Translators in Times of Crisis; The COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on translators in the Netherlands

Abstract

This paper focusses on translators in the Netherlands during the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It aims at investigating the effects this pandemic has had on literary and non-literary translators at the time of writing, be it professional or personal effects, and whether there is a difference of effects between the two groups. This thesis is motivated by current developments in Translation Studies, which has started to turn its attention to translators themselves, rather than the texts they produce. Translators are crucial in international and intercultural communication, and therefore need to be understood beyond the way they work. A survey was distributed to several translation organisations (literary and non-literary translation) in order to gain a representative sample of the population of translators in the Netherlands. The questionnaire consisted of closed questions, based on which more in-depth open questions followed. The results were analysed statistically, using SPSS. The statistical analysis was further explored through the qualitative analysis of the responses to the open questions. The results showed that there were hardly any differences between literary and non-literary translators, for most of the questions. The qualitative analysis showed, however, that there was a shift in topics of translation texts towards COVID-19 related texts for non-literary translators, while literary translators expected to see effects further down the line (since many literary projects had been postponed or cancelled). Non-literary translators also experienced a greater drop in translation jobs than literary translators. Personal effects were mostly more stress and difficulty adapting to a new schedule at home – but also the opposite, when translators said they were more relaxed and got more physical exercise. This study shows that the situation is complex and that some translators need help in situations like this (be it mentally or financially), while others do not. The effects of a pandemic such as the COVID-19 pandemic differ per translator and their personal situations.