So you’ve honed your writing skills, you’ve read libraries full of books in the source language and now you’re ready to start translating. You’ve already done millions of mental translations in your head, so it should be a breeze now, right? Almost. You will of course learn as you translate, but arming yourself with a few tools beforehand will benefit you greatly down the road. This week I’m going to discuss three different types of online translation resources that will serve you well as a professional translator. Babel fish is not one of them.

1. Online Dictionaries- There are a million different online dictionaries and glossaries out there, and they run the gamut from pie-baking to 14th Century Naval terms.  One useful site is wordreference, which features a message board for more in depth discussions, but take a look around the web and see which ones are best for you.

2. Forums- Can’t find what you’re looking for in the dictionary? Ask a fellow translator on a translation forum. English Spanish Translator Org has lots of information and helpful members.

3. Google- Apart from being your gateway to information on any topic you could possibly need to translate, Google is also a good tool for “sounding out phrases” by searching for different word combinations and orders to see what has the most hits. It’s definitely not a science, but when you are trying to figure out if you say “Precursor B acute lymphoblastic lymphoma” or “Acute precursor B lymphoblastic lymphoma,” it can be a big help.

Love languages? Looking for a stimulating career path or some freelance work on the side? Becoming a translator may be for you. Professional translation has been growing rapidly in the past decade, yet remains a mystery to many outside the field. What does it take to get started in the translation industry? What does a professional translator do? For the next few weeks, I’m going to take you through the steps of what you need to know and what you need to do to get started.

Language Knowledge and Education

First off, you need to know one language exceptionally well. You mean two, right? I’ll get to other languages later. I’m talking about your native language, be it English, Spanish or Farsi. This is something that is often overlooked in the translation field.

A translator is first and foremost a writer (of someone else’s material). Hopefully you paid attention in your grammar courses and are a voracious reader. You need to have a grasp of different genres of writing in your native language, know the rules of punctuation and basically have such a strong grasp of this language’s structure and use that you can spot a missing comma from 30 yards away in the dark. This can be learned in school (from elementary upwards) or can be acquired on one’s own through reading, private study and writing.

Now, what about your second, third or ninth language? Ideally, this will be your source language, or the language you are actually translating. The value of a good foreign language course cannot be snubbed, be it learning the colors in kindergarten or writing your thesis on the greats of Russian literature. These classes will introduce you to different cultural aspects, grammar structure and more. Formal University study is not a prerequisite, but a strong desire to learn this new language certainly is.

In my opinion, the key to truly understanding the vocabulary, grammar and basically every other aspect of the written language itself comes from reading everything in that language that you can get your hands on. Reading different styles and types of writing in this language will serve you well. Whether it’s a novel, bird watching magazine, online cookbook or instructions on how to put together a ping-pong table, it’s going to teach you something new or reinforce what you already know.

So those are the basics on what you need to know to get started as a translator. In the coming weeks, I’ll talk about the actual act of translating, the translation industry and some other significant topics.

“Just like a musician, an interpreter must have a keen ear for accents as well as a certain aptitude for languages,” states an article published this week in the Orlando Sentinel. The article is on the prosperous business of translations, which, according to the ATA spokesperson, is a 17 billion dollar-a-year industry worldwide.  The article highlights the work of Cuban Erik Camayd-Freixas, a simultaneous translator who has been the voice of the Hispanic community for televised events like George W. Bush’s declaration of war in Iraq, the Mass given by Pope Benedict XVI in Yankee Stadium and Barack Obama’s victory speech on election day. His deep voice, neutral inflection and precise enunciation have been keys to his success.
“When I’m interpreting, I can’t react. It has to look as natural as possible,” said Camayd-Freixas, who is also the Director of Florida International University’s Interpreting and Translation. The article also points out that one of the challenges in simultaneous translating is being able to express one’s self as if he were the speaker. After passing an audition, like an actor, an interpreter must then prepare for their part by studying related vocabulary and learning as much as possible about the topic to be discussed, as well as the person that he or she will be interpreting.
In the American Translators Association’s annual conference, ATA President Jiri Stejskal commented that one of the organization’s biggest challenges is “educating the public on the need for using professional translators and interpreters,” given that not doing so can leave a lot of things to chance.  “It does not matter if it’s a million dollar contract or a manual on medical equipment, a translation error can cost a lot of money, even a life, or as we’ve seen, the elections,”  said Kirk Anderson, association spokesman (See previous posts–  “Election Mistranslations and Mistakes” and “Fatal Mistakes”).

He went on to mention some of the words and phrases John McCain used in his campaign as examples, including “maverick” (res sin marca/ inconformista, disidente) and “You betcha” (puedes apostarlo), declaring that, while these do not have an exact translation and are very “English,” their Spanish versions did not have the same impact as the originals.

Myth 1: Anyone bilingual person can be a good translator.

This is probably the most common misconception. It is indeed necessary to know more than one language to be a translator, but to be a good translator, the most important requirement is being a good writer. A professional translator needs a mastery of words, plus control over different writing styles and registers that he or she can employ for different types of projects, such as legal, medical, fiction, financial, etc.

Myth 2: You need a degree in translating or a foreign language  to be a professional translator.
This is not necessary to be able to work for the vast majority of translation agencies, and even less so for freelance work. In fact, translators often come from different fields, such as engineering, medicine or law, and then use their background knowledge to specialize in that type of translation.

Myth 3: Computer programs are better translators than humans.
Computers are great tools for translators, with their online glossaries, CAT tools, etc., but machine translations have a long way to go before they can produce something comparable in quality to a translation done by a professional translator. Check out the video below for a few examples of these funny translation mistakes.