Jul 7, 2011 | Translation
Interview with Vitaly, Interpreter and Translator from English, French, and Spanish to Russian, and from Russian to English: First things first, we would love to learn more about you: why and when did you decide to become a translator/interpreter? Where did the idea come from, and have you ever considered doing anything else? English came easy for me in high school and that prompted me to enter a university in my hometown and study there, majoring in English and doing German as a second foreign language. While in university, I started to offer translating and interpreting services to make some money. I made a final decision to be a translator after graduation and I never came to regret it! Surely, I thought of changing my career several times in my life but it would still be something associated with languages and being around people of different nationalities. How different is being a translator/interpreter from what you had expected? Looking back now, I can say that overall, a career of a translator/interpreter has met my expectations. What is, according to you, the best way to learn a foreign language? How did you learn your languages? I believe that the best way to learn a language is in a country where it’s widely spoken. When you are totally immersed in the language you can make fairly rapid progress. I could not afford to travel abroad when I was a student, so I just spent countless hours in the local library reading books, preparing mini-glossaries, staying in touch with my pen pals. I also tried to use every opportunity to talk...
Jul 7, 2011 | Translation
Interview with Giovanni, Certified Interpreter and Translator from English and German to Spanish and from Spanish to German: First things first, we would love to learn more about you: why and when did you decide to become a translator/interpreter? Where did the idea come from, and have you ever considered doing anything else? I wanted to become an interpreter since the early age of 6. My whole family used to watch the Miss Universe pageant on television, and I wanted to be the guy who interpreted for the candidates. I thought that was the coolest job in the world. I’m satisfied with what I do now, but if I had to move to another business, I’d probably open a restaurant where I’d be the cook (or head chef, if you will). How different is being a translator/interpreter from what you had expected? It’s been pretty much what I’d expected as a grown up. I enjoy reading and learning about something different every day. What is, according to you, the best way to learn a foreign language? How did you learn your languages? In my opinion, there’s really no best way as everyone learns in a different way. I went to language institutes, both locally and abroad, but I also spent quite a significant amount of time studying independently on my own. What are the challenges of being a translator/interpreter? What are the perks? There’s more and more competition every day, and computer software is getting better and better and more affordable each time. Perks? Compared to other jobs, translating gives you a lot of flexibility to manage your...
Jul 7, 2011 | Translation
Interview with Andrey, Interpreter and Translator from English to Russian: First things first, we would love to learn more about you: why and when did you decide to become a translator/interpreter? Where did the idea come from, and have you ever considered doing anything else? Actually I did not have much choice; life itself showed me the right way. First I studied in an English-oriented school, the first Minsk “gymnasium”, after that I entered the Linguistic College, where the curriculum included some of the courses of the Minsk State Linguistic University and college students were allowed to start from the third year, missing the first two. Studying there was an immense experience – Minsk University is considered to be one of the best in the former USSR and the student life was real fun. However within the period of 1998-2002 the majority of my mates (as well as those from the school and college) emigrated abroad, as the knowledge of English was a great benefit for that, so the only thing I could do was to stay and support our national translation business. And I like my trade, especially oral interpreting (including simultaneous). How different is being a translator/interpreter from what you had expected? Actually I’ve never thought that an interpreter should also function as a driver, lawyer, animator and wine taster, at least down here in Belarus. J What is, according to you, the best way to learn a foreign language? How did you learn your languages? As far as I am concerned, I studied English in two English-oriented schools and in the university, and I believe that...
Jul 7, 2011 | Translation
Interview with Michel, Conference Interpreter English / French: First things first, we would love to learn more about you: why and when did you decide to become a translator/interpreter? Where did the idea come from, and have you ever considered doing anything else? I was the Director of the Vancouver Berlitz Centre in the early eighties and supplying interpreters to conferences in Vancouver when on one occasion, one interpreter cancelled at the last minute and the second was late. I decided to jump in, run to the hotel where the conference was taking place a few blocks from my office and stepped in the booth to fill in. I realized that I really enjoyed it, that I could do it and wanted more. From then on, I kept on doing as many conferences as I could each year in additional to my regular full time job. It also often meant using some of my holidays. Now that I am retired from corporate life, I can work at conferences as often as I’m needed. I could not think of any better job now that I am out of the stressful business world. How different is being a translator/interpreter from what you had expected? Interpreting for me has remained as interesting and fun as when I started. What is most enjoyable thought is that we are a small group of conference interpreters in BC, all fun to be with, very respectful of each other, forming a friendly and close team of very interesting people. What is, according to you, the best way to learn a foreign language? How did you learn...
Jul 7, 2011 | Translation
Interview with Angela, Interpreter and Translator from French and Spanish to English: First things first, we would love to learn more about you: why and when did you decide to become a translator/interpreter? Where did the idea stem from, and have you ever considered doing anything else? I took a course in high school regarding career choices and wrote my final project about those options in which foreign languages (as these were my strongest subjects at school) could be used. Of all the professions I researched, I liked best the idea of becoming a conference interpreter at the United Nations, as it offered the opportunities of a great deal of travel, a good salary, meeting important people who could change the world for the better (by preventing war and promoting peace) and, more importantly, I would be using my language skills to help people communicate with each other. I then planned my university curriculum around obtaining this goal. It involved studies in Vancouver, Quebec, California, Spain, France and the École de Traduction et d’Interprétation in Geneva, Switzerland. If the language career had not worked out for me, I did have a few back-up options, the first of these was as a classical musician since I studied piano up to the A.R.C.T. (Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto) performance level. More recently, however, I have added language teaching, editing & proofreading, photography, videography, writing, marketing & sales, website creation & design, tour guiding and other skills to my own company’s business package, so as to keep things fresh and stimulating, to exercise different parts of my brain, and to...
Jul 7, 2011 | Translation
Interview with Tim, Translator from English to Dutch: First things first, we would love to learn more about you: why and when did you decide to become a translator/interpreter? Where did the idea come from, and have you ever considered doing anything else? I hold a Master’s and Ph.D. degree in linguistics. When I was asked to do a translation job from English to Dutch by Lingostar, it caught my interest. Being a translator is not my main job. For the most part, I am the co-ordinator of an urban network in the southern part of the Netherlands. But both jobs are highly interconnected. It all comes down to making the effort to use a language that is fully understandable to the receiver. How different is being a translator/interpreter from what you had expected? I was not aware of the fact that translation is really more about the world than about language. However, internet always helps me to get a quick introduction into worlds that I am less familiar with. What is, according to you, the best way to learn a foreign language? How did you learn your languages? The best way to learn a foreign language is to go to an area where that language is spoken, on your own. And to force yourself to communicate solely in that language with native speakers of that language. Most of the languages I understand and speak I learned that way. What are the challenges of being a translator/interpreter? What are the perks? The most important challenge is to capture all subtleties from the source language in the target language....
