1. Get good at the language you’re translating from.
This is the obvious one that everyone understands. But hey, it’s obvious because it’s true. To become a great translator of any language, you must have strong skills in that language. There are numerous other webpages out there which can tell you better than I, how to grow your skills in your chosen language. If you believe anything, you will certainly require to research about translation job. So I’ll just be short and sweet and say “use it.” Read, write, study, research, speak, listen. Also, one thing other places won’t necessarily let you know: I find my background in linguistics has allowed me to synthesize a lot of my language learning quicker than my peers with other academic backgrounds.
2. Get good at the target language.
The “target” language is the language you’re translating into. This stirring company web site article has diverse surprising cautions for where to consider it. You must have intimate comprehension of the language you’re translating into. I can’t stress that enough. To craft a totally fine translation you need to have truly fine skills in English (or whatever your target language may be). Or else you won’t be able to communicate your ideas as clearly and you won’t be able to make appropriate or inspired choices that capture the spirit and texture of a literary text. Your skill in the target language is even more important than your skill in the language you’re translating from.
If you don’t speak your target language natively: read, write, and study it extensively, become acquainted with its high literature and its use in pop culture, and be sure you've got trustworthy people to help you on language choices.
If you’re a native speaker of your target language: good, because that’s ideal-but that alone isn’t enough. Additionally you need to have skill in wielding the language. The easiest way to develop it is to read extensively and write different types of things (articles, essays, etc.). Also, if applicable to the kind of translation you want to do, practice poems and stories. Visiting return to site probably provides lessons you can give to your family friend. It’s best if you can get some constructive critiques on them as well. If you’re still in school or university, you’re in the most effective position to get your English (or whatever) skills up to scratch: take lessons that have a whopping writing component. Try to take a minumum of one literature-type course and at least one technical or scientific course that make you really exercise your writing, and really pay attention to the feedback from your professors and peers. (Sometimes it helps you to do some asking around about instructors before you sign up for the courses)
3. Research, research, research.
Many kinds of translation, especially of books, movies, and TV shows, are about knowing a little bit about everything that’s ever happened everywhere. Throughout a typical week translating, I might have to search for information on all kinds of things. Obviously, you’re not going to know everything. Which means you want to get good at finding stuff out. Not only that, but the answers need to be from reliable sources where possible. So one of the most key things to develop as a translator is research skills. If you’re in high school or university, try taking courses that may help you in this, or attend a library orientation day. If you’re not in education, don’t worry. Many college and public libraries offer sporadic courses on research methods; you can find out and try to take one. If that’s not a possibility, you can go to a college or public library and find that mythical figure called the Reference Librarian. The Reference Librarian’s job is to understand how to find out stuff. If you’re a college student, your school/college Reference Librarian is fair game. If it’s a public library, try to go on a slow day or make an appointment. Go up to him or her, introduce yourself, and request help learning good research skills both online and in print (if you think you’ll need to be doing most of your research online, let her know). TIP: It will help if you bring some sample questions/areas of research so that s/he can help you by example. You are able to kill two birds with one stone by bringing research questions that have come up in one of your translations.
4. Connect with others.
Remember how I said translation was about being an expert on everything ever? Well, knowing an expert on everything ever is the next best thing. Networking is the way to go for a translator. There are some things where all the Googling in the world is not going to deliver the goods as well as a consultation with someone who really knows the stuff. And if you don’t have somebody to call, you’re going to have to spend a day in the library. You don’t want that to happen if deadline is tomorrow! So keep the various expertises of your friends and family in the back of your mind. Remember people you’re introduced to, and be nice to them. And don't forget, when you call your people in the middle of the afternoon and say “I need to know..." ALWAYS thank them before you decide to hang up. They save your life, so be sure to show your appreciation.
5. Have an idea of what your goal is.
It’s my belief that someone who’s contemplated what her theory of translation is, what translation means to her, and what she’s really attempting to do overall as a translator is going to be better at her craft. Therefore I would read a little bit on translation theory, and then spend a little time pondering what you consider and what your philosophy of translation is. As an added bonus, reading other people’s writing about translation can provide you with ideas for how to deal with problems you encounter.
6. Get in-depth knowledge of the appropriate field(s).
If you’re going to spend your career translating court documents, you need to learn about law. However in less cut-and-dried fields, I find people don’t always think about this. If you think any thing, you will certainly require to study about company web site. Finally, the cultures and histories of the relevant countries are essential fields of knowledge for ALL translators. I don’t care if you’re translating a great work of literature or perhaps a restaurant menu, you absolutely must have some foundation in the cultures behind all the languages/locations you’re working with. Yes, that also includes your own.
7. Get a bit of knowledge about the irrelevant fields.
Like we’ve said, we’re the five-minute experts on everything. So virtually anything you learn about in any capacity will probably prove useful eventually. Grab the opportunities to learn about things, and just generally take note of what’s going on around you (particularly the way people are talking) and file it away for later.
8. Have experience of popular culture.
If you’re as I am you find checking up on popular culture and current events a pain. But the fact is, it’s likely to come up. Anything the planet is preoccupied with works its way into everything. So be on the lookout. Listen to the radio on your drive to work. Just find some way to pay a little focus on what’s going on.
9. Get very creative
Scientists have been telling us for a while that creativity is a learned behavior, and it’s true. The greater you practice brainstorming new and different language-play ideas, the more creative you are in your translation work. Do you know the common problems for every translator? Do you know the common translation problems in your specific language? When you run across examples of them in your daily life, take a moment and try to brainstorm ways to handle them. Sometimes you do even better in this daily-life brainstorming than you are on your actual work, because there’s no pressure. One more thing you can do is look at other translations to/from your languages. Perhaps you always handle puns in the same manner. Does another translator handle them differently? Maybe that can break you out of the box and get you thinking in new ways.
10. Put thought into your work setup.
Translation is inherently uncomfortable since it often involves sitting on your butt for long periods of time, crouched over your desk looking at text. It is also extremely inefficient if there’s an issue with your workspace or your equipment. You need to mess around with various different setups physically, to ensure sitting in that chair isn’t killing you, or to discover that moving your computer monitor up a few inches saves your life. And for goodness’ sake, get up and take a walk once in a while. It’ll save your spine and reboot your brain. You also need to mess around until you find a comfortable mental setup on your computer. Little changes will enhance your efficiency. Whether you’re a religious computer user or you’re one of the few holdouts who translates with pen and paper, you must become very proficient in computing in all the languages you use. Clients expect that and demand it. And there will be times when it’s just the only way to be efficient. There are all sorts of complications in computing in other alphabets, especially Asian alphabets, and the issues vary from operating system to operating system, program to program. Make sure that if nothing else you figure all of that out in whatever web browsers you’re likely to encounter and in Microsoft Word.
So, that’s about the size of it. If I were to say anything else, It would be that you can’t go wrong to take a linguistics course. Any aspiring translator still in college can probably reap the benefits of some background courses. Learning about language as a general system has greatly helped me to develop my skills in all areas of translation, from as basic as language learning to as advanced as finding the intersections and deviances between languages and everything in between..