Poll: Would you consider yourself a cultural expert in the languages in which you work? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Would you consider yourself a cultural expert in the languages in which you work?".
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I live within my culture, but I am not a cultural expert. I consider myself simply a translator…
| | | | Mario Chávez
United States
Local time: 09:34
English to Spanish
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| Not a cultural expert | Mar 6, 2025 |
Let's start by defining what a cultural expert is. Right! There's no standard definition except those provided by the cultural experts themselves. Very postmodernist and useless.
MC
| | | | Lingua 5B 
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 15:34
English to French
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| Cultural expert | Mar 6, 2025 |
Mario Chávez wrote:
Let's start by defining what a cultural expert is. Right! There's no standard definition except those provided by the cultural experts themselves. Very postmodernist and useless.
MC
An expert would know more details about history, tradition, music, etc. of a certain region than an average citizen.
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A skilled translator certainly needs deep cultural awareness to work with nuances, idioms, and context correctly... but a cultural expert? No, I'm not, I'm a translator first of all.
That would imply mastery on a level that even native speakers might not claim.
I speak for myself. I can be highly knowledgeable, well-researched, and deeply aware of cultural nuances, but that doesn’t mean I know everything... even in my native language!
[Edited at 2025-03-06 15:24 GMT]
| | | | | No, and another (more vigorous) no | Mar 6, 2025 |
There was a girl who got to like me because she had a problem believing I didn't come from ol' UK, but no. I don't understand you, speakers of English. I'm badly out of context when it comes to cultural things that originate in countries where people speak English. When I watch yet another video talking about 100% English-sourced super-hyped slang or memes, I know I'll forget about it tomorrow. I may be in a position to describe something as "very British," "very American," or even "very 19th-ce... See more There was a girl who got to like me because she had a problem believing I didn't come from ol' UK, but no. I don't understand you, speakers of English. I'm badly out of context when it comes to cultural things that originate in countries where people speak English. When I watch yet another video talking about 100% English-sourced super-hyped slang or memes, I know I'll forget about it tomorrow. I may be in a position to describe something as "very British," "very American," or even "very 19th-century French" for that matter, but no. I'm a bad student (and do know my limitations as a translator) ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Please define 'cultural expert' | Mar 6, 2025 |
Such a broad concept. Surely only someone striving for omniscience would see him/herself as a 'cultural expert'.
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