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Dutch to English: Article from Onze Taal (Dutch language-related journal, http://onzetaal.nl/uploads/editor/0801hok.pdf) General field: Other Detailed field: Journalism
Source text - Dutch Moet de naam van streekproducten beschermd worden?
Moet fetakaas uit Griekenland komen? Volgens de Grieken wel, maar de Denen vinden hun feta ook feta. Sinds het Europese Hof de Grieken gelijk gegeven heeft, breidt de stroom van wettelijk beschermde streekproducten zich gestaag uit. Onlangs is besloten dat jenever alleen jenever mag heten als die uit de Lage Landen komt. Is die bescherming verstandig?
Voorstander
Het is heel nuttig dat de EU regionale producten de bescherming geeft die zij verdienen. Dat is in het belang van de consument, die bij feta denkt aan Griekenland en bij de Opperdoezer Rondeaardappels aan het Noord-Hollandse Opperdoes. Hij neemt aan dat het product daar echt vandaan komt, en niet uit China. Daarnaast fungeert de beschermde naam als kwaliteitsgarantie. De streekproducten waar het hier om gaat, zijn natuurlijk niet voor niets bekend geraakt tot ver buiten de grenzen van de streek. Deze producten zijn bereid volgens beproefde ambachtelijke werkwijzen uit ingrediënten van de streek zelf. Zo komt de bijzondere smaak van de Opperdoezer Ronde direct voort uit de bijzondere bodemgesteldheid aldaar. De naamsbescherming is ook in het belang van de producent. Die heeft er recht op dat zijn met zo veel moeite ontwikkelde product niet weggeconcurreerd kan worden door een gelijknamig, inferieur massaproduct.
Tegenstander
De manier waarop de EU de namen van streekproducten beschermt, berust op een statisch, dus verkeerd idee over taal. De plaatsaanduiding in de productnaam mag dan oorspronkelijk naar de plaats van herkomst verwezen hebben, maar geleidelijk is die betekenis gaan slaan op de wijze van bereiding. Dat beseft iedereen die liever niet heeft dat zijn wienerschnitzel in Wenen gebakken is. De EU-aanpak probeert dit heel gewone type taalverandering tegen te houden, iets wat tot mislukken gedoemd is.
De regionale productnamen zijn soms zelfs misleidend, want vaak komt het product ook nu niet uit de streek. Zo wordt een fors deel van de beroemde parmaham gemaakt van Nederlandse varkens, die eerst ons Nederlandse milieu belasten, dan naar een Nederlandse slachterij in de buurt van Parma gaan om daar geslacht en bereid te worden. Dit Parmezaanse voorbeeld maakt ook duidelijk dat het beleid producenten discrimineert. Wie zegt dat de bereidingswijze van varkens in Parma beter is dan ergens anders? Waarom zou een talentvolle slager uit Den Dolder naar Parma moeten emigreren om zijn superieure parmahammen te kunnen slijten? Voor de beschermde producenten is de maatregel op korte termijn winstgevend, maar op de lange duur leidt hij tot verstarring, omdat er geen enkele impuls is om het product te verbeteren. Ten slotte valt te betwijfelen of de bescherming effectief is. Laatst dronk ik een prima niet-Hongaarse tokay die Okay heette.
Translation - English Should the names of regional products be protected?
Should feta cheese come from Greece? The Greeks think so, but the Danes consider their feta to be feta too. Since the European Court decided in favour of the Greeks, the stream of legally protected regional products has steadily increased. It was recently decided that jenever could only be called jenever if it came from the Low Countries. Does this protection make sense?
For
It is good that the EU gives regional products the protection they deserve. This is in the interests of the consumer, who thinks of Greece when buying feta and of Opperdoes in North Holland when buying Opperdoezer Ronde potatoes. He assumes that the product really comes from the region, and not from China. The protected name additionally functions as a guarantee of quality. After all, there’s a reason why these regional products have become well known far beyond their regional borders. These products are prepared with local ingredients, according to proven artisanal methods. The special taste of the Opperdoezer Ronde potato is a direct result of the special soil characteristics in Opperdoes. The protection of the name is also in the interests of the producer. He has the right to prevent the product he has put so much effort into developing from being pushed out of the market by inferior mass produced goods of the same name.
Against
The way the EU protects the names of regional products is based on a static, and therefore mistaken, concept of language. The place designation in the product name might originally refer to the place of origin, but it has gradually taken on the meaning of the preparation method. Anyone who would rather his Wiener Schnitzel was not fried in Vienna understands that. The EU attitude is to try to resist this very ordinary type of language change, an activity which is doomed to failure.
The regional product names are sometimes themselves misleading, as many products no longer come from their original regions. For instance a good proportion of world renowned Parma ham is made from Dutch pigs, which start out as an encumbrance to our environment here in the Netherlands, and then go to a Dutch abattoir near Parma to be slaughtered and prepared there. This Parmesan example also illustrates how the policy discriminates against producers. Who says that the preparation method of pigs in Parma is better than elsewhere? Why should a talented butcher from Den Dolder have to emigrate to Parma to sell his superior Parma hams? For the protected products the measure is lucrative in the short term, but in the long term it leads to stagnation, because there is no incentive to improve the product. In the end it is doubtful whether the protection is effective. Recently I drank an excellent non-Hungarian Tokay which was called Okay.
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Translation education
Other - Literary translation summer school, BCLT 2012, Nederlands Letterenfonds 2005
Experience
Years of experience: 16. Registered at ProZ.com: Jul 2011.
I am a native speaker of British English, living in Cambridge, UK. I have been translating from Dutch to English since 2007, and more recently started offering translations from German. I have experience in a variety of translation and editorial work but specialise in literary and academic translation. I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, the Society of Authors and the Proz.com Certified PRO Network.
Past assignments
- translation of the graphic novel Rembrandt, published by SelfMadeHero, 2013
- translations of articles and blogs for cultural magazine The Low Countries, published by Ons Erfdeel
- excerpts for book fairs for Dutch and Belgian publishers, literary organisations and authors
- translations of columns for the Chronicles project at the Crossing Border Festival 2012 and 2008
- translations of academic books
- editing and proofreading of academic papers
- transcreation of marketing documents
Education
I learnt Dutch and German at university, gaining the Cambridge University diplomas in both languages alongside my studies in Classics and linguistics. I spent half a year living and working in Germany, and four years living in the Netherlands, studying for my PhD in Linguistics at Utrecht University. During this time I attended literary translation courses and seminars organised by the Dutch Foundation for Literature, who added me to their list of approved translators in 2007.
Expertise