Qualities of a Good Translator
What kind of qualities should a translator possess? As the world is getting closer than ever, more and more countries are interacting with each other, and consequently, the role of translation is getting bigger and bigger. Then, what should we do to be a good translator? There are a lot of criteria for it, but I believe that the most important qualities are proficiency in related languages, precision, and time management.
First, I believe everybody would agree that the most important quality to be a good translator is proficiency in the source language and the target language. The proficiency here means the understanding of puns, slang, colloquialisms, cultural aspects, irony, subtleties, customs, social elements and particular nuances of the language. So, excellent translators should know how to convey the exact intended meaning to the target readers.
Second, another important quality is precision. Translators are the medium that deliver contents from the author to the readers in different languages, so meaning and intention of the contents can be different and misunderstood, depending on how the translator translates it. For example, in case of documents like contracts, a translator's small mistakes or mistraslation can cause serious misunderstanding that can lead to annulment of a contract.
Third, time management is also a very important thing for a translator. Professional translators should always meet the deadline even though the quality of their work is not their best. And in many
cases, they work alone or at home. So, they need to make good use of their time to make their best work in limited time.
In conclusion, the most important things to be a good translator are proficiency in the source and target languages, preciseness, and time management. Now that there is increasing need for better
translators, these qualities should be given more weight in training translators.
1. What I like about this piece of writing is that it is well structured with 5 distinctive paragraphs. With many transition verbs, I can easily follow your main points.
ReplyDelete2. Your main point seems to be the most important things to be a good translator which are proficiency in both languages, precision, and time management.
3. These particular words or lines struck me as powerful:
"The world is getting closer ever..."
I thought it very powerful since it is very interesting to start with and it is totally related to your logic why the role of translator have become more important.
4. none
5. I thought it would be better if you put more examples of your own experience. That would strength your arguments more.
To YongJun Yoo, From Park Sae-whan
Delete2nd draft
ReplyDeleteQualities of a Good Translator
What kind of qualities should a translator possess? As the world is getting closer than ever, more and more countries are interacting with each other, and consequently, the role of translators is getting bigger and bigger. Then, what should we do to be a good translator? There are a lot of criteria for it, but I believe that the most important qualities are proficiency in related languages, precision, and time management.
First, I believe everybody would agree that the most important quality to be a good translator is proficiency in the source language and the target language. The proficiency here means the understanding of puns, slang, colloquialisms, cultural aspects, irony, subtleties, customs, social elements and particular nuances of the language. So, excellent translators should know how to convey the exact intended meaning to the target readers. For example, American people usually say a person’s name when addressing him, but Korean people use kinship terms or titles like brother, manager, director and so on. If a translator is not knowledgeable about it, s/he is not qualified as a translator.
Second, another important quality is precision. Translators are the medium that deliver contents from the author to the readers in different languages, so meaning and intention of the contents can be different and misunderstood, depending on how the translator translates it. In case of documents like contracts, a translator's small mistakes or mistranslation can cause serious misunderstanding that can lead to annulment of a contract. For instance, 296 additional errors in translating of KORUS FTA documents have been found, which put the agreement itself into more complex situation and severe difficulty.
Third, time management is also a very important thing for a translator. Professional translators should always meet the deadline even though the quality of their work is not their best, because the deadline is agreed before the translator starts working on it and the client clearly needs the translation in time. This is a matter of responsibility. Also in many cases, they work alone at home, which means it would be easy to be distracted and hard to concentrate on work only. So, they need to be well-organized with their time and know how to make good use of their time to make their best work in limited time.
In conclusion, the most important things to be a good translator are proficiency in the source and target languages, preciseness, and time management. Now that there is an increasing need for better translators, these qualities should be given more weight in training translators.