translation

The past few days I have been working on translating the end of project report that ACDIM has to submit to MCC. It has caused me to reflect on various aspects of translation, language and the bridge-building that it requires.

words that don't translate well:
Now that I have been immersed in Spanish for a long time, there are many words and phrases I have come to know and use that do not have direct counterparts in English. There are also a lot of phrases we use in our work that don't always translate well...like "capacitation"--its like capacity-builiding wrapped up in a more succinct verb. This causes many delays in my translation.

papadas:
This is a word that basically means "something that is full of it." Or as I like to use it, describing the hot air that many Hondurans spout off on a regular basis; things that are said that will never actually happen or be followed through on (read: BS). When writing documents, Hondurans want to fill the empty space with lots of these "papadas" or meaningless phrases. Again, not easily translated to English, and it makes the English version about 1/6 as long as the Spanish one :)

a foot in 2 worlds: Through many years of study and hard work, I have come to learn the ins and outs of another language. The grammar and proper use, of course, but also the more subtle shades and tones in slang, joking, and daily interactions. This has given me so much insight into the culture that I live in and helps me get around, be more independent, and enjoy deeper relationships with people.

building bridges: this is what my fellow Honduras dweller Elise and I always talk about. We are privileged to have some experience and enough language skills to get a handle on the context here. It allows us to build bridges between Hondurans and people from North America. Whether it is a report that higher ups will read in MCC (a necessity for the funds for our work), or my family that comes to visit (a necessity for me to share my life with them), it is an honor to help them understand more about life here and communicate between the two cultures.