WHAT IS ADVENTURE TRANSALTION
A short story of how Aka Denise came to be
It was August 2010, and I was in Rome with my family in a huge conference room with hundreds of kids my age. I was 16, and I was about to check a series of experiences off my bucket list in one go:
Get on a plane
Go to the United States
Live abroad
Learn a new language and culture
Walk around a high school hall, just like in the movies
That was the beginning of the biggest adventure of my life. I participated in one of the student programs promoted by AFS, the not-for-profit organization that operates from 1915 to encourage intercultural exchanges. For the first time in my life, I crossed the ocean and moved to Orono, Maine for a whole year. I was living with a host family and attending school just like any other kid.
There are not enough words to describe how much that short period of time has deeply changed me. First of all, it made me discover how much I love languages, and it was crucial to help me understand how much cultures influence the way we think. Secondly, that is where I discovered trail running. When I first arrived, my host mom took me to school to sign up for classes and afternoon activities. Out of the many sport choices, I went for trail running without really knowing what to expect, partly because I could not understand half of the things people were telling me. Just like that, from being a relatively lazy girl whose maximum effort was to go hiking every once in a while, I started to train every afternoon and racing during weekends. It was a shock.
Needless to say, that is where I actually learned English. I thought my proficiency was not too bad, but when I moved to Orono I just couldn’t get a word. My friends still make fun of my “early days” pronunciation and all the mistakes I used to make. What seemed like a brutal dive into the unknown proved to be the most efficient way to get up on my feet and work hard to improve.
When I went back to Italy, I enrolled in the University of Bologna, at the faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures. I needed to pursue my thirst for different languages and to travel around the world. During my studies, I had the chance to once again spend a whole year abroad as an Erasmus student, this time in Budapest, Hungary. That year was a spectacular journey, both because I could meet people from every corner of the world and because I took every opportunity to travel and see different countries around Europe.
Even though I loved what I was studying, I still didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to do. I was considering the option of becoming an Italian teacher for foreign students, mostly because back then I would see myself spending the rest of my life living somewhere abroad. I also considered becoming a cultural mediator, but somehow both these ideas didn’t quite click.
After graduating from University, I decided to move to London with my boyfriend. I was still not sure about my future, so I figured I could start to do something completely different to clear my head and take a break.
At different times, we both ended up working as sales assistants in two outdoor stores. And I am so glad we did.
I grew up in Trentino, the Italian region known for its spectacular mountains and valleys. I have wonderful childhood memories of hiking with my friends and family, and the mountains have always been a big part of who I am. But somehow I started to give them for granted and didn’t realize how important they were for me.
It is funny how sometimes you have to go far away from your home to really appreciate it. Working in the outdoor industry opened my eyes, I learned about how much passion there is in the design and construction of technical gear and garments, I saw the enthusiasm of my coworkers and the love for adventure. It reminded me of who I am, and where I come from.
I decided to start studying translation and to apply the knowledge I acquired in London to specialize in the outdoor field, and there was nowhere else in the world where I could do it but back to my hometown in Trentino.
But why stop there? I feel like languages and communication are so interesting. I could spend hours thinking and talking about why we say things in a certain way, what is the story behind idioms or expressions, how the meaning of a sentence can change if spoken in a different context or with a different tone… There is just so much to learn! But generally speaking, this sense of discovery and curiosity is not associated with my job. I would like to take a different approach towards translation: I want to take you through the wonders of English and Italian and show why machine translators just can’t do the job right. Or at least, not always. I’d like to share my passion for languages and maybe inspire others to do the same. I’d like people to stop and think about what they say and where that certain word comes from. That is why I came up with the idea of adventure translation.
Funnily enough, that is the actual definition of “adventure” on the Oxford Dictionary of English.
A coincidence?
So what is adventure translation?
It’s not just about the fact that I work in the outdoor field. It’s more about being inspired by the outdoor field and apply its attitude in a completely different context, the one of languages.
To me, adventure translation means combing what I love the most and enjoy my job just as much as I like running on a mountain trail.
It’s infusing my passion for languages with the same energy I put into hiking a mountain or climbing a via Ferrata.
Adventure translation is what I would like any translation to be like: a journey through different languages and cultures, with the attitude of an explorer.
Find out more about Aka Denise
