As a new professional who graduated in 2020 and completed a Masters in Translation in 2021, working without the internet is inconceivable to me. From simply googling for dictionaries and specialised corpora, to completing two degrees and a training placement remotely in a pandemic without the need to meet any of my lecturers or coursemates in person, the internet is completely interwoven into my understanding of translation as a profession.
But translation has existed as long as language itself, so I asked my colleagues at MTT if they have any fond memories of translation work pre-internet. Some of the favourites were:
- Typewritten copy arriving by post and making amends with Tippex
- Lots of post and far longer turnaround times, as documents had to be posted to the translator, back to the agency, then to the client before fax machines
- Typewriters and carbon paper to keep a copy of a document on file after sending it to the client
- Only one PC in the entire company
- Dial-up internet squealing when it connected
- Paper dictionaries and trips to Birmingham library for specialist dictionaries
- Tractor feed printers and ripping off the strip with holes at the edge of the paper
- Plugging a chip into the computer to make the text processing programme work and changing it if you wanted a different programme
And, of course, the one I’m most envious of:
- Formatting was non-existent!
Of course, we have all the latest systems and IT these days – so get in touch by email or phone to see how we can help you with your translation needs, without a postman in sight!
