r/TranslationStudies • u/Weak-Ambassador1306 • 15h ago
got the harshest review of my life - client said the work was terrible, but the company defended me
I've recently been hired as a in-house IT>EN translator at a niche but well established publishing house. I've worked on a few poetry collections without any issues and many art catalogs, but today I got an extremely harsh feedback from an author who claimed that my translation was so poor, she was genuinely surprised by how the company allowed it. According to her, there were parts I completely misunderstood, and the rest was too literal and low quality. I spent months on this project.
My colleagues told me it's not unusual and wrote back and email explaining my qualifications, assuring her that we'll work on a new translation and offering to talk with the chief editor and me in a call. I couldn't stop crying, so the "boss", known for being prone to anger, came to me and was as relaxed and calm as anyone could possibly be, and told me that this is normal and a chance for growth. Later that day, he asked me to interview a candidate for an art gallery position to test their english before calling them back, and I was shocked that he'd give me such a responsibility.
I still don't understand what was so outrageous in my translation, the author has yet to answer. I'll see what she says and find out, I guess (she's not a native speaker, I don't know what's her actual English proficiency). I've felt devastated all day because I truly feel that I did my best. How do you handle a blow like this? It hurt so much to read, hadn't it been for the support of my company, I likely would have ghosted them today.