To Be Qualified as a Translator
Yujin Lee
I have always been interested in translation. The main goal of translation is to allow people to have access and understand texts which were originally in a different language. So, I can say becoming a translator is becoming a channel. The idea seems very attractive to me and I want to work as a translator in my future, especially specialized in translating foreign language to my native language: Korean language. Considering several reasons, I think the job is quite suitable for me; two main reasons are related to aspect of language skills and the other is related to my attitude towered the career.
The first reason related to language aspect is the fact that I try hard to have a good command of my native language. When it comes to translating foreign languages to one's mother tongue, I believe it is very important to be competent at using the native language. In my case, I should be competent at using Korean; because the people who require my translation will be Koreans and the language they will face to understand the content of texts is Korean. To be good at Korean, I think it is necessary to stay close with the dictionary to keep study. So, every time I encounter a word or an expression I only understand vaguely, I look up the Korean dictionary for an exact definition as well as a context it is used in . Also, I try to write in Korean as much as possible. Translation is basically writing. I need to create sentences according to an original text and sometimes even make my own expressions; for sure, it is no wonder that many famous translators are also good writers themselves.
The second reason is because I make a lot of effort to become a better reader to understand foreign languages. Like I said above, the main purpose of translation is to make others understand the meaning of text from a different language. If a translator cannot understand foreign language well, he or she will fail to comprehend the original text and obviously this will go same with the readers who face the translation. Therefore, when I read some texts in foreign languages to practice translation, I spend a considerable amount of time to read the writing thoroughly and make myself understood first; at the beginning, I mainly focus on understanding the content and then move on to study the intention of the writer as well as subtle nuance and tone of the writing. By doing so, I can be confident with my translation.
Finally, I think the fact that I can enjoy the process of continuous studying is what makes me competent for the job as a translator. I believe good translator should always take an active attitude toward learning knowledge about their ongoing work. To provide one fine translation which does not distort the original text, a translator should always keep on studying about background information related to their work. A few days ago I had to work on a translation assignment. The text itself was quite short but it took a long time to translate because I needed to do a lot of research on background knowledge. After several hours of research on internet, I went to library to have further knowledge and check if the information I got from the internet is valid. Next, I looked for other translations from different translators to refer and develop my own. After taking the series of steps, I could finally have my final version. It was a time-consuming process but I realized that I was really enjoying it. I was glad to learn lots of knowlege throughout my research and to watch an improvement in my translation was also a big pleasure.
Nowadays, the world gets smaller and people from different parts of the world are interacting more actively than ever. Because of this, the need for translation increases and many people are entering the field accordingly. It is true that I should devote myself to develop my translation skills and there are many aspects which need an improvement to become a great translator among them. However, the fact that I try hard to be competent at my native language and have better reading skills to understand foreign language texts will surely help me to be a competitive translator. Also, the point that I can really enjoy myself when I study for my translation will work as a strong advantage. In near future, I hope to see others enjoying my translations.
To Be Qualified as a Translator
ReplyDeleteFinal draft
Yujin Lee
From what I remember, I have spent time translating since I was a middle school student. One time, I read a very interesting piece of novel in English which was not very well-known. I wasn’t surprised to know that there is no Korean version but I really wanted to have one for my own. So I decided to translate some of my favorite parts and spent a few days translating on my small note. It is hard to say that my early translation was a masterpiece but I still remember the pleasure and pride I had, after I completed my own Korean version. I truly enjoyed the work and since then I thought about working as a translator in my future, especially specialized in translating foreign language to my native language: Korean. Considering several reasons, I think the job is quite suitable for me; the reasons are mainly related to my attitude toward the career.
The first reason is that I try hard to have a good command of my native language. When it comes to translating foreign languages to one's mother tongue, I believe it is very important to be competent at using the native language. In my case, I should be competent at using Korean; because the people who require my translation will be Koreans and the language they will face to understand the content of texts is Korean. To be good at Korean, I thought it is necessary to stay close with the dictionary to keep study. So, every time I encounter a word or an expression I only understand vaguely, I look up the Korean dictionary for an exact definition as well as a context it is used in. Then I try to use it in my everyday conversation in order to be accustomed to the expression. Moreover, I try to write in Korean as much as possible. Translation is basically writing. I need to create sentences according to an original text and sometimes even make my own expressions. Therefore, I always carry a piece of note to write whenever I think of something. And I also write some essays about books which I found impressive or sometimes even poem. This writing activity makes me keep looking for adequate words for the better writing and it really helps me a lot when I have to come up with a proper expression in Korean.
Secondly, I make a lot of effort to have better reading skills when I face texts in foreign languages. If a translator fails to comprehend the original text, it will obviously go same with the readers who face the translation. Therefore, when I read some texts in foreign languages to practice translation, I always try to focus on becoming a good reader myself and spend a considerable amount of time to make myself thoroughly understood. For instance, when I read a novel, I mainly focus on understanding the basic storyline at the beginning and then move on to carefully study a tone of the writing as well as a subtle nuance in certain words and expressions. All writings contain an intention of writers and expressions are carefully chosen to demonstrate the intention in most effective ways. So, to become a competent translator, I try hard to read these things as well as the basic meaning of a text. Moreover, I try to read many good writings from various genres as well. Sometimes I choose a news article from foreign newspaper such as BBC or CNN and sometimes I decide to read a famous novel which I really enjoyed but have never read in its original text.
(The second part of the final draft)
ReplyDeleteFinally, I think the fact that I can enjoy the process of continuous studying also makes me competent for the job as a translator. A good translator should always take an active attitude toward learning knowledge about their ongoing work. To provide one fine translation which does not distort the original text, a translator should always keep on studying about background information related to their work. A few days ago I had to work on a translation assignment. The text itself was quite short but it took more than a day to translate because I needed to do a lot of research on background knowledge. After several hours of research on internet, I went to library to have further knowledge from books and check if the information I got from the internet is valid. Next, I looked for other translations from different translators to develop my own. After taking the series of steps, I could finally have my final version. It was a time-consuming process but I realized that I was really enjoying it. I was glad to learn lots of knowledge throughout my research and to watch an improvement in my translation was also a big pleasure.
Nowadays, as the world gets smaller, people from different parts of the world are interacting more actively than ever. Consequently, the need for translation increases and many people are entering the field accordingly. It is true that I should keep trying to develop my translation skills and there are many aspects which need an improvement to become a competent translator among them. However, the fact that I try hard to be better at my native language and have better reading skills to understand texts in foreign languages will surely help me to be a good translator. Also, the point that I can really enjoy myself when I study for my translation will work as a strong advantage. In near future, I hope to see others enjoying my translations.