language services
11.04.2018
Alingua
One of the most difficult choices young people face is the choice of their career path. Are language skills all it takes to become a translator? Is perfect command of foreign languages enough to tackle major translating challenges? And what are the qualities of a good translator? Foreign languages aside – get to know your mother tongue! The basic prerequisite is an excellent command of language – and this applies not only to the foreign languages. Contrary to appearances, a translator’s mother tongue needs to be mastered as well, which is not that obvious. That is why it is worth recalling the basics of your mother tongue during your foreign philology studies. In this case, the only way to succeed is through methodical work, which will allow expressing your thoughts freely in foreign languages. Although it might seem that fulfilling these conditions is enough to succeed in translation, there are many more crucial skills for a good translator. Translation – a job for perfectionists who never stop learning A different set of qualities would foster the development of a translator and of an interpreter. The former must be a perfectionist – translators strive to prepare a perfect piece of work thanks to their ability to focus on their task for a long time, make numerous corrections, and look at the text from many different perspectives. Their impressive diligence shows in the lexical unification of the final piece of work. However, also colloquial texts might occur from time to time, and in this case, additional skills and education are essential – or, at least, readiness to continually expand one’s knowledge. A translator should posess a vast general knowledge, as well as a deep knowledge of the language culture, of both source and target text. This is the only way to guarantee that their translation will be fully understood by readers from the other side of the globe. On the other hand, literary translators should stand out with their creativity…