Translations in Greece
Hi! I am Margie Doyle Papadopoulou from Greece (originally from the United States). I assist Vivi Katou, the RC Translation Coordinator for Greek. My job is to see1 that the translations faithfully represent the original English while she makes sure that we stay true to the Greek language. (We only work in Greek and English.) All Greek translations pass through our hands and get our best attention.
I appreciate that Truus2 has encouraged us translators to write. She has also told me that anything I write will be important and doesn’t have to be exciting. So here is a brief report on translations in Greece.
Vivi and I have the main responsibility to see that translations are done and done well. Because we are both involved in life and find it hard to give a lot of time to this, the work goes slowly unless there is a deadline. Then we live up to our commitment and pressure ourselves to get things done on time.
We started translating Patty Wipfler’s pamphlets3 over two decades ago, and they are almost finished. This is a thrill. Patty’s fifth pamphlet is at the printer, and the last is almost completely corrected. When we first started it felt like an impossible task. At the time, our best translators had decided to leave RC, and we were feeling inadequate. However, our perseverance has won!
It will still take a while to get the last pamphlet out, but it will get done. Then we need to revise both the Fundamentals Manual and the Postulates, which are both out of date. We may also do a group translation of the new Guidelines.4
I thank Truus and all of you other translators for the inspiration and encouragement we get from knowing that we are not alone, that you are there and doing your best as well.
Margie Doyle Papadopoulou
Athens, Greece
Reprinted from the e-mail discussion
list for translators of RC literature
1 “See” means assure.
2 Truus Jansen, the Rational Island Publishers Translation Coordinator
3 Patty Wipfler, a former International Liberation Reference Person for Parents, has written a number of non-RC pamphlets that communicate RC theory and practice as related to parenting. (These have been compiled into a larger RC pamphlet entitled Listening Effectively to Children.)
4 The Guidelines for the Re-evaluation Counseling Communities, the policies for the RC Communities