Frederic Grellier has been a professional literary translator for
twenty years, having rendered into French some fifty crime novels,
mainly American and British. I didn't know it when we met at
Frankfurt, but I found out later when I watched his video on
TedxTalks that he lost his sight very gradually, and also late. (I
couldn't help thinking of Borges, whose loss of sight coincided with
his appointment as the head of the Argentine National Library!)
Frederic was trying to translate his fourth book when he realized
that his sight was failing. He says on Ted Talk, "At first, I did
not even want to hear about accessible technology. I considered
changing careers, but after two years, probably because I had come
to terms with losing my sight, I resumed my career as a translator
with great happiness."Certainly, he had some initial difficulty understanding and coming to terms with the technology, and learning to read by hearing rather than sight. He knew Braille but, having learned it late, did not use it professionally. As he likes to say, "I now read with the ears. And, in my opinion, it still is reading: my focus is on style, sentence structure, repetition, fluidity and rhythm."
All this is, of course, strange and fascinating to a sighted reader like me. Well, at least, initially. A computer voice is a computer voice; it would read like a robot, devoid of any sense of rhythm, nuance, emphasis and beauty. But then when you think about it, so is the printed word -- both the traditional book and digital. It is the reader who supplies the rhythm, decides where the stresses are, deciphers the subtle nuances and bathes in the beauty of the prose, which is also the reason why different people have different images in their heads that they can call their own.
"Without the computer revolution, I could not even consider exercising this profession. Only ten years ago, when I wanted audio-books in English -- keeping abreast of literary production is still the least thing for a translator! -- I had to buy used audio-books in the United States, the cost of new ones being prohibitive, and find a good soul who made the trip to impose a suitcase full of tapes, in order to save the cost of shipping. Quite complicated! Today, when an editor tells me he has just published a novelist, I just have to download the audio-book in a few clicks. What progress! And e-books open up new perspectives."
I have been told that when one sense diminishes, others make up for it. Still, it would have been crushing to lose one's sight, and I cannot help but admire Frederic's grit.
He adds, "I do not want either to portray an overly idyllic picture of my situation. In general, I need to spend more hours at my job to get the same result to that of a non visually impaired person, because the ear can never compete with the agility of the eye."
He says he takes more time to read. Well Frederic, it has been years since I stopped speed reading. I read far more slowly now, savouring the words and enjoying the minutiae in the prose. Skimming and scanning is for newspapers and magazines, anyway. And maybe trashy novels.
