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A common belief is that the job of a translator is as simple as translating a written text from one language to another. Knowing the language doesn’t mean you’ve translation expertise. A professional translator must constantly expand, update and acquire new skills.
This piece will discuss tips to improve your skills to make your professional translating journey easy.
- Read again and again
Reading is highly crucial as it helps increase knowledge of languages and helps grow your vocabulary, both of which are important when translating.
Read as many books, magazines, and local newspapers as you can in the target language since new expressions and words appear daily. That will help your sentence structure and word choice when translating.
- Converse or talk
Try to have conversations with native speakers of the target language. There isn’t a better way to learn any language than by constantly speaking in dialogue with those born to it or experts in the language. It is also a great way to pick up on slang and phraseology in your target language.
- Translate vice-versa
Also known as re-translation, it is another great way to enhance your skills. It is the transfer of text from the target language to its source language. Not only will this help you understand the relationship between the two languages, but it’ll also enhance your knowledge.
Re-translating is used to compare the translated document with the original for quality, precision, and accuracy. It helps in evaluating the meaning between the source and target language and might also help in two-way translations between languages.
- Use CAT tools
Translators need to familiarize themselves with Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) tools. CAT tools are computer programs that let you enhance your quality and speed. Instances of skipped words and lines are avoided, and word collectiveness or phrases are given standardised translations.
Remember that these tools don’t replace humans, but they help them improve their translation services or transcription services.
- Practice every day
Just like in audio transcription or transcription, you need to carve out time every single day to practice translation. There are no perfect translators or transcriptionists; they all need to make time to practice enhancing their skills.
When you make mistakes, keep track of them and ensure you learn from them to avoid making the same mistakes over and over again. Try translating documents vice-versa to increase your fluency and understand the other language better.
- Watch TV or videos
When you must maintain and perfect a language proficiency level, there’s nothing as great to do as watching TV or a few videos. Today, there are so many resources available, so you shouldn’t be deprived of them.
For instance, the internet provides a great variety of series, documentaries, and free films in any language. Consider using them to maintain a good level of comprehension in any language you’re translating into to learn new expressions or idioms used in order to enhance the quality of your work.
- Increase cultural awareness
Languages usually are complex, and a translator needs a good understanding of cultural awareness when translating. One of the best ways of enhancing the skill is by practicing and observing native speakers.
The bottom line
The best way to enhance your skill is to translate as much as possible. Perform different tasks to improve your ability and you will deliver each time you handle any project.
All translators need to read newspapers, advertisements, magazines, and more in the target language since it gives insights into the mindset and culture behind the language in question. Professional agencies who offer, for instance, Norwegian to English translation service, require their translators to keep honing their skills in order to be more efficient in doing their job.
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