5 Tips to Help Translators Hone their Skills

Everything in the world is being improved day by day. A human can learn new skills. These skills can be improved further to get better results. Skills also need improvement with time. A translator helps the author to introduce his work to the world.

Translators need to improve their skills to translate words from one language to another. It is generally said that translation destroys the effectiveness of the original material. The more a translator knows culture and language, the more effective translation will be.

Here we will discuss some tips to brighten their translation skills.

1. Read & Watch

Reading in your targeted language is one of the pro tips to hone your translation skills. Reading the dictionary of the targeted language will help to improve translation skills. Always learn new words and enrich your vocabulary for better translation. Reading the literature, watching the documentary or movies in the targeted language is helpful to command a language. 

Besides reading the dictionary and watching movies or documentaries, reading the local newspaper, books, magazines, and publications is also a pro tip. This reading material will help the translator to absorb the cultural nuances, events, trends, and terms. Read some famous poetry in the local language. Poetry has a pile of new and different words.

Reading the already translated articles along with the original content will help to understand the structure of the sentences. The comprehensive reading is extremely useful for verbal and written communications. The comprehensive reading and the reading the text are two different things/skills. This skill can be sharpened with time and practice.

Watching the movies, documentaries, and dramas in the original language will help to increase vocabulary and listening skills. This is very helpful to understand the culture and civilization of the native people along with the expression/reaction of the people. The subtitles for a video are also helpful instead of a dubbed movie, documentary, or drama.

 

1. Communication

Communication is the best way to learn new things whether it be a language or any other skills. Conversing with the natives of the targeted language is the best way to understand the pronunciation, vocabulary, new words, and sentence structures. A native speaker teaches the basic use of the grammar of that language. The stronger the grammar of a language will lead to effective translation.

A translator can learn from the natives for free. If a translator becomes a friend with the native, they can help the translator in learning that language. A translator can use social media platforms to make some native friends. A discussion with the natives of the targeted language is very helpful to enrich the vocabulary stock.

Communicating with the native is the fastest and easiest way to learn a language. A native is an expert in his language naturally. A native speaker can help with nuances of that language like slang and colloquialisms.  

Besides the expertise in oral communication, writing communication is also important to translate a language. Writing communication has basic components, as follows:

• Grammar: The grammar’s rules vary for the languages. If a translator has a command over grammar, he/she can easily translate the language.
• Punctuation: Punctuation is very important in every language. The correct use of punctuation helps to understand the sentence. Otherwise, it can change the meaning of an entire sentence or paragraph.
• Style: There are various writing styles including narrative, descriptive, argumentative, and persuasive. A translated piece in the original style will convey the purpose in a better way.

Communication tone is an important factor while translation. A translator must observe the tone of the original content. If the tone of the article is professional or formal, then the translation should be in a professional or formal tone. Translating the content in the same tone has more impact.

 

1. Practice

To improve any skill in the world, the best way is to practice it again and again. “Practice makes a man perfect”, is a world-known phrase. When a translator practices the translation skill again and again, then improvement is the result. Practicing helps to eliminate errors and mistakes.

Practicing skills need a timetable or a proper schedule. Practicing without any schedule will not improve the skills as the scheduled practice will. A schedule helps to maintain the routine of practicing and not letting distract from the goal. 

While practicing the translation, the back-translation is a vital practice. The back-translation is to convert the translated content into original content. This tip will help to understand the language in a better way. After translating the content, always recheck it for mistakes and errors. The back-translation is a pro tip for checking the errors and mistakes.

One of the best methods to do the practice is to revise the translated article. Revising and editing make the translation more perfect and accurate. For revising, reading the translated content and original text is a pro tip. Reading will help to remove any typing or small errors. Reading out the translated text loudly will help to add proper idioms and phrases to the text. Revising and editing are also called proofreading. 

 

1. CAT Tools

Computer-Assisted Translation tools are extremely useful in translation services. CAT is a computer-based software/program that allows to sharpen translation skills. CAT programs help to enhance the quality, speed, and consistency of translation. There are various CAT Tools, a few of them are here.

• Language Search Engine: This type of tool works like a search engine. The search engines show the previously translated articles instead of searching from the internet.
• Translation Memory Software: This type of software automates the translation process. This software can store original content and its translation.
• Text Alignment Software: This type of software aligns the content in two languages, and stores it for more accurate translation.
• Terminology Management Software: This type of software allows the translator to store the terminology in the software’s memory. This stored terminology can be used for future translation services.
• Interactive Translation Software: These types of software are automatic. The software predicts the meaning of a word and translates it to the required language.

Besides these CAT tools, translators must know about the other computer programs that can help with translation. The following programs are helpful for translators:

• Microsoft Word: Microsoft Word has a built-in feature of translation. It is an essential tool for writing.
• Microsoft Excel: Microsoft Excel also features built-in translations tools and management tools.
• Adobe InDesign: To convert the translation into illustration Adobe InDesign is the best software.

Various translation services companies use this software and experts to make a translation perfect.

1. Traveling

Travelling has a great impact on languages. A traveler learns different languages and closely analyzes and observes a culture. A traveler makes more native connections and friends. By traveling and meeting with native people a translator can improve the accent and correct use of words. As every language has idioms and phrases, the use of correct idioms and phrases can be learned quickly by meeting and talking with natives.

Learning by traveling is a different type of practice. This is one of the fastest ways to learn a language. When a translator puts himself out of his comfort zone for learning, then it helps him with other benefits. A traveler sees the culture closely and this will stay longer in his mind.

Travelling gives the chance to attend different events and seminars. These events and seminars help to learn new things about the languages and cultures. A traveler learns quickly through seminars or events, as there are various people of different cultures and languages.

As we know the wrong use of wording or punctuation can change the meaning. A translation service company can help with the perfect translation services without changing the contest of the subject or article. A translation service company provides authentic and accurate translation services. A translation service company translates an article by measuring all the important factors like tone, genre, and communication style. All these factors can significantly impact translation.