| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | Who make better translators, women or men? Thread poster: Balasubramaniam L.
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Ruxi
German to Romanian
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| More aspects to be considered | Nov 14, 2006 |
First of all theories are too general.
I have also read the theory according to which the brain of a woman is different from that of a man, not as size, but as regions used.
I don't understand why people feel offended by the fact that we are not designed to be the same, as we were/are supposed to have a specific role on earth).
Women were supposed to be responsible with home and more human aspects (borning and educating children, a nice home, cloth, aso) and in order to fullfi... See more First of all theories are too general.
I have also read the theory according to which the brain of a woman is different from that of a man, not as size, but as regions used.
I don't understand why people feel offended by the fact that we are not designed to be the same, as we were/are supposed to have a specific role on earth).
Women were supposed to be responsible with home and more human aspects (borning and educating children, a nice home, cloth, aso) and in order to fullfill them they got some more sensibility and "tools".
A man was supposed to be resonsible with harder aspects: protection/defending his goods, teritory and family, hunting, aso.
In time some things were changed though. First of all becuase of the feministic ideas and second because of some other reasons.
It was said that the brain of a woman usually uses more those regions who are responsible with artistical sense and the brain of man uses more the regions responsible with technical sense.
But in time there were a lot of exceptions, according to the very person.
Strange enough the most important writers, musicians, artists and...cooks were and are ...men. A reason could be that women were not allowed to education a very long time. Also for cooks it was explained that being a cook in a public kitchen is very, very hard (high temperatures, stress aso).
Today women want by all means to be equal with men, regarding professions and hobbies and roles are changing.
A lot of women work and even in hard fields like: military, wars, police, marine, fight against fire, extreme sports, box and rugby,politics aso.
Men are more and more supposed to sit home and take care of babies aso.
Coming back to our field:
One aspect is the native talent and passion of every person. There are a lot of artistically inclined men (a little womanised) and a lot of technical and menlike women.
And if (I don't know the statistics in the world) there are more women translators, it is because it is a more easier job for them, as men can do other harder jobs and fight harder for money. Being freelance also is a choice for women with children, who need and like to stay home and take care of them. I wish this profession to be left to women only.
I admit I am for the classical role of men and women.
Finally, one can not generally say who is a better translator, it depends on a lot of factors and on the very person. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | 52% female translators vs. 24% male translators: most definitely significant! | Nov 14, 2006 |
Balasubramaniam wrote:
...
A little while before this, there was a quick poll in this site on the gender of proz members and 52 % of the 1318 responders reported themselves as females....
Csaba Ban wrote:
52% is not a significant deviation from 50%, and the sample is very small...
I'm going to stay out of the political side of the debate for now, but I want to clarify the statistics. The Quickpoll I believe Balasubramaniam is referring to is here:
http://www.proz.com/?sp=polls&sp_mode=past&action=results&poll_id=1474
Yes, the sample is admittedly small and self-selected, but in fact the women outnumber the men by more than 2:1!
Please select the option that best describes you:
Female, translator 52.4%
Male, translator 24.1%
Female transl. & interpreter 12.7%
Male, transl. & interpreter 6.1%
This ties in with another poll, which I believe I myself authored:
http://www.proz.com/?sp=polls&sp_mode=past&action=results&poll_id=128
Female 64.0%
Male 36.0%
Even smaller sample there but still striking.
| | | | Heinrich Pesch 
Finland
Local time: 09:28
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
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| Men seem to be better at praising themselves | Nov 14, 2006 |
At least that's what employment executives notice. Women tend to be more modest or realistic when talking about their skills, that's one reason why men get better payed.
So probably if you make a poll about this questions, better translators - men or women, the result will be in favour of men.
But how to compare the quality of translations?
Remember, that in the 1940s and 50s women almost exclusively were using computers. And in the Soviet block mathematics was a domain ... See more At least that's what employment executives notice. Women tend to be more modest or realistic when talking about their skills, that's one reason why men get better payed.
So probably if you make a poll about this questions, better translators - men or women, the result will be in favour of men.
But how to compare the quality of translations?
Remember, that in the 1940s and 50s women almost exclusively were using computers. And in the Soviet block mathematics was a domain of women - "Let the girls count it!". Men dominated trades like driving automobiles, because it was better paid than the work of engineers or physicians.
Regards
Heinrich ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Strange question | Nov 14, 2006 |
Siegfried Armbruster wrote:
IMO this kind of discussion is not helpful. Show me one thing that men can do better than women, or one thing that women can do better than men, and I will show you several examples of the other gender that are extraordinarily good in the same thing.
That's all I want to contribute to this discussion
Siegfried
[Edited at 2006-11-14 07:58]
I agree with Siegfried.
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Irene N
United States
Local time: 01:28
English to Russian
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| Give me a phenomenon, and I'll build you a dozen theories | Nov 14, 2006 |
Men are nothing but walking atavisms - they still grow fur on their stomachs:-):-):-):-)
| | | | mrr2ro
United States
Local time: 01:28
English to Spanish
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| Women -- Much Better!! - Bar None. | Nov 14, 2006 |
I have been surrounded by both male and females in the translation arena and I will stand by the FEMALES / WOMEN.
Not only females have a PROVEN genetic advantage over males when it comes to communicating. They tend to be more organized, more detailed oriented and meet deadlines.
Also, they do not posses the ultra ego that we as males have and prevent us from accepting the fact that we may not know something and god forbids we may ask a question.
Just look... See more I have been surrounded by both male and females in the translation arena and I will stand by the FEMALES / WOMEN.
Not only females have a PROVEN genetic advantage over males when it comes to communicating. They tend to be more organized, more detailed oriented and meet deadlines.
Also, they do not posses the ultra ego that we as males have and prevent us from accepting the fact that we may not know something and god forbids we may ask a question.
Just look ad the boards, HIGH percentage of questions are asked by females and HIGHER percentage of questions are answered by Males.
IMOHO - Simply put, women are better communicators and they are not afraid to ask for help when they think they need it.
Of course, this is a general statement based on my observations and I am sure there are many males out there that will outdo a female; I am just speaking from experience.
Stereotypically speaking -- It may surprise a lot of people to know that this message was written by a Male Latino.
A.P. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | This sounds remarkably like... | Nov 14, 2006 |
... the old "how long is a piece of string?" question. At least that's the way I see it! We all have our special gifts, folks! Men, women [in alphabetical order]...
regards
Lina
[Edited at 2006-11-14 14:23]
| | | | Jeremy Smith
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:28
Member (2003)
French to English
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| Archaic and irrelevent | Nov 14, 2006 |
Mary and John are similarly intelligent and both have a translation degree from a leading university. They each go on to excel in their chosen field of translation. Here endeth the lesson.
The law of averages dictates that similar proportions of both genders will perform their jobs at an equally high level. There will likely be more good female translators than men, because there are simply more women that study languages/humanities and go on to forge careers in this field (I assume... See more Mary and John are similarly intelligent and both have a translation degree from a leading university. They each go on to excel in their chosen field of translation. Here endeth the lesson.
The law of averages dictates that similar proportions of both genders will perform their jobs at an equally high level. There will likely be more good female translators than men, because there are simply more women that study languages/humanities and go on to forge careers in this field (I assume - I'm not basing that assertion on any evidence, other than the fact the men were outnumbered by about 10:1 on my university course).
The only thing I can say with certainty regarding the one-upmanship in the battle of the sexes is that women are significantly better than men at giving birth. ▲ Collapse
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Do we really need to be discussing this topic?????????
Who has cooties boys or girls?
M
| | | | Marc P (X)
Local time: 08:28
German to English
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| transparx
United States
Local time: 02:28
English to Italian
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| I see, Giles... | Nov 14, 2006 |
Giles Watson wrote:
What I meant was that whether you are male, female, same sex-oriented, transgender, or prefer to identify with some other sexual category, is as irrelevant to the customer as whether you are a native speaker or not, however you may care to define that term, provided the final translation is of satisfactory quality.
...well, then I completely agree.
Best,
Nino
| | | | Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 11:58
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
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TOPIC STARTER SITE LOCALIZER | Consider these points too | Nov 14, 2006 |
It is difficult to content that men and women are equal in all respects. There are obviously differences between the two. Does this difference in some way impact upon their work as translators? This is what I wanted to find out with this thread.
At the hormonal level, which so much determines our temperament, men and women are very different. In a cerebral activity like translation, this should have some bearing.
At the physical level the two are very different. But tra... See more It is difficult to content that men and women are equal in all respects. There are obviously differences between the two. Does this difference in some way impact upon their work as translators? This is what I wanted to find out with this thread.
At the hormonal level, which so much determines our temperament, men and women are very different. In a cerebral activity like translation, this should have some bearing.
At the physical level the two are very different. But translation not being a strenuous activity, this shouldn’t influence translation over much. But the capacity to sit at a job for a long time would certainly be an advantage to translators. Now who is better at it, men or women?
Now consider the psychological angle. Many of the people writing in have pointed out that women take up translation on their own volition for it suits them. Men on the other hand, it could be implied, come into translation after having failed in other masculine, prestigious avenues. This would mean that the motivational levels of women and men translators would be vastly different. Shouldn't this affect the quality of the translation of the two?
Social differences and stereotyping is another relevant area. Women have been stereotyped in some roles and society has created spaces for them on the basis of this stereotyping. This is true of men also. How do most societies look upon the profession of translation, as a male domain or a female domain?
Almost every one who has been translating also recognizes that experience is as important to translation as skill with languages. Certainly men and women, due to whatever reasons, don't have exactly the same kind of experiences in all areas.
Then there are the cultural differences. Can the situation in male-dominated, religious societies, and in those where religion has been marginalized to a large extent and feminist movements have succeeded in bringing about a semblance of equality among the sexes be exactly the same? ▲ Collapse
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| Men, definitely | Nov 14, 2006 |
A woman's place is in the kitchen, surely?
| | | | Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 11:58
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER SITE LOCALIZER | Kitchen queens or word smiths (what is the feminine form of this word?)? | Nov 14, 2006 |
Barnaby Capel-Dunn wrote:
A woman's place is in the kitchen, surely?
That may or may not be.
But the reality in a vast majority of cultures and societies around the world is that women don’t enjoy the same privileges and avenues as men. Even then women in most societies dominate the translation profession. If they manage to do this even against all the odds heaped on them, then this in itself is conclusive proof that they have some innate advantage with this profession.
| | | | Irene N
United States
Local time: 01:28
English to Russian
+ ...
Balasubramaniam wrote:
This is what I wanted to find out with this thread.
Gentlemen, please help the woman to understand what any of the points to consider have to do with translation skills?
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