Laura Holder | 16.12.2024

We want to make our app more inclusive. A major aspect of this is expanding the range of languages. One of people we are working with is Salome Calle. She works as a socio-pedagogical family support worker in an intercultural context. Before that, she worked for BIG Coordination in the area of "Domestic violence in the context of seeking refuge". Salome has translated the app content into Spanish for us. She answered a few of our questions about her work.

Are there any challenges in translation in the context of intimate partner violence?

I often think about who will read these texts and how they will be read and interpreted. Formulating and translating texts is a big responsibility. I am relieved that helpful texts on combating intimate partner violence are read. Nevertheless, I wonder how they will be received. Some legal terms in Germany are very complex, as are the processes involved. Formulating and communicating them clearly is often a challenge. As terms depend heavily on context, I always ask myself whether the texts are understood in the way they are meant.

What specific linguistic differences need to be taken into account?

In Spanish, taking into account the differences between the regional variants in the various Latin American countries plays an important role. A word that is respectful in Colombia can have a completely opposite meaning in El Salvador. This makes it very difficult to translate appropriately and inclusively. There are over 20 Spanish-speaking countries, and I am for example not very familiar with Spanish from Spain in particular.

How can translation be understandable and not retraumatizing/stigmatizing?

The original formulations in German have already been intensively reflected upon and thought through. This definitely forms a good basis for further translations. The bulk of the translations were carried out by an agency with extremely competent translators. We worked closely together to ensure that no terms had a retraumatizing or stigmatizing effect. Gendering was a major challenge: Asterisks? @ ? X ? - it is completely different in every Spanish-speaking country and it also depends on the education, context and length of stay of the person concerned in Germany. The exchange with the other participants was always particularly important.

To what extent does the choice of certain terms influence the perception of violence?

The "wrong" choice of a word can, for example, lead to a situation being trivialized. Not everyone who uses the app is aware that they have been affected by violence. Many just want to take a quick look or make sure that the incident was not violence after all. It is a painful topic and even reading about it can be difficult. It is also often not easy to find the right words in counseling. But in that context, you can correct yourself on the spot and say: "I didn't mean to put it like that, what I mean is ...". In the app, however, the text remains as it was formulated. It's good that more than one proofreader and translator are responsible for this!

Some terms or concepts cannot be translated directly. How do you deal with this?

Legal terms and concepts, certain documents and applications were very difficult to translate. I took over the translation from the agency, but I'm not really happy with some of the terms. They are called differently in every country, work differently or simply don't exist. For people who have lived in Germany for a long time, these terms are hopefully familiar. For new arrivals, however, they often remain incomprehensible. The topic of "digital violence", which is relatively new, was also a challenge, as it was difficult to find suitable words or terms for it in Spanish.

How can translators fulfill their responsibility? Are there training courses?

Yes, there are. I'm not a translator myself, but I worked as a technical editor and helped the translators to fulfill this responsibility. It was a great idea to involve people from the help system to support the translation.

What other aspects of violence-sensitive language in translations are important?

Terms, concepts, ideas etc. that were developed in Germany, Europe or other industrialized nations are not valid worldwide and are not self-evident everywhere. People from many different nationalities live in Germany, and this must be taken into account when translating. Violence-sensitive language must also be culturally sensitive.