What is a translator?
In a nutshell, a translator is a human being who changes written
words from one language to another. If this sounds obvious, take
another look! First, it’s important to note that although computers
play an important role in translation, professional translators are
humans, not computers. Second, a translator works with written
words, unlike an interpreter, who works with spoken words. If
you’re new to the industry, you’ve learned something important
right here; that the phrase “speaking through a translator,” contradicts
itself, since translators work in writing. While some people
work as both translators and interpreters, most concentrate on
one or the other.
Translators are also, by definition, fluent in more than one
language. In the industry, these are referred to as the source, or
“from” language(s), and the target, or “into” language, which is
almost always the translator’s native language. If you work in a less
common language pair, you might find yourself as the exception
to this rule. A client might need a document translated from Turkish
into English, a job that would usually be handled by a native
English speaker who has Turkish as a second or third language.
However in practice, it’s often easier to find a native Turkish speaker.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSLATION BUSINESS
Turkish speaker who has English as a second language since there are many more native Turkish speakers who also speak English than the other way around. In this case,
the job might be handled by a native Turkish speaker, and then proofread by a native English speaker. Please note we also offer Turkish business translation and Turkish document translation services.
In the United Kingdom, most Turkish translators work from one or two
source languages; it’s extremely common for translators to have
only one working language pair, like English into Turkish, or
Turkish into English. In other areas of the world where foreign
languages are more widely studied, most translators work from
at least two source languages, and often many more. It’s not
at all unusual to find Europe-based translators who work, for
example, from English, Spanish and French into German, or from
Norwegian, Swedish and English into Danish.
1.2 What does it take to become a translator?
Being multilingual isn’t the only skill a translator needs, but it’s
certainly the most important. Translators learn their languages in
many different ways; many grew up in bilingual households or
countries, some learned their second or third language in school
and then pursued experience abroad, some took intensive language
courses or worked in a foreign country for several years,
and it is also quite common for translators to become freelancers
after working as military or government linguists.
Almost all translators working in the UK. have at least a Bachelor’s Degree,
although not necessarily in translation. As a rule, most professional
Turkish translators have at least some experience working and/or
living in a country where their source language or languages are
spoken; many translators lived and worked in their source language
country for many years, or pursued higher education in
their source language(s). In-country experience in the UK or Turkey is a big asset for a
translator, since translation work involves knowing not just the
structure of the language to be translated, but the cultural framework
that surrounds it. This isn’t to say that classroom study
doesn’t produce excellent translators, but it’s important to realize
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME A TRANSLATOR?
At the outset that to be a successful professional translator, you
need near-native proficiency in your source language(s); if you’re
starting from scratch, a few semesters of part-time language class
won’t be enough. As a point of reference, the UK Government’s
Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center offers a
program to teach Middle Eastern languages to government employees,
and the basic program involves some full-time
study.
Many people wonder how to tell if their language skills are
good enough to work as a translator. While there are various language
testing services that can tell you where you stand, probably
the easiest way to get a feel for your translation readiness is to
translate something. Go on the web and find a legal document,
newspaper article or press release in your source language, then
try to translate it. As we’ll discuss later, professional translators
make constant use of reference materials such as print and online
dictionaries, terminology databases, etc., so when you look at
your practice document, don’t assume that you should be able
to whip out a perfect translation on the spot. The key points are:
can you understand this document on both a word-for-word and
a conceptual level, and can you convey its meaning in your target
language?
Translators today work in almost every conceivable language
pair; while the market in the United Kingdom has historically been
very strong in Western European languages such as French, German,
Italian and Spanish, there is an increasing (and increasingly
lucrative) market for translation in Asian and Middle Eastern
Languages like Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Thai, Chinese, Japanese,
Korean, Arabic, Farsi, Pashto and Kurdish; Central and Eastern
European languages like Serbian, Czech, Slovene and Macedonian;
as well as the “languages of smaller diffusion” like Nepali,
Hebrew or Somali. In most language pairs, the amount of work
available is proportionate to the number of translators in the language.
While there is obviously a great deal of English to Spanish
translation work in the U.S., there is a correspondingly large number
of translators in this language combination; and while there
may not be a great deal of work in Indonesian to English, there
AN OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSLATION BUSINESS
There are also not many translators in this combination, resulting in a
correspondingly small amount of competition for work.
In addition to near-native source language proficiency, translators
need other skills too; probably the most important are excellent
writing skills in their target language, in-depth knowledge
in one or more areas of specialization, and business management
skills. Some would-be translators are in practice not very successful
because they have weak writing skills in their target language,
making their translations difficult or unpleasant to read. Highly
specialized translators are among the highest-earning members
of the profession; for example a bilingual intellectual property
attorney, stock broker or biomedical engineer may earn many
times the per-word rate of a “jack of all trades” translator with
a B.A. in German. Some translators turn a previous career into
an area of specialization, while others take additional courses
in areas of specialization or learn specialized terminology from
more experienced translators. Paradoxically, specializing can also
lead to more work, not less, as the specialized translator becomes
known as the go-to person in his or her area of expertise, whether
it’s environmental engineering, textile manufacturing or stage
sets.
The translation industry in the UK and Turkey is moving more
and more toward an independent contractor model, where the
vast majority of translators are self-employed and work for a variety
of clients; in 2005, approximately 70% of the members of the
Turkish or British Translators Association were self-employed independent
contractors. As such, translators need business management
skills such as the ability to find and retain clients, work on tight
deadlines with little supervision or management, handle increases
and decreases in work flow and cash flow and perform tasks such
as bookkeeping, tax planning and computer upkeep and maintenance.
In fact, most self-employed translators spend 25-50%
of their time on non-translation work, largely involving management
of the day to day tasks of running a business, so these skills
are just as important as translation-related skills in succeeding as
a freelance translator.
This blog is prepared by our team of Turkish translation agency.