2004年11月4日
中国翻译工作者协会、各位参加中国译协理事会会议的代表们：
欣闻中国译协第五届全国理事会会议在北京举行，我谨向大会表示热烈的祝贺。
尽管我不能到会，但作为学界的一个老兵，想到翻译，我感慨良多。在人类历史发展的长河中，在世界多元文化的交流、融会与碰撞中，在中华民族伟大复兴的进程中，翻译始终都起着不可或缺的先导作用。
对外开放20多年来中国的翻译事业更是取得了世人瞩目的成就，中国的翻译学术研究和翻译学科建设也有了长足的发展。翻译使中国融入世界，也使世界走近中国。学翻译、教翻译、研究翻译、评论翻译、从事翻译职业工作已经成为与对外开放同步前行的社会文化热点之一。中国译协作为全国性的翻译学术团体，在其中发挥了不可替代的组织协调作用，中国翻译工作者的努力和成果有目共睹。
新世纪是你们的世纪，在面临众多机遇的同时也许会碰到更严峻的挑战。衷心希望大家能够继往开来，与时俱进，为促进中外交流、为中国的兴旺、为人类的发展多做贡献。
祝大会取得圆满成功!
 
Globalization and Diversity, What Do They Mean for Translators?
---Speech at the Opening Ceremony of the Fifth National Council Meeting of Translators Association of China
November 4, 2004
First, I want to thank you, in my own name and in the name of the FIT Executive Committee, for your kind invitation. We come from different countries. Please let me introduce my colleagues of the executive committee of FIT: Ms. Bente Christensen from Norway, Vice President of FIT; Mr. Peter Krawutschke from the U.S., Treasure of FIT; Ms. Miriam Lee from Ireland, Secretary-General of FIT; Ms. Sheryl Hinkkanen from Finland, hostess of the next FIT World Congress in 2005. I am also happy to introduce Mr. Ari Penttilä, President of the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters. He will also wait for you at Tampere, Finland next year. We are all thrilled to be here, in a part of the world we do not visit very often.
Our profession is growing. It is growing everywhere. The demand for our services is growing in volume because of globalization, and it is also growing in the number of languages translated because of emerging economies like yours, in China. For instance, Chinese is more and more in demand in the West Coast of Canada and a brand new TV Channel aimed at the Chinese community in France just hired 14 translators from Chinese to French. I really think this is a sign of vigor and health for the profession and, considering what has been done so far in China, it is probably not the last time we see each other.
Globalization is not coming. It is upon us and we see it in the news everyday. It has meant, for our profession, the creation of international providers of translation services and of a new discipline called localization. These big translation companies have also created or are using new tools which enhance the translator’s performance, sometimes for the good, sometimes not. Sometimes, the translator is torn between conflicting requirements and is not given the right conditions to do a proper professional work. That is where professional associations and FIT have a role to play. They have to set guidelines for their members and their members’ clients so that translation is carried out professionally in order to avoid errors that can sometimes be fatal. We do not say it often enough, but a mistake in, say, assembly instructions of an electric device, can be very damaging, as can be an error in the numbers of a very important financial report. Professional translation is crucial as it is the warranty of good international communications, hence efficient trade and exchanges between countries and economies. It is our role, as associations, to make the public aware of the necessity of professional translation and to fight the belief that anyone who is bilingual can be a translator. If it were so easy, we would not have created university degrees, would we?
We have to do it, and we have to do it together. That is the strength of FIT. All together, we have to convey the same message of quality and professionalism, through our associations, through the regional centers and through FIT as an international body.
But globalization does not mean that we have to leave out culture and diversity. UNESCO has issued a Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity which, in the UNESCO General Secretary’s own words “aims both to preserve cultural diversity as a living, and thus renewable treasure that must not be perceived as being unchanging heritage but as a process guaranteeing the survival of humanity”.
To me, diversity means first and foremost people understanding each other and exchanging. And how are they going to understand each other if not through translation and translators?
Translation and translators are therefore going to be increasingly in demand in the years to come. That is why I am talking of a golden age for our profession. Never in history have we been so indispensable to trade, culture, peace, and humanity. However, translators in general are very discreet people and do not know how to market their skills. The nature of our work requires from us to render a message and disappear, so that the final reader does not realize it is a translation. We are so accustomed to disappear that we forget how indispensable we are.
Just imagine one day in the world without translation. The United Nations, the World Trade Organization and all the NGOs, the transnational companies, TV channels, newspapers, etc. would all be mute. We are like the electricity in the wires and the water in the tap. They are so natural to most of us that it is only when they are unavailable that we realize how useful they are.
Keep that in mind and spread the word!
I want to wish you all a very fruitful and successful meeting, and thank again the Translators Association of China for their warm welcome and exquisite hospitality.
 
Betty Cohen
President of the International Federation of Translators （FIT）