Translation as a Profession
Translation services has become very popular these days. Translation
from one language to another is one easy way to make people and ideas,
and culture and business, cross the barriers of language and cater to a
larger group of people. All throughout history, it is the creativity of
individual translators to make their texts flow through filters of
culture and language.
What is a Translator?
A translator converts texts or documents from one language into
another. A person who does the translation job is called a translator.
There are four main categories of translation service providers:
Language Schools, Universities, Free Lancers and Translation companies.
A translator belongs to any one of these categories.
Requirements of a Translator
Translators need a variety of skills and traits to be successful in
their art. We assume that a good translator will by definition be
bilingual but not necessarily true in the opposite case. A bilingual
person needs certain other skills and personality traits to be a good
translator. Certain requirements to be a good translator are as follows:
- A translator must be fluent in two languages and cultures.
- A translator must have a good general education besides
prerequisite language skills.
- A translator also has to cultivate a knowledge of the areas he
works in.
- A translator must have good writing skills (above-average ) in
the target language.
- A translator must have excellent computer skills. He must be
willing to learn new technology.
- A translator must have good business skills, which includes
negotiating, pricing, marketing, and time management.
- A translator must get along well with others.
- A translator should have a deep interest to the languages he
works with.
- And most important of all, a translator must know his or her
limitations in all of the areas mentioned above.
Role of a Translator
The role of a translator is not only to translate text from one
language to another, it is also the responsibility of the translator to
make his text move across the barriers behind which cultures have
evolved specific linguistic ways of thinking and seeing, of encoding and
protecting their cultures. In most countries there are professional
associations for translators. These associations are formed to give
advice on contracts and other matters, to embrace different kinds of
translators belonging to different regions etc. Professional translators
are language professionals. While doing translation jobs, a translator
has to assume various roles. It is said that translators take the role
of a competent writer, a diplomat, a linguist and an educated amateur
while doing his job
- A competent writer: Like writers, the translators have to
work long hours alone on a subject which interests few people and in
a language that few people around them know.
- A diplomat: Like diplomats, they have to be sensitive to
the social, cultural differences which exist in their languages.
They must be capable of addressing these issues when translating.
- A linguist: Like linguists, translators have to handle
new developments in their languages, have to get into the
intricacies of their text , they have to be capable of discerning
subtleties and nuances in their languages, researching terminology
and colloquialisms.
- An educated amateur: And like educated amateurs,
translators have to know the basics and some of the details about
the subjects they deal with.