Essential skill sets of a professional translator

ByLanguageNoBar

Businesses today know that if they aren’t optimizing their content, website or product for different languages across the world, they are missing out on a lot of potential customers and in turn, a lot of sales and revenue! Hence, translations are required to achieve effective communication between different communities and cultures. Translation is a highly skilled profession that requires years of academic and professional experience and the best translators ooze out creativity, subject expertise and a strong work ethic. Here are the basic skill set that every translator must possess in order to provide high quality language translation services: 

Language Proficiency: As a translator, the first skill you should possess is language. Professional translators not only have an expertise in the target language, but are also well versed in the source language. Being a native speaker of the target language helps to boost your expertise. Also, it is necessary to work on your writing skills. Ingenious translations happen when one is highly proficient in the target and source language, has a stronghold on the vocabulary and grammar and a mastery to express the intended meaning precisely and accurately. To constantly evolve, nurture and polish your translation skills, you can try the following methods:

  1. Spend substantial time in the source-language country
  2. Read, listen, watch as much as you can
  3. Take advanced language courses online

Writing skills : Not developing your writing skills will have a direct impact on the growth and career aspects as a translator. To translate convincingly it is essential to work on your writing skills and become a master of the target or native language. Not only this, as a translator you need to be exceptionally strong in the source language also and possess a powerful sense of writing style and acumen. It doesn’t matter whether you are a beginner or a veteran, you need to constantly work on your writing skills to further polish your expertise. Here are some ways to develop them further:

Get familiar with the style, terminologies, jargons and idioms of not only the target but the source language also. This can only be developed by spending plenty of time reading texts and delving into books that are in your specialist field.

  1. Look out for writing courses from esteemed universities. You can easily avail the courses online too.
  2. Write a blog, or write for online or offline publications.
  3. Get creative as engaging in activities and stimulating pursuits can have a positive effect on the creativity of your writing.

Subject expertise : Successful translators are those who are experts in a particular area or industry and constantly keep on learning. If you don’t understand the subject of a text, you won’t be able to produce a convincing translation in the target language, especially while providing legal or medical translation services. By working at the ground level, you can get a deep understanding of the subject matter and terminology involved, that will be really beneficial for you while translating. Having a previous career experience can also provide an invaluable background for your translation work. Other activities to continue developing your domain-matter expertise include:

  1. Studying your field of expertise at university/undergrad level.
  2. Getting a diploma in the specialist field.
  3. Attending conferences and related events.
  4. Reading relevant books and related industry journals.
  5. Building a network of people from the domain industry

Also,  you decide to specialize in any subject, it is critical to keep up to date about your specialization. Just like languages, terminologies of the industries evolve everyday. To keep up with the changes, developments and latest trends, you need to keep your knowledge updated. Keep an eye on all the latest happenings and keep developing your research skills to have a thorough subject-matter expertise.

Just like any career, it takes time and effort to become a successful translator. A professional translator is always preferred by companies and LanguageNoBar – a reputable translation agency, has a network of 1000+ certified and native translators who can deliver accurate and high quality translations consistently.

It takes years of dedication and a genuine love for languages to deliver precise and error-free translations. With the right education and a good set of skills, you too can become a professional translator!

Although you might not be fluent in all the target languages, you can assess the procedures that are designed to ensure high-quality translations. To ensure that your target audience receives the superior user experience they deserve, request tests before going live and reviewing the findings. LanguageNoBar is one of the leading translation agency in India and we believe in delivering high quality content to our customers. We provide translation in 150+ languages ensuring full transparency with the customers.