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Fluency
Depth.
An
excellent translator
is fluent in the source language and the target language. In
most cases, the translator is a native speaker of the target
language. While fluency in both languages is important,
it the depth, that sets the best apart. Having a
deep knowledge of a language requires the understanding of
puns, slang, colloquialisms, cultural aspects, irony, subtleties,
customs, social elements and particular nuances of the language.
This usually comes from intuition acquired, in most cases, from
having lived in the native country. Excellent translators
strive to get across the exact intended meaning by tapping into
their language intuition as well as their background, experience and
education.
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Busy.
An excellent
translator is an active translator utilising his or her skills
daily. As with any skill such as playing the guitar or
tennis, if the skill is not exercised regularly, the
effectiveness is reduced. Skills not sharpened become dull.
If you don't use it, you lose it. An excellent translator will
actively hone his or her skill. Busy translators listen attentively
and are fervent readers and researchers of various types of writing
styles and topics. Excellent translators study well-translated work
and travel back and forth to their native country keeping current
with changing vocabulary, customs and social issues.
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Specialised. Excellent translators are
experts in one or two industries. For example, the
terminology and writing style used in medical documents is vastly
different from the terminology and writing style general used in
legal documents. By specialising, the translator’s speed
and accuracy increases substantially. Specialised translators can
jump right into translating and have the necessary tools and
resources at hand.
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Education
and Certification.
The best translators are generally professionals and have completed
substantial hours of related education. Most have language,
linguistic or translation-specific degrees. These translators are
often certified translators in their residing country.
Certification is required, in most cases, to translate government
documents such as marriage or birth certificates. Increasingly,
corporations are requesting certified translators to complete
translation projects. For translation project in specific
industries such as medical, legal or engineering, the best
translators are those whose first degree is in the particular
industry (lawyer, doctor or engineer) and subsequent degrees are
linguistic or translation related.
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Excellent
Communicators.
Excellent translators are prolific writers both in the source and
target language. The translator should have university-level grasp
of grammar, vocabulary and punctuation. The best translators
understand their country’s various dialects and formal and
informal writing styles and nuances. In addition to having these
text-book qualities, translators also must be able to write in a
style that conveys the intended meaning, tone, impression and
feeling of the source document. All too often, this element is
overlooked and the thus the saying “it gets lost in the
translation” emerges.
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Resourceful.
The best translators utilise all resources available to them such as
bilingual dictionaries and industry-specific (medical, legal,
computer) dictionaries. The best translators also utilise
encyclopaedias, participate in language forums, language
organisations and chat groups to ensure their translations are
accurate and exact to the meaning of the source document. Words can
have many different meanings and knowledge of this is critical to
bring across the exact intended source document meaning. Choosing
the best translated word to bring across the intended meaning is a
talent that develops over time.
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Experienced.
The best translators have years of experience and thus have
acquired the background and knowledge that make them excellent
translators. Experienced translators have learned from their
mistakes, continuously strive to improve, understand the process and
have perfected their skills.
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Client
Focus.
Translation is a service industry and translators must deliver for
their clients. Quite
often translation projects require immediate turnaround. We live in
a fast-paced world and time is of the essence. Excellent
translators are dedicated and are flexible to meet the client’s
specific needs. Excellent translators will do whatever it takes to
meet project deadlines and produce high quality accurate
translations.
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Reputation.
The best translators have enormous pride in their work and value
their reputation. They strive to consistently get it right. The
translation industry if very competitive. The best translators, can
identify with this correlation “a salesman is only as good as his
last sale” and “a translator is only as good as their last
translation”. Excellent translators believe that every piece of
work is important and can positively or negatively impact their
reputation.
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Responsible.
Excellent translators have a deep sense of responsibility and
understand the significance of their work. Inaccurate translation
can be damaging to organizations particularly in areas such as
medical, legal and contract documents. There have been many
instances of inaccurate translation of marketing materials. As an
example, when Pepsi introduced its products in China, their slogan,
"Pepsi Brings You Back to Life" was literally translated.
The slogan in Chinese was written "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors
Back from the Grave."