Indonesians in Focus: Sofia Mansoor

By Barrie | October 16th, 2007 | No Comments

Money talks, or does it? Yes. But for this cheerful woman, money is apparently not what she likes best when it comes to her job as a translator. Appreciation from readers is what makes Sofia Mansoor most happy. When readers find her translation reads well and acknowledge her hard work, this makes her “feel like she is on top of the world”.

Unfortunately, not many people here appreciate the importance of good translation, according to Sofia, who observed International Translation Day on Sept. 30 with concern.

“The profession must gain recognition (from the government and the public) because they have a crucial role as an inter-lingual bridge of communication,” she said.

The government, Sofia said, recognizes the profession of translator by, for example, including translator on the list of professions in forms for tax, as well as family and identity cards.

Born in Bandung on Oct.12, 1950, Sofia considers readers’ appreciation of her work her biggest achievement, besides her success in co-founding Bahtera, a mailing list for translators, in 1997.

The other two founders are Bashir Basalamah, a Singaporean, and Wiwit Margawiati. The mailing list has over 1,200 members from a number of countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Japan, the U.S., the Netherlands, England and France.

Now and then members express their concern over poor translation by government officials or the media. Such as the horrible English on the Web site of the Jakarta Middle and Higher Education Agency, http://www.dikmentidki.go.id/index-2.php. In Bali, the words “Press Button” are written on the sign at a zebra crossing while the entrance of a recreational area has written on it Masuk/Close.

Bahtera is more than a means of improving the skills of translators. Last month, when Sofia found out that a member had a giant aneurysm that almost robbed him of his sight, she announced the bad news via the mailing list.

In less than two weeks, Bahtera had collected Rp 18.4 million (US$2,000), which was later handed to the patient, along with a 20-page booklet of members’ messages and prayers.

Before working as a translator, Sophia, who graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology’s (ITB) School of Pharmaceutical Science in 1974, taught at the university. A book lover, Sofia became a librarian at the university and later she was an editor at ITB Press (1982-2001).

She translated for the first time in 1980 for the now-defunct Cypres publishing house, which gave her the job of translating a Mills & Boons romance book.

“The fee was Rp 40,000 per book. I could finish translating a book in two weeks (outside office hours). Compare this with the pay of a civil servant at that time, which was Rp 25,000,” said Sofia, who later translated for various publishers including Gramedia, Mizan, Qanita and Kanisius.

In 1981, when she was still working in ITB’s central library, she was selected by ITB Press to study in England for four months to become an editor. At that time the government planned to publish university textbooks under a program funded by the World Bank.

Since then Sofia, who also took a professional publishing course at Stanford University, California, U.S., has had no shortage of publishing, editing and translation jobs.

She later started to translate not only books, but also other materials for clients from various countries. At the age of 50, she retired from ITB Press and in 2001 she started to work from home as a freelance translator.

A translator should master both the source language and the target language. But this is not enough.

“It is also important to acquire knowledge of the subject and sociocultural knowledge,” said Sofia, who is also member of the Association of Indonesian Translators.

The academic background of a translator does not necessarily indicate their skill level. Sofia said one of the worst translation assignments in her memory had been handed in by a university lecturer.

“In the 1990s, ITB Press held a translation contest for students and graduates. The winner was a student,” Sofia said.

Reading a lot also helps expand a translator’s vocabulary.

“I know the words artichoke, brussel sprout and paella from reading,” she said,

Sofia, who likes traveling and watching TV and tennis tournaments, formed her reading habit when she was a child.

There were always books in the house because Sofia’s father was a publisher and her mother a teacher. Her twins — a boy and a girl — also grew up in book-rich household and now do translation work, as does Sofia’s son-in-law.

“My children got into the translation business because they had been helping me out since high school,” Sofia said.

Sofia lives in Bandung but often comes to Jakarta on weekends to visit her two grandchildren, who are very close to her.

“Nothing makes you happier than being surrounded by the people you love and who love you,” she said.

The healthy Sofia is happy with her life, especially as she believes in the adage of “Count your blessings, not your sorrows”.

Yet this does not necessarily mean that Sofia is satisfied with being at home.

“My dream is to visit exotic places. I have been to the Taj Mahal, Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon etc. … but there are many other places to visit such as the pyramids in Egypt, Petra in Jordan and the Great Wall of China.

“It has always been my dream to watch the Grand Slam tennis finals,” Sofia said.

T. Sima Gunawan