Interview with Bryan, Translator from English to Korean:
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?
Well, it must have been my new year’s resolution for the year 2010, trying to make the most of who I am and what I have been doing in my life, embracing and affirming who I am and how I have lived my life. Since I came to Canada, I had been struggling with my strange new language called English for quite a few years and it dawned on me that I can actually make use of that experience and the result of my long struggle. And I think I made a good decision.
And I must confess that translation is still my part time job, although I like it very much and I think I am getting better and better in what I am doing. I have other jobs that I cherish with all my heart. I guess I believe in killing two birds with a stone. (Only figuratively, of course. As a vegetarian, I am strongly opposed to killing any bird or any animal for that matter.) And so far, translation has been one of the two (or three?) birds. And I love all my dead birds.
How different is being a translator/interpreter from what you had expected?
Well, I found translation involves more than just language skill: time management, marketing skill, computer skill, and a bunch of software.
What is, according to you, the best way to learn a foreign language? How did you learn your languages?
The best way is to live in and with the language. More and more, I am thinking that is the only way.
What are the challenges of being a translator/interpreter? What are the perks?
The biggest challenge seems to be time management. A good thing about being a translator is you get to see other people’s worlds up close, and, in that way, you learn a lot about the world and yourself.
Thank you very much!
