Translation skills

Sashenka Ljuben wrote:

I have 25 years of working experience in various fields of expertise, but I had started first with legal translations, because I worked on a project related to drafting new legislation in the field of commercial law, bankruptcy etc. That's how I became familiar with this terminology. Later on, when I joined Proz.com and started getting translation projects in other fields of expertise, I just had to learn through my work in order to stay competitive. I was translating and at the same time searching, reading, sharing with more experienced colleagues... You just have to be eager to learn new things and not to be afraid of the unknown.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:

I started out translating some 40 years ago as a generalist but pretty quickly realized that there are certain types of text I’m not qualified to handle or that I simply don’t enjoy. There are a few unfamiliar areas I will never venture in as I know my limits. Today my main area of work is EU affairs, but over the years I have gained experience in several other fields: law, medicine (mostly gynaecology, obstetrics, medical devices, and clinical trials), taxation, education and vocational training, marketing, regional development, political journalism, small domestic appliances… I still consider myself a generalist and enjoy projects where I can use my skills. Diversity is the spice of life!

Tanja Oresnik wrote:

I have a university degree in translation studies, which gave me very good foundation for the profession. I then specialized in the automotive industry through my first job as a translator at one of the major French car manufacturers. I read all useful books on motor vehicles I could find and if I still got stuck, I picked my colleagues' brains.

I still work in automotive, but I soon realized it is never safe to keep all your eggs in one basket, so I started reading specialized books as well attending seminars and courses in fields such as business, tourism and law, and then gradually started applying for select jobs. I also wanted to dive into the aviation industry, especially UAS, which I developed an interest in a while ago, so I found a professional from the industry who was willing to help me with consultations, and we collaborate on such projects. I also read a lot - books, specialty magazines, online resources etc. -, which also contributes to building my translation skills.

Laurent Di Raimondo wrote:

I simply would like to add something to all those fascinating testimonials about those both personal and professional experiences.

Amassing university degrees, whether generally on translation/interpretation or more specifically on any other technical qualification (like medicine, pharmaceutics, engeneering, law, IT and so forth) is one thing. Translating original files into a target language (namely into your mother tongue, most of the time) is a different kettle of fish...

Judging from my humble experience in translation, I happened to revise - or simply to read - many legal projects alledgedly translated into French, but that no native French lawyers would have been able to understand in their own mother tongue... (I speak as a French ex-solicitor.)

Translating consists not only in rendering word for word what you understand from the text source, making a so-called "bridge between two different languages" as we are usually tought. You also must strive for finding the exact words which will have to connect, as accurately as possible, with any profesional's mind (whatever their specialisation) in order to adopt and master over their own language and technical terminology.

One of my best Master in Law, also a bilinguist for the record, used to tell us:

"The best translation, whatever the subject in stake, is the one that no native speaker wouldn't never ever suspect it was written by any other than a native".

And then he added immediately after: "Always remember that any professional, each in their own field of proficiency, speaks a foreign language within a foreign language..."

There is no magic recipe in order to become a seasoned translator. One thing's for sure: practise makes perfect. Whatever the language and whatever the subject.

Thank you Laurent. I have learn enough from your point.





[Modifié le 2022-12-16 19:55 GMT]