{"id":453,"date":"2017-01-03T09:15:26","date_gmt":"2017-01-03T09:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/?p=453"},"modified":"2017-02-13T14:59:53","modified_gmt":"2017-02-13T14:59:53","slug":"osullivan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/2017\/01\/03\/osullivan\/","title":{"rendered":"The Role of the Genealogical Translator"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ata-fld-newsletter-logo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My response to the question \u201cwhat do you do?\u201d tends to be a conversation stopper. I\u2019m a professional genealogist and genealogical translator. Most people don\u2019t have an idea of what either field entails. A professional genealogist or a professional translator might have some idea, but they\u2019re usually missing part of the picture.<\/p>\n

I usually begin by clearing up a few of the typical misconceptions. First of all, genealogy (the study of family history) isn\u2019t a hobby for me, although I do trace my own family tree on occasion. In my professional genealogy career, I primarily do two kinds of work: research, in the form of tracing a client\u2019s family tree, and teaching. While my post-secondary education in history gave me some background in genealogy, I\u2019ve had to pursue extensive additional study to meet my clients\u2019 and students\u2019 needs. I current hold a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University\u2019s Center for Professional Education and expect to complete a Certificate in Canadian Records from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies (Toronto, Canada) this Spring.\u00a0 I\u2019ve also completed a number of non-certificate granting courses, including the Daughters of the American Revolution Genealogical Education Program. Genealogy is a tremendous amount of fun, but my business also represents a great deal of study and knowledge. Second, translation isn\u2019t a hobby for me either! As the professional genealogy field is still developing its \u201crules\u201d and \u201cstructure,\u201d it is fairly easy for someone to call themselves a genealogist or a genealogical translator. This, unfortunately, has led to some people claiming to be professional translators who have had nothing beyond a high school study of the language. Thankfully, such individuals are rare \u2013 but they have impacted the reputation of the genealogical translator. Most, like me, have a mixture of exposure through daily life and formal education. I hold a BA in French Literature and have completed K-12 World Language teacher training.<\/p>\n

If my listener has accepted my professionalism, their next question is often about genealogical translation and how it differs from typical translation. At first glance, genealogical translation seems simple. In most cases, all you\u2019re doing is translating civil registration (what Americans call vital records) from French to English. Most employ standard sentence structure, so a translator is not faced with the literary complexity of a novel. But that understanding has missed a few important factors.<\/p>\n

The first of these factors is the handwriting. Can you read the document below? This is actually on the easier side, as most of the document was printed. Whether you\u2019re aware of it or not, handwriting and spelling have shifted dramatically over the centuries. An \u201cff\u201d recorded in an older document is now read as \u201cs.\u201d A circonflexe in French word indicates the word originally contained an s \u2014 \u00eele was once isle. In fact, there\u2019s a field dedicated to the study of the changes in writing, called paleography. To understand these changes, a genealogical translator either has to have read a number of historical documents or had formal training. Having both, as I have, is more typical.<\/p>\n

\"gean\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For those of you who were struggling, a transcription follows:<\/p>\n

\u201cLuxembourg, Civil Registration, 1662-1941,\u201d images, FamilySearch <\/em>(https:\/\/www.familysearch.org<\/a>: accessed 5 February 2015), birth entry for Anne Marie Reuter, image 562; citing Niederanven, \u201cNaissances 1796-1829.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Second entry on left side of the page. The entry is in two columns; the first is to the left of the body of the entry. Words in bold are preprinted]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No. 11<\/td>\n

L\u2019 AN <\/strong>[L is oversized] mil huit cent vingt-six, le <\/strong>Dix-Sept du mois <\/strong>de F\u00e9vrier<\/p>\n

\u00e0 <\/strong>onze heures d<\/strong>u matin par-devant nous <\/strong>Jacques Funck, Bourgmestre<\/p>\n

officier de l\u2019\u00e9tat civil de la commune d<\/strong>e Niederanven, canton d<\/strong>e Betzdorff,<\/p>\n

Grand-Duch\u00e9 de Luxembourg, est comparu <\/strong>Jean Reuter<\/p>\n

\u00e2g\u00e9 de <\/strong>trente ans, <\/strong>Manouvrier<\/p>\n

domicili\u00e9 en cette commune, L<\/strong>equel\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 nous a <\/strong>pr\u00e9sent\u00e9 un<\/p>\n

Enfant du sexe f\u00e9minin__, dont son \u00e9pouse Catherine Danckhoff,<\/p>\n

est accouch\u00e9e Aujourd\u2019hui \u00e0 dix heures du matin \u00e0 Senningen,<\/p>\n

et auquel <\/strong>il a d\u00e9clar\u00e9 vouloir donner le pr\u00e9nom de <\/strong>Anne Marie<\/p>\n

Lesdites d\u00e9claration et pr\u00e9sentation faites en pr\u00e9sence d<\/strong>e Mathais<\/p>\n

Schmit \u00e2g\u00e9 de <\/strong>vingt huit ans, <\/strong>Clerc de Notaire<\/p>\n

et de <\/strong>Etienne No\u00ffs \u00e2g\u00e9 de <\/strong>trente quatre ans, <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Huilier \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0domicili\u00e9s en cette commune, et <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>ont les t\u00e9moins ______ sign\u00e9 avec nous le pr\u00e9sent<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 acte de naissance, apr\u00e8s qu\u2019il leur en a \u00e9t\u00e9 fait lecture. <\/strong>Le comparant a<\/p>\n

d\u00e9clar\u00e9 ne pas savoir signer de ce enquis.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0?] No\u00ffs<\/p>\n

Schmit [appears to be signature]<\/p>\n

Funck [appears to be signature]<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

After the handwriting, the next factor to consider is the language. Words are added and dropped from a language as new things are developed and older things disappear. Did \u201cemail\u201d exist even thirty years ago? The above document is largely written in language a modern French speaker would recognize, but there is one exception: \u201chuilier.\u201d Most would be able to translate the word as \u201coiler\u201d or \u201coil maker,\u201d but do you know what it entails? Georgette Roussel indicates in the \u201cVieux M\u00e9tiers\u201c section of the blog Familles de nos villages <\/em>(https:\/\/famillesdenosvillages.chez-alice.fr\/les_vieux_metiers_026.htm<\/a>) that the huilier was responsible for taking the harvest to the mill and returning the oil to the village. Today, the person who controls the mill would have the title. A genealogical translator is responsible for recognizing and communicating the difference if it at all impacts the nature of the document.<\/p>\n

Third, one must consider the document\u2019s structure. While typical translation allows some fluidity in wording so that the document \u201creads naturally\u201d in the target language, genealogical translation tends to be much more rigid in keeping the original structure. Why? Because the original structure can tell us something about the circumstances under which a document was created and offer details about your ancestor\u2019s life. The format of the above cited document, a civil registration from Luxembourg, was regulated by law. A failure to use the word \u201c\u00e9pouse\u201d can indicate that the couple was not married and may require additional research into their background.<\/p>\n

In most circumstances, the genealogical translator would produce the following translation and stop, as their clients are controlling the direction of future research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No. 11<\/td>\n

The year one thousand eight hundred twenty-six, the seventeenth of the month of \u00a0\u00a0February<\/p>\n

at eleven in the morning before us Jacques Funck, Burgomaster<\/p>\n

officer of the civil state of the commune of Niederanven, canton of Betzdorff,<\/p>\n

Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, appeared Jean Reuter<\/p>\n

aged thirty years, laborer<\/p>\n

domiciled in this commune, who presented to us a<\/p>\n

Child of the feminine sex, to whom his spouse Catherine Danckhoff,<\/p>\n

gave birth Today at ten in the morning at Senningen,<\/p>\n

and to which he declared to want to give the first name of Anne Marie<\/p>\n

The said declaration and presentation made in presence of Mathais<\/p>\n

Schmit aged twenty-eight years, Notary\u2019s Clerk<\/p>\n

and of Etienne No\u00ffs aged thirty four years,<\/p>\n

oil manufacturer domiciled in this commune, and<\/p>\n

the witnesses signed with us the present<\/p>\n

certificate of birth, after he had been read it. The appearing<\/p>\n

declared to not know how to sign this inquiry.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0?] No\u00ffs<\/p>\n

Schmit [appears to be signature]<\/p>\n

Funck [appears to be signature]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Schmit [appears to be signature]<\/p>\n

Funck [appears to be signature]<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Yet, in other cases, in which they are acting as genealogical translator and genealogist, they would use the information contained within the document to pursue further research. In this case, we know Anne Marie Reuter\u2019s parents were Catherine Danckhoff and Jean Reuter, aged 30, and that they were married. Finding their marriage certificate is a logical next step.<\/p>\n

The role of the genealogical translator is often considered to be \u00a0either confusing or deceptively simple. The reality is that my occupation is neither. It simply uses different set of rules than typical translation, requiring a greater awareness first, of the history behind the creation of the document and second, of the nuances of the document that must be conveyed in the target language. For a history lover fluent in a second language, genealogical translation can be a perfect fit.<\/p>\n

Bryna O\u2019Sullivan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bryna O\u2019Sullivan is a Connecticut based French to English genealogical translator and professional genealogist.<\/em><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My response to the question \u201cwhat do you do?\u201d tends to be a conversation stopper. I\u2019m a professional genealogist and genealogical translator. Most people don\u2019t have an idea of what either field entails. A professional genealogist or a professional translator might have some idea, but they\u2019re usually missing part of the picture. I usually begin … Continue reading The Role of the Genealogical Translator<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":488,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453\/revisions\/488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/FLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}