September 30 — International Day of Translation and Translators/ Interpreters
I congratulate all of us translators and interpreters. A profession that I chose as integral part of my Life Mission, a profession that I exercise with a lot of love and dedication, since my graduation in 2004.
Commemorative date to São Jerônimo, who translated the Bible into Latin, taking 15 years to complete it. It is celebrated each year on September 30, the day on which St. Jerome died, in 419 or 420, known as a translator of the Bible from ancient Greek and Hebrew to Latin. Author of important texts on the art of translating and, therefore, traditionally considered the patron saint of translators.
On this day we celebrate mainly for working so that the culture is spread in all the social levels, facilitating the communication between different countries, languages, and traditions.
So, do you want to be a translator?
In the past few years, as a translator, I have received many questions about translation techniques and what it is like to be a translator. Some questions came from aspiring translators, some from professional translators, and others from fans of TV series. Everyone is interested in knowing the peculiarities of my profession. All the daily experiences in my work showed me different thoughts between a professional and those who are not in the field.
As I also work with language services, I am always asked what it is like to be a Translator / Interpreter.
Fluency in a language means being able to understand, speak, read, and write in that language at the level of a native speaker. Being fluent is just the first step in becoming a professional translator or interpreter. Like any other profession, it requires practice, experience and training. There is no road to success, but here are some good guidelines:
1. Get certified — The first thing I tell people who want to know how to become a translator is to get some kind of certification. Many universities offer advanced courses and professional certifications in translation.
2. Take an international exam — take language proficiency tests that really certify your fluency.
3. Gain experience — Many of us had to start doing internships. If you are enrolled in a translation/interpreting course, look for opportunities to do work on campus for multiple departments. It is essential to have an experience where you can show your work to potential customers and get recommendations.
4. Stay informed — As you progress as a translator, there are other areas to consider as well. You can offer simultaneous interpretation services, as well as consecutive interpretation.
Lessons I learned as a Translator and Interpreter
Every day I have a new experience in the area of Translation and Interpretation. All of these experiences have taught me great lessons.
1. Your translation job is not your job
To translate, we borrowed someone else’s work. It is never our property. Everything we deal with belongs to someone else. This may seem a little obvious. But there are a number of implications that need to be considered. The act of translation requires an extreme degree of respect. I remember a professor of linguistics at the University of California who explains in one of his lectures “The translator must fight against any thought of doing better than the original”. And that is exactly it, translating, without inserting your own ego, translating with professionalism and moral responsibility.
2. What it means to be a good translator
Translation carries a high degree of ethical responsibility. The type of person who makes a good translator is the same type of person who makes a good professional in any other field. Translating requires intense concentration for long periods of time and attention to small details.
3. Knowledge is more important than you think
Yes, a dictionary can help define a word, but the language is not just a tangle of definitions. A good translator, in addition to mastering the grammar of your mother tongue and the language to be translated, should mainly have knowledge. Read, everything. Of everything! Every translator knows that the habit of reading is essential to acquire information and will help you a lot in future work.
This month I celebrate 5 years since the beginning of my activities as a TED Talks translator. The TED initiative grants licenses to people around the world to organize events in their communities offering live lectures and making them available on the website www.ted.com In the spirit of “ideas that deserve to be spread”, happy to be able to contribute with my work of translation.
