Career in Language Translator

If someone wants to be a translator his/her standard of education must be very high; Degree is essential though not necessarily in languages. It is a positive advantage to have qualifications or experience in another subject. Postgraduate training in translation is useful but in India there are few such type of institutes. Most of the translators are self made Translators who will be able to write in their own mother tongue/English impeccably in a style and register appropriate to the subject and have a flair for research on technical subjects.

It is very important to note that the translator should have a thorough grasp of the languages in his language combination, mainly to the target language. He/She must also be familiar with the culture and customs of the country. The only way to do this is that he or she surrounds himself with the language to be translated or target language.

Some may advice you to live or stay in the country where the language is spoken but this is not possible for most of the Indians due to financial reason.

Indian translators perform well in translation from foreign languages to English and in their own Mother tongue but 95% Indian translators can’t translate properly from English to Other Foreign languages as translation is not like subject to subject or word to word Translation. The culture, philosophy and psychology of the people of target language should also be reflected in Translation.

It is best to have a specific field that he/she specializes in, be it literature, technical, medical or legal.

A Translator has to invest minimum of equipment and software. He/She should have a computer and appropriate word-processing software; and internet connection; suitable dictionaries, preferably online dictionaries like LEO, which return results at the touch of button, saving the translator an enormous amount of time searching through printed dictionaries.

Now-a-days translators are also using translation memory software and other translation tools. In an office translation environment, the use of the Computer Aided Translation (CAT) tool Trades has become the standard and many translators have got success by using these tools.

Job Prospects

Today’s job market is full of variety of jobs for a translator. By knowing languages one can be a translator, interpreter and also a teacher.