| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Lots of language pairs better? Thread poster: Stuart Dowell
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Oleg Osipov 
Russian Federation
Local time: 00:37
English to Russian
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Amy Duncan wrote:
since I have enough work in my pair
The key phrase.
| | | | | well, my clients are more than satisfied with my services | Nov 14, 2008 |
Tom in London wrote:
IMHO, anyone who claims to be able to translate between more than one language pair is probably not competent to translate to a professional standard in any language pair.
Sorry, but I completely disagree. Of course, you have to stick to 1 field.
| | | | Oleg Osipov
Russian Federation
Local time: 00:37
English to Russian
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Paola Dentifrigi wrote:
Tom in London wrote:
IMHO, anyone who claims to be able to translate between more than one language pair is probably not competent to translate to a professional standard in any language pair.
Sorry, but I completely disagree. Of course, you have to stick to 1 field.
Completely agree with Paola, but fields differ in size, ranging from lawns to really big fields.
| | | | Arnaud HERVE
France
Local time: 22:37
English to French
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| Commercially... | Nov 15, 2008 |
From the strictly logical point of view, you would improve your business opportunities by translating for all pairs and in all fields.
I would like to do that but I'm too dumb.
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Tom in London wrote:
IMHO, anyone who claims to be able to translate between more than one language pair is probably not competent to translate to a professional standard in any language pair.
Just as anyone who claims to be native in more than one language is probably not fully liiterate or up to date in any of them.
I see no reason why one could not be an excellent translator in multiple combinations. Say, a solid ABC or ACC (A-mother tongue, B-active, C-passive) is not even impressive or special in my opinion, let alone impossible.
For starters, there are bilingual people out there who speak a third language very fluently. Easily well enough to translate from it. If such a person happens to be a good translator, that will make a great ABC combination.
Also, there are skills in translation that are independent of source language knowledge so that gives you a solid foundation to build on with your weaker languages. In translation, you have the luxury of looking up words you may not know, so as long as the text is not deeply specialized, I don't think source language knowledge is that critical.
I would be inclined to agree that there are not many people out there who can do impeccable work in an ABB combination. But then... work ABB well enough to translate general correspondence, newspaper articles when only the content matters and polished style is not crucial, or vacuum cleaner manuals? Easily.
For perspective: the simultaneous interpreters of the EU usually have an ABC or ACC combination at least. Many of them actually have 3 or more C languages. They are "encouraged", almost required to take on an additional language every 5 or 10 years. They may not be as fluent in their third - or fifth - language as their second, but they are plenty good enough to work "to a professional standard".
Edit: as to the original question:
My experience in the Hungarian market is that having multiple languages is a big plus when you're starting out.
I personally work from English and Spanish, and, almost invariably, Spanish was the language that got me through the door and English has been what gave me large volumes afterwards.
Agencies/clients look for new translators when they need work done in a more exotic language, so speaking a rarer language is handy.
It seems to me that I inadvertently stumbled upon a very useful language combination: the "default" and a somewhat "exotic" language. In the US market, the equivalent would probably be Spanish and, say, German or Italian.
[Edited at 2008-11-15 15:23 GMT]
| | | | Anthony Baldwin
United States
Local time: 16:37
Portuguese to English
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Tom in London wrote:
IMHO, anyone who claims to be able to translate between more than one language pair is probably not competent to translate to a professional standard in any language pair.
I am American, and, thus, US English is my native language, in which I have a degree.
I also grew up bilingual in Spanish, having Hispanic family.
I also studied French to the graduate level.
I also have been married for many years to a Brazilian school teacher, and have been approved by my state's judicial branch to interpret Portuguese.
Why then would I not be capable of translating from French, Spanish and Portuguese into English?
Just because YOU can't do it, doesn't mean it isn't possible.
At this juncture, I can pretty well read Italian. I imagine with some courses, I could be translating that language as well.
What is of utmost importance is that I comprehend the source language (and I do understand all three of my source languages perfectly well, thank you), and that I have a professional level of writing skill in my target language.
I know others who work in as many pairs as I do and provide excellent, professional quality work, as well.
I once met an interpreter here in my state who works, professionally, and with various high level certifications, in 7 languages.
Most of his languages are closely related.
The same may be said of my languages, all of them having similar roots in Latin and, in many cases, similar vocabulary.
Hardly impossible, not even uncommon. I know various consummate professionals working in all of the same pairs in which I work.
They are highly qualified professionals and do excellent work.
Just as anyone who claims to be native in more than one language is probably not fully liiterate or up to date in any of them.
Any why not?
There are those who are brought up bilingual, such as American students who grow up speaking Spanish at home and English in the school system, also study their Spanish in school, and, perhaps, study abroad in their parent's home country to learn their Spanish.
The same applies, of course, to other language pairs, and this is just an example. There are also, for example, many Canadians who are equally bilingual in both, French and English.
In my interpreting work, I have met many attorneys, for instance, that grew up speaking Spanish in Puerto Rico, but also studied English, then came to the US to study law. They are fully bilingual, fully competent in both languages.
There is nothing extraordinary or bizarre about this phenomenon. It is rather common place here.
[Edited at 2008-12-11 14:07 GMT]
| | | | | Do not make pejorative statments because YOU CAN'T DO IT !!! | Dec 12, 2008 |
Tom in London wrote:
IMHO, anyone who claims to be able to translate between more than one language pair is probably not competent to translate to a professional standard in any language pair.
Just as anyone who claims to be native in more than one language is probably not fully liiterate or up to date in any of them.
Hello,
I don't really understand this kind of thinking ! It's as if you are saying I'm not capable enough (with all due respect) to do it so nobody should be able to do it !
I've been translating in two language pairs i.e. ENG>FR & ESP>FR and I have some regular clients in both languages. I really do feel comfortable doing technical translations in both languages ! And if it wasn't a hassle to type in Arabic I'd probably translate from it too!
And I'm sure that there a lot of capable translators out there who can translate from more than three languages !
As skills sometimes are innate ! Furthermore, some languages are very close to each other ! And some people were born in truly bilingual environments !
Kind regards,
[Edited at 2008-12-12 14:05 GMT]
| | | | Williamson
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:37
Flemish to English
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| Splendid Isolation | Dec 15, 2008 |
Tom in London wrote:
IMHO, anyone who claims to be able to translate between more than one language pair is probably not competent to translate to a professional standard in any language pair.
Just as anyone who claims to be native in more than one language is probably not fully liiterate or up to date in any of them.
Anyone who went to a T&I-school had to choose at least two foreign languages.
Are you living in a splendid isolation or a globalised world. Go to St.Pancras early in the morning and take the Eurostar to Brussels. When in Brussels, try to figure out which the official language spoken in that city is and try to listen to the many other languages you will hear when taking the M(etro). You might hear people speaking English too, reading the Financial Times and the Economist as well as newspapers in German, Polish, Swedish, Finnish, Greek, Arabic, Chinese, Romanian, Italian, Portuguese ....
Take the Eurostar back to your splendid isolation in London and ask yourself why translators who happened to go to a T&I-school in that city are able to translate into more than one language pair. Viel Glück, bonne chance, mucha suerte, succes and good luck.
[Edited at 2008-12-15 22:45 GMT]
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Zoe Green
Italy
Local time: 22:37
Spanish to English
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| I will translate whatever I'm capable of translating well | Dec 17, 2008 |
I started out offering only German to English. Within a couple of months, I had people asking me to do test translations from Spanish into English (they'd noticed I live in Spain). I aced all the tests, and now offer Spanish to English as a second language pair. I find it as easy to translate as German to English, have had no complaints, and like the variety of working in two language pairs.
Recently, I've had a couple of existing clients asking me if I do French to English translat... See more I started out offering only German to English. Within a couple of months, I had people asking me to do test translations from Spanish into English (they'd noticed I live in Spain). I aced all the tests, and now offer Spanish to English as a second language pair. I find it as easy to translate as German to English, have had no complaints, and like the variety of working in two language pairs.
Recently, I've had a couple of existing clients asking me if I do French to English translations, and I've done a couple of jobs from French. I always point out that although I consider myself perfectly capable of working from French, I am not qualified to do so. They're happy with the quality of work, so I don't see the problem. However, I still don't actively advertise the French to English combination. I'm happy with how things are going at the moment, but if I do see a drop in work as a result of the economic crisis, then I'll consider actively offering French to English too. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Williamson
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:37
Flemish to English
+ ...
| I second that. | Dec 25, 2008 |
Romanic and Slavonic languages have common roots.
Some languages are so related that they can be learned in a short period of time. If you know Spanish and French for example, it is not difficult to read Portuguese and Italian (especially not if during your study-years, you helped a fellow student with her assignments in Italian). Although a Romance language, I find Romanian more difficult.
Take a good grammar, study it, go to Italy and Portugal, assimilate as much vocabulary as you... See more Romanic and Slavonic languages have common roots.
Some languages are so related that they can be learned in a short period of time. If you know Spanish and French for example, it is not difficult to read Portuguese and Italian (especially not if during your study-years, you helped a fellow student with her assignments in Italian). Although a Romance language, I find Romanian more difficult.
Take a good grammar, study it, go to Italy and Portugal, assimilate as much vocabulary as you can, attend a specialised univeristy course in say business and you can start translating.
I'll answer any native of Portuguese/Italian in Spanish, but with the help of a good dictionary, I am perfectly capable of reading a quality newspaper and listening to the news in those languages.
So, why shouldn't I start translating from say Portuguese/Italian into Dutch or English for that matter?
On the forums, I sometimes follow discussions in those languages.
Learn a Romance/Slavonic language well, use them as working language and after a couple of years add another of those languages to your repertoire, was the strategy of a translator, who when he retired at age 65, translated to and from 8 different languages and who was never out of work (which means he had satisfied customers).
--
In translation, it is a free world and everybody chooses his/her path. "Con algo hay que empezar" (you have to start with something) was the first Spanish sentence I learnt. If I hadn't started, I would never have learned Spanish. It is a free world and as long as customers are happy, I am happy and so is my bank-account.
[Edited at 2008-12-25 11:20 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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