Jorge Jardim Gonçalves – O Poder do Silêncio

 Jorge Jardim Gonçalves – O Poder do Silêncio
[Jorge Jardim Gonçalves – The Power of Silence]
by  Luís Osório

This was a complex revision of a translation into English from the Portuguese of the biography of one of Portugal’s most important bankers in recent times. My familiarity with the corporate world and banking and financial terms was essential to the finalisation of this work, some 214,000 words in length.

Because of the extensive nature of collaborative revision provided for this work, I received  acknowledgement as co-translator on the title page. This was somewhat of a surprise: neither the translator nor I knew before publication that this decision had been taken. Perhaps it is a compliment to the collaborative nature of our work after all, although I should record that the translator was definitely the chief motivating force throughout the translation/revision process, and astounding in terms of her ability to produce a high volume of work on a sustained basis. The principal translator of this book was Alexandra Andresen Leitão, who translated translated “Rebeldia” by Cristina Carvalho, with collaborative revision by me in February 2018.

Work completed in November 2015.
Private publication and distribution in July 2016.

Only the translator and I know which chapters required heavy revision, and which chapters the translator rendered brilliantly in a way that I could not have done. The beauty of collaborative revision is that when I read the final text, it was impossible for me to pinpoint where exactly my revisions began and ended. In other words, a uniformity of style is achieved when two translators become equally immersed in a text, and engage in fruitful discussions, back and forth.

Both the translator and I met with the author and one of his managers after all but the photo captions were complete. It was a cordial meeting, and useful as a means to verify that the translator and I had indeed managed to capture the tone of the work as a whole. I felt compelled to ask about the construction method of a bridge relating to a period of his life that Eng. Jorge Jardim Gonçalves spent doing national service in Angola (a tiny detail, in the huge scheme of things). I apologised before asking my question.  Thank goodness the reply confirmed what I had visualised, for if that had not been the case, we would have to have gone back to the drawing board, as it were. It was gratifying, therefore to received a personal note in the copy of the English book I received:

The image from the cover of the English version:

©2018 Allison Wright

All posts under the Portfolio tab form part of Allison Wright’s portfolio, inasmuch as they document her signed translation and editing work done for clients and published either in print or online.