Poll: Has your everyday vocabulary in your source language grown since you became a translator/interprer? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Has your everyday vocabulary in your source language grown since you became a translator/interprer?".
View the poll here
A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more information, see: http://proz.com/topic/33629
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Pretty pointless question .....
As language professionals we are constantly learning new terms, in both the source and target language.
Otherwise what are we doing on this board?!
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Vera Schoen 
Sweden
Local time: 05:01
Member (2008)
German to Swedish
+ ...
That really depends on text type, does it not?
I translate a lot of technical stuff and - trust me!- those are not words I use in my everyday language.
So I voted "no". I have aquired tons of new words and have learnt a lot in the process - but it's not knowledge I use, or need, in my everyday life
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Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 05:01
English to French
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But not necessarily because of translation
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Jocelyne S
France
Local time: 05:01
French to English
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I voted "Other" but my answer is more accurately: Yes,
Interlangue wrote: But not necessarily because of translation
Languages are living things and necessarily evolve over time. Among other reasons, my vocabulary has grown because I use my source language on a daily basis, because I read a lot, because I'm interested in language. These are of course part of why I decided to become a translator, but I would not say that my vocabulary has evolved solely because I am a translator.
Best,
Jocelyne
Edited to add a missing adverb.
[Edited at 2009-09-07 11:37 GMT]
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Jon O (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:01
Dutch to English
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| how can it not have?? | Sep 7, 2009 |
Strange question.....
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 05:01
Spanish to English
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.. or so I have been told on several occasions, I now have a wider command of Castilian Spanish vocabulary (especially in certain areas) than most native speakers, and can "beat" many contestants on lexical-type game shows (Saber y Ganar, Pasapalabra... etc).
I still make some howling mistakes when speaking though, especially with adjective/noun agreements and verb constructions...
[Edited at 2009-09-07 11:28 GMT]
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vixen
Greece
Local time: 06:01
English to Dutch
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I voted NO because my everyday vocabulary did not increase as a result of my becoming a translator, which is how I interpreted the question.
I suppose, though, that my everyday vocabulary in my source language has expanded over the years, ever since I first started learning English at school. However, this is primarily due to studying, reading, watching television and hands-on experience.
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Amy Duncan (X)
Brazil
Local time: 00:01
Portuguese to English
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But I think it actually has more to do with living in the country of my source language and speaking it nearly all of the time than it does with words or expressions I've learned from translating and actually absorbed into my daily conversation.
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Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 21:01
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam
Both my languages are source and target and my vocabulary in both of them has grown quite a bit.
I have been a translator for 38 years, so if during that long period it had shrunk instead of growing or merely remained the same, now that would be alarming, wouldn't it?
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Rebecca Garber
Local time: 23:01
Member (2005)
German to English
+ ...
| Depends on how you define everyday. | Sep 8, 2009 |
If it means language that I would use in conversation, then, generaly no.
However, some of the technical texts overlap my husband's work, so it is conceivable that I could use this vocabulary in conversation with a German engineer on the topic should the need ever arise.
If it means language that I use every day, then yes, because I use technical vocabulary every day in translations.
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keelin feeney
Ireland
Local time: 04:01
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Inevitably so... | Sep 8, 2009 |
Of course it has. It is inevitable that my source language has improved due to my translation work and I can incorporate this new vocabulary into my day-to-day language as I live in the country of my source language...and as time passes and the more you practice, the better you get...
so I think I can safely say that translation work + living in the source language country + time = why my source language is constantly improving
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