top of page
  • Hazim Ismail

Essential Translation Skills to Become a Good Translator

Updated: Sep 12, 2022


Essential Translation Skills to Become a Good Translator

Translators utilize many skills as they change words from one tongue to the next. Learning about the skills of a translator can both assist you to become a good translator and assist you to enhance your essential translation skills. Being a translator needs much more than understanding more languages. A translator should first be proficient in both their source language and target language, which means that his knowledge of these languages ​​should be exemplary. There are some skills that we have noted down.


Here Know the Essential Translation Skills

1. Advanced Language Knowledge


This is the lowest hope for a translator to be skilled in more than 1 language, but a better translator requires to be new-native level in cases of their comprehension of spelling, punctuation, grammar, and also their capability to recognize both literal and nuanced meaning in the source material, it is one of the very crucial qualities of a good translator.


For those performing transcribing, this comprehension of subtleties would be necessary for ensuring the messages in the authentic material are shown in the solved version. In order to bring this grade of language understanding, several translators analyze translation, to a professional degree while constantly forming their knowledge during this profession.


2. Excellent Writing Abilities


As a translator, the unit of your act is likely to be acting with text in more than language, unless you are also a transcriber or an interpreter. Hence, this is vital for a professional translator to hold outstanding writing and presentation translation skills.


Based on the topic matter, a translator can require to present their academic expertise or they can need to adhere to standing very accurate and in a string with the reference text. A better translator would understand which request to take and would adjust their writing style for the distinct assignments that they perform.


3. Cultural Understanding


Not just does a better translator require to hold writing and outstanding language skills, but they must also have a robust cultural comprehension of the nation where the language is prevalent. This cultural knowledge must think about the values, customs, and behaviors of that particular culture because these would all affect the language that a translator selects to utilize in their work.


Whilst a few terms have a precise literal translation, a translator with robust cultural understanding would be able to identify in case this term is the finest choice to utilize or in case there’s another term to utilize that will be well received by the target people.


4. Be a Robust Researcher


Research is a vital part of essential translation skills. It can comprise analyzing words, lines, jargon, information, background, or cultural insights. The major to it is understanding what to analyze, where you search for it, and how much time to spend on analyzing to be as proficient as possible.


5. Computer and CAT skills


This is also one of the vital skills for a translator. Long gone is the time when a translator will need to write out their words by hand, these days everything is accomplished on a computer and it needs translators to hold a better comprehension of programs, like Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc. Translators would also require to hold a robust comprehension of particular CAT tool that comprises – SDL Trados, WordFast, Memsourse, Memoq, and more.


6. Great Communication Skill


Whether a translator is performing as a freelancer or in case they are performing in-house for a translation firm. The communication skills of a good translator are only as vital. In case you are a freelancer, you would require to liaise with your clients and ensure you comprehend everything about the assignment and the hopes of the clients.


In case you are an internal translator, you would have to express evidently with your group to ensure there’s no misconception between the manager and the translation group.


7. Dedicated and Disciplined


Standing dedicated is one of the essential translation skills, specifically related to freelance translators responsible for their own customers and assignments. Acting on your own can stand isolating and this can sometimes be tough to live inspired without a staff behind you. This is vital for freelancers to be dedicated and sentenced to ensure that they complete their obligations without becoming burnt out in the process.


8. Trusted


As with maximum client-facing roles, clients can trust their translator to respond on time to communications and complete translation needs. The translator should also uphold expert ethics like sustaining clients' secrecy and assuring them of the finest practices of the industry.


9. Flexible


When trying to give customers the finest possible client service, adaptability is usually needed hence deadlines and specific approaches can be done. The capability to be adaptable is greatly alluring in a translator and is what can assist you get suggestions to future customers.


10. Specialization in a Particular Sector


Industries of specialization can create a vast distinction to standing hired as a translator. This is also one of the vital skills of a translator to be a professional. A few recruiters would look majorly for customer experience and others would look for legal, medical, or technical knowledge. Standing as a professional in your select sector is what people look for in a good translator.

46 views0 comments
bottom of page