Translators in the City (#xl8city) is a series
of articles that looks at why translators choose to work in a certain city.
Since freelancers can essentially set up anywhere in the world, the series
seeks to find out what individual cities can offer linguists, and features
testimonies from a handful of translators about how their city can motivate and
inspire them in their work.
This first post
showcases Berlin, the energetic German capital. Germany is not short of large
vibrant cities – Munich, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Cologne and Hamburg to name
just a few domestic rivals – so how does Berlin stand out from its siblings in
attracting translators to work there?
Katy Derbyshire (@KatyDerbyshire) has been living in Berlin since 1996.
Originally from London, Katy started out in Berlin teaching English, working in
call centres, and doing other odd jobs before taking and passing the IoL
Diploma of Translation in 2000. A few years later, Katy went into German
literature translation to share the books she loves with those who can't read
German. She has since translated 14 book-length works of fiction, from
children's books to award-winning novels. 
Sarah Fisher (@SarahWordNerd) is a German into English translator who has
been living and working in Berlin since August 2011. Having graduated from her
Bachelor’s in German & Linguistics the previous month, she packed her bags
and headed straight to the airport. She also leads tours of Berlin that take a
behind-the-scenes look at the modern culture and history of the city.
Susanne Schmidt-Wussow
(@frenja) is a Japanese,
French and English into German translator based in central Berlin. A native of
the city, she studied translation at Humboldt University, graduating in 2000
and freelancing ever since. She specialises in medical and science translation,
but also translates books – mostly non-fiction – for children and adults.
Freelance translators can set up anywhere in
the world they want, provided there’s a reasonable broadband connection and a
source of coffee nearby. Plenty of my linguist friends – not necessarily
translators – have been pulled to Berlin like iron fillings to a magnet. What
is this force that the city exudes?
“I've always loved
living here,” says Katy. “Coming from suburban London, I adore the huge
buildings here with their ridiculously large front doors, and the boastful
Prussian architecture in general. The rooms in people's homes and workplaces
are much larger than the poky spaces of my childhood, and I find that gives me
space to breathe.” Architecture is one of the biggies in drawing people to a
city – see the post on Barcelona to come in a few weeks. But Europe’s cities
aren’t short of architectural marvels. What else can Berlin boast?
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| The iced-over River Spree, courtesy of Susanne |
“As I'm sure
everybody's heard, rents in Berlin are more affordable than in many other
European cities,” Katy continues. “That means I have a flat with enough room to
live in, plus an office elsewhere. There are certain things I prefer to do at
home - accounting, translating sex scenes - but essentially, I know I work much
better at my office. And I doubt I could afford to do that in many other cities.”
For Sarah, it was
Berlin’s up-and-coming, spontaneous, laid-back atmosphere that brought her to
the city. “The decision to move to Berlin was based on a number of factors
(including that nice German boy I’d met on my Year Abroad), and although I
hadn’t really decided to become a translator at that point, I was attracted to
the flexible work opportunities, a wealth of culture and history, good
transport links and being a comparatively ‘green’ city were all on the list of
plus points.”
There must be
something about Berlin that prevents people like Susanne from escaping . “I have been working in Berlin for all
my career, this being 14 years now. I was ready to consider other options in
terms of universities. However, I soon learned that Berlin was the only place
in Germany where I could take translation studies in Japanese and French as I
had planned, so I stayed.”
Translators have to be self-motivated
individuals. But there’s a certain amount of motivation that I think we can harness
from cities. What I want to know is how Berlin stimulates us.
 |
| The view from Sarah's desk |
“Berlin is full of cafes with free WiFi and
hordes of people (mostly expats) on MacBooks doing ‘something in media’,” says
Sarah. “There’s a big market for start-ups and there are two co-operative
working spaces on my street alone.” But what about at home, for those who
prefer not to work from a Starbucks or a shared workspace? “For one thing, I
love the view from my desk, looking out from the fourth floor over a tree-lined
promenade with the TV Tower in the distance.”
Susanne too loves her native city. “It has
everything: urban environments if you're feeling hip, all the places to go in
terms of entertainment, but also lots of quiet corners and lush nature. Tiergarten
is my favourite. Its vast spaces, big trees, many animals - whenever I ride my
bike through it, I feel like on vacation or at least like on a weekend trip.
You don't hear nor smell the city inside Tiergarten, just nature. I had my best
business ideas while cycling through.”
Berlin is one of the most fascinating cities
in the world in terms of history – well at least I think so. Was this perhaps
one of the reasons our translators chose to move to or stay in the city?
Sarah is a big history nerd – her words, not
mine. “Berlin is perfect for geeking out on history – you’ve got the legacy of
Prussia and Bismarck, the “Cabaret”-inspiring 1920s, the Third Reich, the
devastation and rebuilding after the Second World War, the division into West
and East Berlin, reunification and the creation of a modern, united city all in
one place – how can you fail to be inspired by that?”
 |
| Berlin's not short on history - the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church |
When I’ve been to Berlin, I’ve found that it
strikes a good balance between historical attractions and contemporary culture.
Sarah adds, “There are dozens of great museums, which – although not free like
some of the big London museums – are well-curated and always have new exhibitions
and events, well worth the price of an annual ticket (from €25).”
Sarah continues, “I live beside Tempelhof
Airport – the airport in the middle of the city, which was closed down in 2008
and the field is now open to the public. Without a doubt, it is my favourite
place in Berlin – not only is the building an incredible example of 1930s
architecture, but there is this huge, open green space in the middle of city –
you just don’t get that in London. With the old runways still in place, it’s
perfect for all manner of sports – currently cross-country skiing and
kiteboarding in the snow, but in the summer you’ll see everything from running
to football to windsurfing on skateboards. Then there are long summer evenings
around the barbecue, flying kites, reading books, urban gardening, a nature
reserve and a hundred other uses. When I feel like I’ve been stuck at my desk
for too long then I’ll pack up my lunch and go for a quick walk on the field to
clear my head. It’s funny what a difference half an hour of fresh air can do
for you!”
So, we’ve just seen what Berlin offers the
general public. But what about translators in particular? What can the
Hauptstadt offer for linguists?
For Susanne, it’s the city’s
several big libraries that prove most useful. “They have more often than not
saved me when I brooded over a text in an especially technical subject area
like metallurgy or marine biology. The internet only takes you so far when it
comes to the really special stuff.”
Katy, on the
other hand, tells us that Berlin has a large English-speaking community and a
large translator community. “Many of the established English translators came
here when the city was still under Allied command, or have worked in embassies
and ministries. West Berlin was also a magnet for alternative types escaping
the confines of their origins, whether America, the UK or smalltown West
Germany. Then there are newer Anglophone arrivals who decide, like me, that
they want to stay on and start working for translation agencies to get a foot
in the door. There are a great many translators into German, as well.”
Translators love get-togethers. From informal
meet-ups to the grander conferences. What kind of translator events does Berlin
attract?
“There are a number
of informal networks here,” according to Katy, “one mailing list for commercial
translators into English, who meet up once a month for dinner at a restaurant
and exchange work and translation tips. Then there's another network originally
arranged by embassy/ministry translators. Both are by invitation only as they're
concerned about quality.”
 |
| A view of West Berlin from the Fernsehturm (TV tower) |
Katy herself runs a
monthly "translation lab" for anyone interested in literary translation,
where translators get together and go through texts they are working on. “We
also have an online magazine of contemporary German-language literature in
translation at www-no-mans-land.org and organise
events at least twice a year - a presentation of the magazine and the annual
translation talent contest Translation Idol.”
Having taken part
in this competition herself, Sarah tells us about it: “Everyone was invited to translate a short piece
by Deniz Utlu in any way we wanted – “fast and loose,
slow and steady, straight from the hip, give it a dialect, put it into iambic
pentameter, set it to music” as they put it – and then we read out our own
translations (or had them read for us for people not in Berlin) at the live
event and the audience voted to decide the winner. I was very nervous and my
translation was quite conservative compared to others, but it was a fascinating
event to take part in and it was brilliant to meet other translators and feel
like part of a community.”
At
an international level,
Susanne talks about the BDÜ (the German equivalent of the ITI) having held two
translator conferences so far in Berlin, attracting around 1,500 colleagues
from all over the world. “I just loved the fact that I just had to hop on the
underground to get there! And then there is the FIT World Congress, of course,
which will be held in August this year and which I'm very much looking forward
to.”
So, to round off, what makes Berlin better
than any other city on this planet to work from as a translator?
.jpg) |
| Sarah in front of a beautifully lit-up Brandenburg Gate |
From a native perspective, Susanne
doesn’t know if Berlin is better than any other city, but she likes it at least.
“Everything is at your fingertips. Berlin is special. You either love or hate
it, there is no in-between. I love it. It is my place.”
“Berlin is what you make of it,”
Sarah maintains. “There are so many facets to Berlin life that I’m sure
everyone has their own individual Berlin. For me, I enjoy the networking
opportunities that Berlin offers me in terms of translation events and making
personal contact with clients.
There are, of course, less good
things about Berlin – e.g. rising rents and gentrification, being far from
friends and family, how my nearest U-Bahn station is closed for repairs for
over a year, the -12°C we had one weekend.”
 |
| And finally, a very youthful-looking me against the Berlin Wall in 2006. |
Katy
sympathises. “A few
things can be tough here - there's a fair amount of bureaucracy to deal with
and the winters are long, dark and very cold. But the cultural advantages more
than make up for the weather, along with the sense of community and support
I've always felt from other translators. I certainly benefit from being close
to the writers I translate. I think there's now so much cultural input
available here in English, too, that we almost have to be careful not to end up
in a language ghetto.”
Nevertheless, Sarah loves being
surrounded by history and never running out of things she still has on her
to-do list. “I love the creative community of friends I have found here and
being able to take advantage of the freelancer’s flexibility. I love riding my
bike through the city and being able to call this place home.”
Next
week, Translators in the City will be in London, featuring Natalie Pearlman (@Nat_translator),
Sílvia Slocombe (@LanguageOwl), Ana Sánchez (@astratrans)
and Valeria Aliperta (@rainylondon).
