Why Food Translation?

Translating Food Media brings new voices and perspectives to the table. I believe that if we want to better understand the "other" and open up the dialogue, we need to start by learning more about each other, and sometimes this might just begin with the thing that is most common and intimate to all: Food. Being exposed to different foodways through storytelling in its various formats is a great way to immerse ourselves in a new culture without feeling threatened by it because, most likely, in those food stories we'll discover that we have more things in common than we thought. The two quotes below describe these feelings.

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"If I’ve learned anything about dining in immigrant-run restaurants, it’s that there is power in breaking bread together. You humble yourself in the presence of dishes and traditions you don’t understand. You trust that those foreign to you will feed you, take care of you, maybe even pamper you. Before you know it, the walls between us start to crumble, if just a little, or just for a little while."

Source: The humble power of immigrant restaurants: 'You can't hate someone if you love their food' (by Tim Carman, The Washington Post, May 18, 2017)

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"I’ve wondered why translation hasn’t been a component of its media — not even 3 percent of it. It’s obviously a matter of resources, but it is first and foremost a matter of believing that what is produced in the United States doesn’t need to be accessible around the world and that what is being produced around the world in languages other than English isn’t worth the effort."

"If we’re going to spend so much time talking about how food unites the world, wouldn’t it be sensible to make translation a part of that exchange..."

Source: Why Aren't We Translating Food Media (by Alicia Kennedy, Heated, June 29, 2020)

What is published in Eating With My Five Senses?

The videos, audios, and texts featured in this site with transcripts, captions & subtitles, and translations are those I've enjoyed because they introduced me to new foodways, dishes, ingredients, and stories from people and places around the world. 

They serve two purposes:

• I believe in the power of information, but to serve its goal of informing, entertaining, generating questions, and teaching us about new people and cultures, Food Media needs to be Translated and be Accessible to different audiences, such as the ones who don't speak the original language, the deaf and hard-of-hearing, and the blind and visually impaired.

Here's where I want to contribute whenever possible. I know not all food media get translated or made accessible to everyone due to financial constraints and bottom-lines. For many years, I volunteered my time to caption and translate TED Talks, TEDx, and TED-Ed videos because I was happy to know that if at least one person has been able to access this content thanks to the captions and subtitles, my work has fulfilled its purpose. When I shifted my focus to Food Media, I felt that I could do the same. That's what I've been doing with the public videos published here with captions, subtitles, transcripts, and translations (that I originally started as a blog before moving here.)

I use the Amara Platform to create the transcripts, captions, and subtitles. These captions and subtitles DO NOT affect the integrity of the original videos. Everything published here is volunteer, self-funded work. In full disclosure, my other job, besides translating, is being Amara/PCF Executive Director and CEO.

• Second, if you came looking for professional transcription, captions & subtitles, and translation services for your Food Media, you can check out the projects I've been working with for the past couple of years. I can't usually publish commissioned work to protect the privacy of my clients. However, if it's a paid project that I'm authorized to publish here, I'll indicate it in the article.

Why Food Writing?

In 2023, I started exploring Food Writing as an exercise to help me connect and comprehend better the thought and creative process of writers. My initial goals were to learn more about how writers develop a voice and style, and understand what they want to communicate in a piece of writing (that can be a magazine article, a documentary script, or even the story of a dish in a menu) by knowing how to read them between lines and trying to be in their shoes. Surprisingly, writing turned out to be quite a meditative and self-reflective journey that has taken me to explore a new path where I'm learning to document my own food experiences, stories, and culinary quests. I'll continue to publish my writings in Spanish and English on this website and, whenever possible, I'll be translating them too.

How can I work with you?

Having lived in multilingual and multicultural environments my whole life, I'm sensitive to the cultural nuances and the so-called "untranslatable words" that could create misunderstanding or the sense that something has been "lost in translation." 

If you have an English or Spanish project that you want to make accessible to Spanish and English-speaking audiences, let's talk. I will be working directly with you to learn more about your translation and localization goals and how I can help you make your film, video, podcast, book, menu, website (and many more!) accessible to new listeners, viewers, readers, and clients.

Email me at: eatingwithmyfivesenses@gmail.com or jennyylamc@gmail.com