreter for several companies that do business with China in very different sectors: tiles, veterinary, food... Areas of specialization are always complicated, but it seems that in Chinese they must be even more so. So, do you think that preparing for a specialized Chinese interpreting session is more complicated than, for example, preparing for an English one?

I have worked as an interpreter almost always in companies where I have stayed for a while. This makes preparation easier because the topics end up being very repetitive. For example, I worked for a ceramics manufacturer for a while and the meetings we always had were with distributors, to whom we presented the company, the catalogue, negotiated contract conditions, etc. In the end, the words always came out practically the same, although during lunches current topics could come up, for example.

You can prepare as much as you want, but there will always be a word that will make you suffer a little more than usual. The positive point of business meetings is the patience of the people who participate in them: they are interested in everything being clear and, in case you need them to repeat something, they have no problem with it and are understanding. Interpreting is beautiful, but I have always found it very difficult because, for example, many of our meetings were held in restaurants with a lot of chatter, which is very common in China, and it was very difficult to clearly understand what was being said at all times.

And in terms of pure and simple translation, what kind of things have you translated? More business translation, or more literary?

I would say literary, but I have translated a wide variety of things, although some have been one-off assignments: from current news to hospital information brochures, including songs, for example. 

And speaking of literary translation, tell us about the translations you've done of Sanmao's work. What can you tell us about it to encourage readers who don't know her to read it?

Sanmao is a project that, apart from being a work project, is also very personal. For me it means the beginning of my career as a literary translator, the last thing I did with a person who is no longer here, a train of those that never come back. By that I mean that I don't know if I'm being objective when I talk about it. I think I had a slightly different experience than other translators for many reasons.

For example: the author has been a personal favorite of mine for years, I have been able to meet her family; I have been able to collaborate during the translation with translators who had been my teachers and with whom I have a great friendship; I have been able to choose many of the stories that we have included in the books; I have participated in a documentary about her that has allowed me to get to know her in depth... No matter what I do in China, I am always introduced as the translator of Sanmao. I owe her a lot.

In any case, Sanmao is a suitable read for many types of readers. For example, for those interested in Chinese literature that moves away from the dramas of the Cultural Revolution; for those who want to know what daily life was like in the Sahara when it was still Spanish; for those who want to discover (or remember) Spain and the Spaniards of more than fifty years ago through the unique eyes of a non-standard Taiwanese woman, or simply for those who want to have a fun time, without any further pretensions. 

Let's continue talking about Sanmao. You have translated three works by this writer into Spanish and you have collaborated with Sara Rovira on a translation into Catalan. How was the experience? What were the most complicated points? Would you like to continue doing literary translation?

I have no complaints. I remember that during my degree many professors told me that you had to be careful with publishers because you had to fight a lot with them… I haven't had that experience yet, on the contrary! There has been very fluid communication and they have consulted us with the translators on many things. In addition, it has been a luxury to work with Sara Rovira and Mireia Vargas. It is priceless to be able to consult doubts or even comment on the play with someone who is doing exactly the same thing but in a different language.

As for the difficulties, I would say, to begin with, that Sanmao sometimes doesn't connect ideas well, or at least it's a bit hard to find the link between certain paragraphs. She also repeats a lot, which is more normal in Chinese, but in Catalan and Spanish you have to give it a few more tries. Another complicated point was finding the equivalent of the proper names when the characters weren't Chinese. You had to interpret from the pinyin which Spanish or Arabic name she was referring to and it wasn't always obvious. In addition, Sanmao was a very cultured person and she demonstrates this with literary, historical references, etc., so you have to be very attentive and not take for granted the reputation she has for being "plain literature".

I've also had other kinds of difficulties, such as the challenge of giving a voice to a woman with the weight of Sanmao. It wasn't easy to choose the stories for, for example, the last book because, although Mireia and I were clear about which ones we liked, we also had to take into account that the book had to sell.

As for whether I would like to continue translating, I am already fully immersed in a new project that I am very excited about because it is very much linked to my second home: Shanghai. I can't say more about it at the moment, but I think I will really enjoy it.

It is clear that translators are people with a thousand faces. Irene, thank you very much for sharing your experiences with us and good luck with the new project. In the meantime, we hope that some readers will be curious and delve into Chinese literature, this time through Sanmao.