I also just caught up with Corinne McKay’s excellent list of theories about direct clients. I actually wouldn’t call them theories, as the piece is a series of observations learned over time. The point that struck me and has also provoked the most discussion is “Many direct clients will find you, rather than the other way around.” This has caused me to rethink what I am doing and to make sure that I am putting my energy into the right areas.

Feskekôrka (the "fish church") in Gothenburg

The Swedish business newspaper Dagens Industri reports that the Swedish city of Gothenburg has given up its attempt to go by its Swedish name (Göteborg) internationally, and has returned to using the name Gothenburg in English.

The English name is nothing new: according to the city’s web site, the official name Gothenburg dates from at least 1621, when it was specified on the city’s charter. Many European cities have names in languages not their own, also known as exonyms (think Copenhagen or Vienna), but Gothenburg is reportedly the only Swedish city to have one.

Why switch back? Apparently the city elders finally realized that English speakers have trouble with the name Göteborg. I could have told them that: my grandfather came from Gothenburg, and I have a “Göteborg” sticker with the city seal on the dashboard of my car. I’ve listened to many perplexed passengers tackle the name, and can report that it’s a world of trouble down to the last letter. (Try explaining the pronunciation of the final -rg in Björn Borg or Göteborg to an English speaker some time.)

As a translator I vastly prefer to use the familiar (indeed, ancient) English moniker in my translations, and I have in fact had this discussion with at least one agency which wanted to conform to the city’s policy. So I am glad that they have returned to using Gothenburg on an official basis.

The purpose of the Nordic Division blog is to serve as a means of communication among its members, provide information and service to its members in specific fields of interest related to translation and/or interpretation into or from the languages and dialects spoken in the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden (including, but not necessarily limited to Danish, Estonian, Faeroese, Finnish, Greenlandic, Icelandic, Norwegian, Sami, and Swedish), to further cooperation and information exchanges among members, and promote the policies and objectives of the American Translators Association.

There are already several useful posts, including updates on the division agenda at the 2009 Annual Conference in October.

Thank you Division volunteers for making this blog possible.

The book is scheduled to be released in English on September 15, and the US publisher is apparently reluctant to release the manuscript before then due to fears that it could turn up on file-sharing sites. So, the Swedish publisher is enlisting a team in order to get the book onto Swedish store shelves by October 21.

Perhaps this extreme measure was necessary from a business standpoint given the unusual circumstances, but I wonder if other publishers around the world are following suit? And one can only hope that this translation process does not become the “new normal” for literature.

Imagine being challenged to turn tired literal translations into sparkling prose, or to transform a choppy text into a piece that flows. Imagine sharing fascinating conversations with other translators and hearing terrific tips for achieving and maintaining the level of quality that top clients are looking for.

While we spent a lot of time on business and government prose (which can in fact sparkle — who knew?), we also got to learn more about the challenges of literary translation. I spent a wonderful evening hearing Ros Schwartz share her experiences translating mysteries and other types of literature.

I made some new friends and came back with lots of new ideas, an enormous bagful of translation books from InTrans Book Service, and a firm resolve to be the best writer and translator I can be.