一个合格译员应该具备的素质

一个合格译员应该具备的素质随着对外交流合作与跨文化交际的不断发展，译员或译者对需求量大大增加，同时也对其各方面的素质的要求有了较大的提高。作文英语专业的学生，未来潜在的翻译后备军，应该如何具备这些素质呢，经过本学期的翻译实践，我对翻译者应具有的素质有了较大的感悟。如何做一名合格的译者呢我有了自己的感悟。一、良好的心理素质，和吃苦耐劳的精神翻译绝对不是一件简单的事情，面对篇幅巨大，内容难懂的作品，本身心理上就承担了较大的压力，极易产生抵触，厌烦等不良情绪情绪。要想实现高质量的翻译，首先就要有良好的心理素质，能够静下心来仔细认真的翻译。当今社会浮躁情绪弥漫，有些人会选择盲目快译的方法追求速度，很难保证质量，也达不到翻译所提出的标准，严重的话会造成误解和错误，给读者和大众带来危害。所以应该静下心来，还是要慢功出细活的。作为初学者的我们，尤其要有吃苦耐劳的精神，踏踏实实认认真真的学习。练习，翻译，练好各项基本功，为未来的职业发展良好的基础二、扎实的语言基本功作为一个译者，必须要精通本国语言。当我们阅读本国文学作品时，较之于外语文学作品，我们通常更自信于自己的理解能力。我们自以为完全读懂了文意，可是一旦开始翻译就会遇到障碍，才发现很多地方都理解错了。因为是本国语言，较为自信，阅读时就不仔细认真，我们一味糊弄自己。为此，翻译充当着外语学习的最好方法。三、良好的沟通愿望和协作精神有愿望则技能自然显现，有精神则协作效果不断显现。具有良好的心态决定沟通协作的效果。经常发现，有不少译员把给翻译公司作稿件看成一项卖菜的事业。一种纯粹交易的心态和固有的简单化处理的保守意识。实际上，翻译是一项人类思维活动的复杂劳动。客户稿件的内在实质和外在表达方式也存在千差万别。拿过稿件不闻不问，埋头翻译后稿件往往差强人意。根本原因即前期缺少双方认可的质量规范，翻译过程中又缺乏有效沟通。四、熟练高超的软件操作技能。

有别于在线机器或软件翻译，现代译员借助CAT翻译辅助软件可以极大提高工作效率一把重复性、记忆性工作交给软件处理，把思考和创意性工作交给大脑和灵感。现今翻译工作涉及的也远远不只是翻译辅助软件，经常要使用各种格式的文件用多种软件处理版式和图形，比如PDF稿件、InDesign出版稿件。仅仅翻译文字和翻译排版两张皮的模式已经不能适应市场的快速发展与客户需求。五、具备行业知识的深度和广度翻译稿件不是文字游戏，翻译是用另一种语言表达内容。如果没有深厚德行业知识，就不能完整准确地理解原文内容，更会望文生义，误译和错误表达也会出现。只有深度没有广度的知识已经难以适应快速发展的技术要求。很多领域已经纵横交叉，比如ERP（企业流程管理重组）涉及到业务、会计、库存、生产领域，信息通讯产品涉及到工业设计、UI、IT和通讯核心技术。一名合格译员不可能做到样样精专，但熟悉3-5个行业知识，并有能力处理与自己专业翻译领域相关联的专业知识，已经成为一名合格译员的标配。六、持续的学习能力，不断使自己与时俱进行业知识的老化是每一名译者必须面对的问题。技术日新月异，经济起伏翻转，世界剧变都成为知识变化的强大动力。汉语和外语新词新意不断涌现，技术创新推动知识不断更新变化。翻译不是简单重复式劳动，需要有创新思维，更需要有丰厚的新知识作基础。学习成了译者工作的有机组成。更多0Theexpertiseofthetranslatorselectedtoworkonanygiventranslationprojectisbyfarthebestgaugeofinsuringahighqualityoutput.Weuse8corecriteriatohelpguideourtranslatorrecruitmentprocess.Reacbntolearnmore…Whiletherearesomanydifferentfactorsthatfigureintoeachindividualtranslator'sexpertise,webelievethatthefollowing8criteriarepresentthecoreelementsforsuccessfultranslatorrecruitment:

Nativespeakerofthetargetlanguage.Degreeorequivalentcertificationintranslationand/ordegreeinsourcelanguage.Degreeorconcentrationinspecificsubjectmatterincombinationwithabovetranslationrequirement.(Thisrequirementcanalsobemetbyworkexperience.Seebelow.)SubjectMatterExpertise:3+yearsofworkingexperienceinfieldofexpertiseand/ortranslatinginfieldofexpertiseasanin-houseorfull-timefreelancetranslatorpreferred.ExcellentEnglishwritingandcommunicationskills.Accreditationand/oractivemembershipinarelevanttranslationassociationpreferred.Foranexampleofacertificationprogramreferto:AmericanTranslatorsAssociationCertificationProgramProofofcredentials.Mayincludeoneormoreofthefollowing:CV,testscores,transcripts,certifications,andreferencesfromrelatedworkexperience.SampleTranslation:SuppliedtotranslatorbyLanguageIntelligenceandevaluatedbyavettedLanguageIntelligencetranslatorworkinginthesamelanguagepairandsubjectmatterexpertiseasprospectivetranslator.Translatorswhomeetthesecriteriaandreceiveexcellentevaluationsareconsideredapprovedandaddedtoourdatabaseoftranslators.EachapprovedtranslatorsignsaConsultantAgreementandanyotherrequiredconfidentialitydocumentationasrequiredbyLanguageIntelligence'sclients.Additionally,followingapproval,wecontinuetomeasurethequalityofwhatthetranslatordeliversinthisway:Evaluationsforfirst3projectswhichareadministeredbyLanguageIntelligence'sLocalizationProjectManagers.InclusionontranslationteamswithvettedLanguageIntelligencetranslators.OngoingevaluationsoccurforalltranslatorsregardlessoftheirhistorywithLanguageIntelligence.TheabovecriteriaareallfactoredintoLanguageIntelligence'stranslatorqualificationprocess.However,eachbearvariedsignificanceintheprocessdependingontheindividual'scredentials,certification,educationorexperience.Meaning,ifatranslatordoesnotcarryacertificationinthetargetlanguagebuthasmanyyearsofexperiencetranslatingwhichisreflectedinanexcellentsampletranslation,theweightoftheselectionisnaturallyplacedontheexperienceandevaluation.Wewouldbeveryinterestedinhearingyourperspectivesontranslatorevaluation.Pleaseprovidefeedbackandcomments!Maybeyou'vealreadydonesometranslationwork,paidorpro-bono,ormaybeyouarecompletelynewtothebusinessandarewonderingifbeingatranslatormaybethejobforyou.Youmaybeaskingyourselfwhatittakestobecomeatranslator.BasicRequirementsNaturally,youhavetoknowatleasttwolanguages-that'sobvious.Howfluentdoyouhavetobe.Let'stalkaboutyoursourceandyourtargetlanguages.Thesourcelanguageisthelanguageoftheoriginaltextyou'retranslating.Thetargetlanguageisthelanguageyou'retranslatinginto.Mosttranslatorswillonlytranslateintotheirnativelanguageormothertongue.Thereareexceptions,ofcourse,especiallywhereatranslatorhasbeenlivingabroadformanyyears.Generally,though,mostpeopleonlyhavenativeproficiencyin,well,theirnativelanguage.IamaGermantranslatorandIhavebeenlivinginCanadaforover8years.Istillhavemytranslationsproofreadbyanativespeaker.(It'sgoodifyou'remarriedtoone.)HowdoIgetover10,000visitorsamonthtothissiteandearnanicesupplementalincomeReadthestoryhere...However,justbeinganativespeakerisnotenough.Ifyouareagoodwriterinyourfirstlanguage,youhaveprobablycomeaccrosssomewriting,evenpublishedwriting,thatmakesyoushudder.Nativespeakerscanwritepoorly,too!Ifyouwanttobeatranslator,youneedsuperiorwritingskillsinyourtargetlanguage.Youneedanexcellentcommandofgrammarandstyle.Ifacompanypayshundredsorthousandsofdollarsforatranslation,thedocumentmustbeimportanttothemandtheywillexpectquality.Therequirementsforyoursourcelanguagearenotquiteasdemanding.Youshouldhaveanexcellentcomprehensionofyoursecondlanguage,ofcourse.However,whenyou'retranslating,youhopefullyhaveaccesstolotsofdictionariesandreferencematerial(moreonthatlater).Keepinmind,though,thathavingtolookupalotofwordsofthesourcetextwillseverelyreduceyouroutputandspeedintranslating.IoccasionallytranslatefromFrenchtoGerman,butIdohavetoconsultmydictionaryalotmore.Ibelievethatmytranslationisstillgood,butittakesmeaccordinglylonger.Lastly,itisgoodtohaveabroadeducationandgeneralknowledgeofcertainspecialistfields.Translationagenciesandclientslookfortranslatorsthatarefamiliarwiththetopicofthetranslation.There'snothinghardertotranslatethanatextthatyoudon'treallyunderstand.Specializingincertainfieldsalsogivesyouamorelimitedvocabularyyouneedtomaster,especiallyconcerningtechnicalterms.Youmayacquireyourknowledgethroughaformalcollegeoruniversitydegree(IhaveaBachelorDegreeinPhysics),orsimplythroughreadinguponthesubjectmatterregularly.TechnicalResourcesAsanabsoluteminimum,youneedtoown,orhaveunlimitedaccessto,thefollowing:Acomputer.CanbeWindowsorMac,butIwouldrecommendWindowsifyouhavethechoice.Youmighthavepersonalpreferences,butWindowswillgiveyoubettercompatibilitywithyourclients.(Idon'twanttogetintothewhole'Billisevil'discussionhere.UnfortunatelyWindowshasade-factomonopolyinthemarket,andsomeimportantsoftwareisnotavailable,ornot100%compatible,onMac).AnInternetconnection.Withdocumentsgettinglargerandlarger,broadbandwouldbepreferable,butdial-upisfineforstarterstoo.It'simportantthatyou'reabletocheckyoure-mailseveraltimesaday,soanInternetcafeisnotagoodidea.Anofficesuite.YouwillneedatleastMSWord.(DOSversionsdon'tcounthere.)Excelisimportant,too.Powerpointmaybeagoodidea,butisnotascommonlyrequired.Ifyouaretranslatingwebpages,youwillneedanHTMLeditor.FrontPageisgood,butmostfreewaresoftwarewilldojustfineforthispurpose.Faxcapability.Thiscouldbeafaxmodemorane-faxservice.Afaxmachineisbetterbecauseyoumayhavetosigncontractswithtranslationagenciesandfaxthem.*Amobilephoneorapagerwouldbeagoodideaifyougooutduringbusinesshoursalot.Dictionariesandreferencebooks.Youcanneverhavetoomanyofthose.TheInternethasbecomeanexcellentresourcetoo.Andlastly,aquietoffice.Itdoesn'thavetobelarge,justenoughtoaccommodateyourcomputer,yourbooksandyourself.Youshouldbeabletoworkwithoutdistractions.Ifyoulivealone,yourlivingroomoryourbedroommaybejustfine.Ifyouhaveafamily,especiallykids,orroommates,youmustbesuretoeitherhaveanofficewhereyoucanclosethedoor,ortheremustbetimeswhereyourfamilyisout(workorschool)Othergoodthingstohave,butnotabsolutelyrequired,includedesktoppublishingsoftware(suchasPageMaker),atranslationmemory(DejaVu,Trados,Wordfast,etc.,moreonthatlater),andmoredictionariesandreferencebooks.Whatsoftwareisrequiredoftendependsonthefieldyou'reworkingin,andyou'lllearnasyougo.TranslationDegreeDoyouneedatranslationdegreetobecomeatranslatorYesandno.Readmoreaboutithere.TobecomeagoodinterpreteristheaspirationcherishedbyeverystudentofEnglish.Then,whatarethenecessaryqualitiesthatmakeagoodinterpreter?Inordertogettheanswer,wehavetounderstandthenatureofworkofaninterpreter.Theworkofaninterpreteristoreproduceorallyinanotherlanguagewhathasjustbeensaid.Toputinanotherway,itisoraltranslationonthespot.Interpretationcanbeconsecutive,thatis,reproductionafterthespeakerhasstopped,orsimultaneous,thatis,atthesametimeasthespeakerisspeaking.Therefore,specialrequirementsarisefromthespecialnatureofinterpretation.Someveteraninterpretershavesummarizedtherequirementsofinterpretationas"accurate,quickandsmooth".Obviously,acorrectunderstandingandreproductionofthespeaker'smeaningcomesfirst,becauseaninterpreterismerelyamediumamongspeakersofdifferentlanguagesintheircommunication.Atthesametime,aninterpretermustbequickinhis/herwork.Theymustnotdelay.Theirinterpretationshouldbesmoothsothatitcanbereadilyunderstood.Toachieveaccuracyininterpretation,aninterpretermustcomprehendcorrectlyinthefirstplace.Togetherwithsmoothreproduction,itisnotdifficulttoseethatagoodcommandofEnglish(orotherlanguages)andChineseisthe"prerequisitecondition”.Aclearpronunciationandintonationarecrucialforaninterpreter.However,theachievementofspeedneedsspecialtraining.Oneofthedifficultiesliesinmemory.Manystudentscomplainthattheycannotrememberwhathasjustbeensaid.Here,note-takingmayhelp.Note-takingservesasanaidtomemoryonthespot,soyoudonothavetotakedowneverywordbeingspokenwhichisbothimpossibleandunnecessary.Youonlyneedtotakedownthekeywordswhichrepresentthemainideasandofcourse,numbersandfigures.Yournotemusthaveaclearpresentationorpatternwhichindicatesthelogicaldevelopmentofthes