Ethics in translation

How do you use sound bites from an interview with someone whose native language is not English? The standard approach is to have their answers translated and use a voiceover for the bite you decide to include. That sounds simple enough, but it can get complicated, as Rich Beckman points out in NPPA’s News Photographer magazine.

Even in Spanish, the most common foreign language in the States, the same words and expressions can have different meanings depending on which country and region your subject is from. It’s important to have people who know these nuances to help you maintain accuracy.

Point taken. Now let’s say you have an accurate translation in hand. Who’s going to voice it and how?

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