Q. Why go with a professional translator? Why not just find someone in-house who knows Spanish (German, Mandarin, etc.)?

A. Translation is not simply a matter of having someone who "knows" a language shoot a phrase out into that language. The fact that someone "knows" the original language carries absolutely no guarantee that his or her translation will read naturally in the target language or be faithful to the original text while taking key cultural and linguistic nuances into account. These factors become absolutely critical when such sensitive or "sticky" documents as marketing materials, human resources manuals, or legal contracts are being drafted. As proof of this, I present to you the hilarious mistranslations on my "Mangled Translations" page.

Turning out a good translation is an extremely labor-intensive task, far more labor-intensive than many monolingual employers realize. Often, when in-house employees are asked to do the translation, it is not part of their regular responsibilities and they are not compensated for all the extra labor. As a result, they have no incentive to get the translation polished and right, and (understandably) do a "quick and dirty" version so that they can get back to their regular work. This can create a potentially explosive situation once the document is disseminated to its audience. It is usually only then that a professional translator is called in to clean up the mess, and the company pays twice for this - in wasted time from the employee, and in paying the translator - when it should have paid only once, at the beginning of the project when it first had the opportunity to hire a professional translator.

For important documents, go with professional translators who are truly committed to their job and have a vested interest in doing their job right.  You can be sure that professional translators will translate your documents with care and accuracy. They have native fluency in the target language so that the finished product is not a stilted, literal word-for-word translation (or they at least have a qualified native speaker proofread their work if they are not themselves a native speaker of the target language). They usually perform research on the topic to ensure that they choose accurate terminology that reads well in the target language. Also, good translators draw on their entire experience - all the intellectual capital they possess - while working on each translation. As a result, your finished product is extremely value-added.

When looking for a translator, try to find one with extensive cultural experience, a native command of the target language (or a good native proofreader if the translator is not a native speaker of the target language), a broad-based education, proper methodological training, and excellent research skills. These indispensable assets are what separate the professional translator from someone who just "translates."

Q. Why not buy translating software? Won't it do the job faster?

A. Yes, but not well! Unless you only wish to translate standard business letters, or you need an instantaneous "draft" translation to "find out what it says" and make a quick decision, translation software is a waste of money. These primitive programs make embarrassingly inaccurate word choices and are completely insensitive to contextual and cultural nuances. As is so often the case when companies press in-house employees into service to do translation work, a mess is created of the original document, and once again, it is usually only at this point that the company calls in a professional translator to clean up the mess. These companies are obliged to come "out the pocket" twice - in wasting money on useless software, and in paying the translator - when it should have paid only once, at the beginning of the project when it first had the chance to hire a translator. Translation software may become more helpful and "intelligent" in the future, but only if it takes into account the fact that translation is an art, not a science; and human languages are living, organic, constantly changing organisms that do not have one-to-one correspondences and are not simply "codes" to be "decoded" and "encoded" into other languages. The wealth of human creativity and experience, which is the lifeblood of translation, cannot be distilled into algorithms.

The software industry is already beginning to recognize this, and has moved a bit away from the production of machine translation (MT) software, which completely translates documents, to focus more on computer-assisted translation (CAT) software, which features translation memories (TMs) designed to help translators do their job more quickly and efficiently without attempting to replace them entirely. As proof that translation software should not be trusted to translate your documents, go to BabelFish, type in any sentence you can find in any foreign-language text (technical, legal, literary, and marketing texts give you the most dramatic results), then have it converted into English. I guarantee that the English will make only partial sense, if any. Pretty frightening in light of the fact that BabelFish is considered to be "advanced" translation software.

Q. What's the difference between translation and interpretation?

A. Translation is the conversion of the written word from the original language into a target language, while interpretation deals with the conversion of the spoken word. Although the two terms are often used interchangeably, translation and interpretation are actually very different professions ... and interpretation is not just the oral translation of words from one language into another. 

Since translation is the conversion of one written text into another written text, that conversion takes place in a static setting and at a much more deliberate pace than interpretation. Moreover, translated texts are intended for an anonymous readership. Interpretation is a far more fluid and instantaneous process and takes place at lightning speed. It is also a conduit between two parties who already know one another and the interpreter to a certain extent.

Translation and interpretation also require completely different methodologies. Translation requires sequential, systematic thought and an acute eye. In interpretation, there is practically no time to think, so the ability to process information at an extremely fast pace, accompanied by a good deal of sangfroid, is essential. Interpretation also demands excellent public speaking skills and an acute ear. (Individuals who can interpret and translate well are gifted and should be admired!)

Traits common to both professions are great powers of concentration, a willingness to constantly expand one's knowledge and vocabulary, and a willingness to work with any and every area of human activity, from integrated circuits to breadmaking to currency exchange to animal husbandry to mine detonation. But apart from these commonalities, the interpreting and translating professions couldn't differ more.

Q. How do I become a professional translator and get translation work?

A. Translation is an extremely rewarding calling and brings a great deal of challenge and satisfaction to dedicated practitioners of the profession. At the same time, some aspects of the profession can be a real pain, and only a love of languages will carry you through those tough situations. If you don't truly love languages - indeed, have a passion for them - you shouldn't be a translator.

That said, if you are committed to becoming a translator, it is important to embark on some sort of program in translation studies in order to obtain a degree, accreditation, or certification in translation. This will give you a tangible benchmark of expertise and credibility to show to potential clients, and will enable you to take advantage of many work opportunities that you might not otherwise have had access to due to a lack of credentials. Many clients and agencies won't even look at you if you don't have some sort of degree, accreditation, or certification, and rightly so.

If you have little or no prior translation experience and are interested in learning translation methodology and the actual translation process, a university certification program is more appropriate for you. Try calling the large public universities in your area to see which, if any, offer a translation certification program. If you are willing to relocate, the best programs are at the Monterey Institute in Monterey, California, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. (the one I personally attended), and Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. But to even be admitted into one of these formal programs, you must have complete (native) command of the language that you wish to translate into (with only very rare exceptions, this will be your mother tongue), and have at the very least a university-level proficiency in the language that you plan to translate from. If you don't have university-level proficiency in that language, it is absolutely crucial that you take intensive courses in that language for as long as you have to in order to reach university-level proficiency and apply to a certification program. Note: It's a misconception that you have to be perfectly fluent in the language you translate from. You don't need to be perfectly fluent in the language that you translate from; just the language you translate into. Of course, if you're perfectly fluent in the source language as well, so much the better, because that makes you far more efficient and cuts down on the time you need to research unfamiliar words and concepts. But the bottom line is that a university-level mastery over the source language and native mastery of the target language are the absolute minimum requirements.

If you have prior translation experience and simply need some credentials to prove that you can translate well and are serious about it, taking an accreditation exam to become accredited with a local or national accreditation organization, such as the American Translators Association, is the way to go.

Once you have your credentials, theoretically you could just start right in with freelance translation work and get enough work to sustain a full-time freelance translation career, but in real life it takes quite a while (at least three years) to build up your freelance translation business so that it gains its own momentum and the business starts coming in on its own, enough to go full-time. In the meantime, you will need to play it safe for the sake of your financial security and get a full-time job, translating part-time in the evenings and on weekends. This way, the money you will be making from translation will be "gravy" in addition to your full-time salary, and you will be free to use the "gravy" to build up your translation business (software, computer equipment, dictionaries, etc.) without having to take a huge chunk out of your full-time salary, which, of course, you need for other more important expenses like paying the rent and buying food! When you get to the point where your workload is about 50% translating to 50% the work that you do in your full-time job, you can safely make the leap to a full-time freelance translation career. If you're saying to yourself right now, "Gee ... that sounds like a lot of late nights and hard work," you're right, it will be! You must prepare yourself mentally for this. It's sort of like embarking on a law career: if you don't burn for it and aren't willing to bleed for it, don't even try to go there. The PROFESSION - and the clients who use it - need PROFESSIONALS, not dabblers.

I have emphasized the words "profession" and "professionals" above because too few people realize that translation is truly a profession and people must start treating it as such, no discussion, no excuses. There are too many clients out there who are misled to believe that just about anybody can translate if they "know the language," and in the same vein, there are too many wannabe translators who have taken a few language courses and are misled to believe that they can just start translating and boom!, like magic, they're a translator and can translate, say, legal contracts. That's like someone trying to practice neurosurgery on a brain tumor patient after he/she has attended a couple of premed courses and read a few textbooks, but has no license to practice, has not passed the board examinations, and worse, has not acquired the experience and specialization needed to truly help the patient and do a sufficient job. He/she could go ahead and perform the surgery, but not without harming or killing the patient due to a lack of specialization and experience, not to mention getting sued for practicing without a license or credentials. It's the same way with professional translation - or at least it ought to be. To be successful as a professional translator, you must go through many years of pre-career preparation in languages before you even get to the point where you can translate, and then you must specialize. Again: you must prepare for a career like this. If you don't passionately love languages and don't burn for it and aren't willing to bleed for it, don't even try to go there.

Now, if what I've said above hasn't scared you off, let's get back to discussing how to get translation work. For your part-time translation work, you should start out working for lots of agencies. It's an excellent way to get started because you will get a steady stream of assignments from the ones who like your work and your professional approach. This in turn will bring you a nice income as well as give you excellent on-the-job training, which is good because in this industry, you learn only by doing. Agencies are usually quite a bit more willing to take a chance on new translators, and they also have many resources to help you if you need assistance with a particular assignment. Later, as you polish your skills and gain confidence and expertise in your favorite fields, you can take on more direct clients.

Some would-be translators comment, "But the agencies out there won't even look at me since I have no experience or certification." To these people I say, Of course they won't look at you, they shouldn't because you have no tangible credentials either in terms of field experience or certifications/degrees. Why should they risk their business on someone who is, to them, a completely unknown quantity? Go into a certification program at a local university, get ATA accreditation or, if neither of these are feasible, volunteer. Volunteering, when done in internationally-oriented venues that attract a lot of people who might later be your clients, is a great way to get your feet wet and log experience with no risk to either you or the volunteer organization. You will also be translating in an environment that will likely be somewhat warmer, friendlier, and less pressured than most traditional for-profit corporate environments, which is great for when you need detailed feedback on your work and mentoring. You will also feel good knowing you are helping a good cause. Later on, you will be able to bring letters of recommendation and samples from these organizations to the agencies and they will be happy to take you on. And the people who put in volunteer time along with you will remember you by referring you to their companies.

If you are interested in translation or interpretation as a profession, please e-mail me and I will be happy to discuss these issues with you or refer you to resources or contacts to set you on the right path.

GOOD LUCK!

Updated 01/23/03.