| 주제 내 페이지: < [1 2 3 4] > | How to start as a translator? 스레드 게시자: Renan Dias
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S. Kathryn Jiménez Boyd wrote:
This is why I disagree with @Lieven Malaise. It's not about the actual translating and being able to understand English even if you make mistakes writing it, it's about the communication surrounding the projects and how being detail-oriented carries over between languages.
I'm sorry, but this is total BS. If a PM focuses on the correctness of the non-native language you use to communicate, then he or she doesn't know where their priorities should lie: with your translation skills into your mother tongue and with your capacity to follow instructions and deliver on time, and nowhere else. A good PM will know this by the way. Imagine declining a greatly skilled translator because of the way he speaks or writes a language he doesn't translate into. That would make you really bad as a project manager.
| | | | | Re: translation and electrical engineering | Feb 16 |
Hello Renan!
My advice would be:
1) Stick with the electrical engineering degree and associated employment later.
2) If you want to, send off some applications to agencies or direct clients for translation in your area (=electrical engineering, presumably) as an additional activity. Start off small and careful, and see how it works out in terms of rate per hour.
3) Don't take any steps which would make you rely on it as your main source of revenue. I would also skip the t... See more Hello Renan!
My advice would be:
1) Stick with the electrical engineering degree and associated employment later.
2) If you want to, send off some applications to agencies or direct clients for translation in your area (=electrical engineering, presumably) as an additional activity. Start off small and careful, and see how it works out in terms of rate per hour.
3) Don't take any steps which would make you rely on it as your main source of revenue. I would also skip the translation degree, but I appreciate that some colleagues feel differently on that point. One thing you could do is specific courses in MemoQ or Trados.
Kind regards,
Michael ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jorge Payan 
미국
Local time: 04:17
회원(2002)
독일어에서 스페인어
+ ...
| Personal opinion from the same "shore" as Renan Dias | Feb 16 |
I worked for 25 years as an electrical/electronics engineer in the sales area before becoming a full-time translator. I firmly believe that there is nothing more arid and devoid of "nuance" than equipment manuals and similar documents.
Clearly, for what I do as a technical translator, training as a classic translator is completely useless. Knowledge of the tools of the trade is indeed essential, as well as targeted marketing.
One thing that we engineers find difficult t... See more I worked for 25 years as an electrical/electronics engineer in the sales area before becoming a full-time translator. I firmly believe that there is nothing more arid and devoid of "nuance" than equipment manuals and similar documents.
Clearly, for what I do as a technical translator, training as a classic translator is completely useless. Knowledge of the tools of the trade is indeed essential, as well as targeted marketing.
One thing that we engineers find difficult to do is how to write. Your contributions to this discussion demonstrate so. If you want to impress the vendor managers, you must gain a suitable command of English, no matter if it is your native language or not; right now, you don't seem to have it.
One last word: you won't go very far by using free tools. The potential customers in technical fields have made sizeable investments on paid tools. For an illustrative example, AutoCAD; do you know how to translate an AutoCAD diagram? You can do it using RWS Studio and Transtools, both of them paid, of course.
If I were you, I would stick to getting that electrical engineering degree and the associated employment. Translation nowadays is only a gig. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | My opinion about different degrees | Feb 16 |
Jorge Payan wrote:
Clearly, for what I do as a technical translator, training as a classic translator is completely useless.
While I agree with all that you said, I have to respectfully disagree in one point.
A degree in translation provides crucial skills. It's not just about knowing two languages, but mastering techniques that ensure accuracy, nuance, and consistency.
That being said, I also value the expertise that professionals from other fields bring to translation like you.
We complement each other rather. I have the pleasure from time to time, and I had in the past to work with professionals from different backgrounds (an automotive engineer, to be more precise) and it's an amazing learning experience that I value very much!
One brings the linguistic and technical expertise, while the other brings subject-matter knowledge. It’s a win-win.
Oh yes, I hold a degree in translation by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto, and I can tell you it's a rigid education meaning you're trained to meet high standards.
I am not bragging, I am just standing up for the value of proper training in translation.
Both training, regardless of specialisation, and experience have value.😊
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| Respectfully, I think you're missing the point | Feb 16 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
S. Kathryn Jiménez Boyd wrote:
This is why I disagree with @Lieven Malaise. It's not about the actual translating and being able to understand English even if you make mistakes writing it, it's about the communication surrounding the projects and how being detail-oriented carries over between languages.
I'm sorry, but this is total BS. If a PM focuses on the correctness of the non-native language you use to communicate, then he or she doesn't know where their priorities should lie: with your translation skills into your mother tongue and with your capacity to follow instructions and deliver on time, and nowhere else. A good PM will know this by the way. Imagine declining a greatly skilled translator because of the way he speaks or writes a language he doesn't translate into. That would make you really bad as a project manager.
I am not trying to say that every non-native speaker should have perfect English and that they must have 100% correct use of a non-native language. If I were judged on my ability to use "el/la" correctly in Spanish by a PM and have that be the barometer used to judge whether or not I get a translation project into English, that would not be fair. I get that, that would be silly, come on.
What I'm saying is that how people write in a non-native language tends to reflect how they write in their native language. It's about the detail orientation, not whether they have perfect or even good English. You, for example, use "don't" instead of "dont", you use full stops, you start your sentences with capital letters. Your writing is cohesive and professional. I, as someone judging whether to give you a translation, would then assume that you show the same level of detail orientation in Dutch and I'd be happy to have you do a translation.
Who cares if you make the occasional mistake, non-native-sounding word choice, or typo in English? It's not your native language and judging you on your English wouldn't be an accurate reflection of your abilities in the language you translate into.
However, if someone writes me looking for a translation job and in the email uses barely any punctuation, goes a paragraph without using a full stop, can't seem to start sentences with capital letters, uses lower-case "i" for the first-person pronoun, fails to put spaces between the last word and a parenthesis, etc., would I be wrong to assume that they might not be super detail oriented in their native language? Wouldn't I worry about their adeptness as a writer in general? Would I not want to give the job to someone like you instead?
That's the point I'm trying to make, detail orientation in writing carries over between languages. Surely that we can agree on.
| | | | | Have I understood you correctly? | Feb 16 |
S. Kathryn Jiménez Boyd wrote:
What I'm saying is that how people write in a non-native language tends to reflect how they write in their native language.
I'm not sure I understood your statement correctly.
Mistakes in English don't necessarily make someone a bad native speaker in their own language.
A person can be fluent and skilled in their native language, but still make errors in a non-native one, in particular if they're still learning it or if they don't use it frequently, or work with it.
It’s about continuous learning and being mindful of improvement.
Making mistakes in English doesn't undermine your skills or professionalism as a translator in your native language.
The two are distinct areas, and language proficiency in one doesn’t dictate your overall language abilities.
My native language expertise stands independently from the languages I work with.
Errors happen to everyone, especially in a non-native language, and it must happen to me often, even though I'm careful and struggle not to make errors when I write in English.
(Like now... there must be several ones in my comment).
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Lieven Malaise wrote:
Wilsonn Perez Reyes wrote:
Dan Lucas wrote:
Wilsonn Perez Reyes wrote:
i did not landed = I have not landed, among some other issues...
...but the OP does not claim to translate into English, so I don't think this is a major issue.
Regards,
Dan
A disagree button is desperately needed in this forum!
Why would you disagree? Even passive knowledge of a language, meaning that you understand it but can't speak it, should be enough to be able to translate. So why bother about mistakes made by a non-native speaker?
Besides native proficiency in the target language, a good command of the source language (beyond passive comprehension) is crucial in order to grasp the original content. This is true for all types of translation.
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Beatriz Ramírez de Haro wrote:
Besides native proficiency in the target language, a good command of the source language (beyond passive comprehension) is crucial in order to grasp the original content. This is true for all types of translation.
Comprehension is comprehension. Either you understand it or you don't. Why would your statement be true? Do you have any sources to back up your claim?
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S. Kathryn Jiménez Boyd wrote:
That's the point I'm trying to make, detail orientation in writing carries over between languages. Surely that we can agree on.
Yes, OK, you are right about that. I had only grammar and spelling mistakes in mind.
| | | | jyuan_us
미국
Local time: 05:17
회원(2005)
영어에서 중국어
+ ...
Lieven Malaise wrote:
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro wrote:
Besides native proficiency in the target language, a good command of the source language (beyond passive comprehension) is crucial in order to grasp the original content. This is true for all types of translation.
Comprehension is comprehension. Either you understand it or you don't. Why would your statement be true? Do you have any sources to back up your claim?
I do a lot of editing/proofreading jobs in the English to Chinese pair, and most of the copies I have worked on contained translation mistakes, and a certain percent of these mistakes were the result of misunderstanding of the source texts. A professional translator is supposed to have a good command of the source language but the reality can be quite another story. It is widespread in the Chinese translators' circle that some rediculous translation errors were found in the published translation works of college professors in China, because they failed to understand the corresponding phrases/idioms/words in the source texts.
[Edited at 2025-02-18 00:06 GMT]
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jyuan_us wrote:
A professional translator is supposed to have a good command of the source language but the reality can be quite another story. It is widespread in the Chinese trasnlators' circle that some rediculous translation errors were found in the published translation works by college professors in China, because they failed to understand the corresponding phrases/idioms/words in the source text.
Oh, but I'm well aware of the fact that a lot of professional translators basically aren't good enough.
But that's not the point here. The question is if a translator with only passive knowledge of a language (able to understand, not able to speak) is capable of understanding and thus translating correctly said language. I think they can. Some disagree and perhaps they are right, but I'm curious based on what hard facts.
| | | | | Translation + Engineering degrees = perfect combination | Feb 17 |
I have a degree in translation and a degree in Engineering.
This puts me above other translators in terms of the customers I have access to.
You won't be the translator but "the engineer who translates," as you will be moving in the same circles.
Of course, if your goal is to work exclusively for agencies, then it probably won't make a difference.
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jyuan_us
미국
Local time: 05:17
회원(2005)
영어에서 중국어
+ ...
| I know where you are coming from | Feb 17 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
jyuan_us wrote:
A professional translator is supposed to have a good command of the source language but the reality can be quite another story. It is widespread in the Chinese trasnlators' circle that some rediculous translation errors were found in the published translation works by college professors in China, because they failed to understand the corresponding phrases/idioms/words in the source text.
Oh, but I'm well aware of the fact that a lot of professional translators basically aren't good enough.
But that's not the point here. The question is if a translator with only passive knowledge of a language (able to understand, not able to speak) is capable of understanding and thus translating correctly said language. I think they can. Some disagree and perhaps they are right, but I'm curious based on what hard facts.
While your point can be true for certain closely related language pairs in Europe, for the native speakers of most East Asian languages, it is unimaginable that someone would comprehend a foreign language well enough for him to work as a translator while not being able to speak that language.
[Edited at 2025-02-17 21:17 GMT]
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jyuan_us wrote:
While your point can be true for certain closely related language pairs in Europe
Well, not exactly. I know the phenomenon I describe exists between French and Dutch while those languages are not directly related, French being a Romance language and Dutch a Germanic language.
| | | | jyuan_us
미국
Local time: 05:17
회원(2005)
영어에서 중국어
+ ...
| After giving it a second thought | Feb 17 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
jyuan_us wrote:
While your point can be true for certain closely related language pairs in Europe
Well, not exactly. I know the phenomenon I describe exists between French and Dutch while those languages are not directly related, French being a Romance language and Dutch a Germanic language.
I just realized that my observation about "closely related language pairs" might be contrary to reality. I was too rush to make that observation. Now I have a sense that “passive knowledge of a language” could more likely exist between non-related languages than between closely related languages. This is because one should be quick to learn to speak a closely related lanaguage, quicker than they master the skill of reading comprehension in that language.
In East Asia, most people acquire their second language by college education. In college, they teach both reading comprehension and oral communication. Someone could have managed to get an A+ in reading comprehension of a second language while geting a D- in oral communication, but such cases should be rare. The abilities of reading and speaking should be positively correlated, and students tend to excel in both or in neither.
So, I still doubt a translator who only has "passive knowledge of a language" even exists in some language pairs.
[Edited at 2025-02-18 05:36 GMT]
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