Is it easy to be(come) a translator?

After graduating in Languages (English and Portuguese - bachelor degree), and working as a project manager in a Translation company for quite some time, I see how much and how often the translation role is diminished, unvalued, mistaken, or just not understood by so many people outside (and even inside) of this area.

The primary and most recurrent situation is being contacted by lots of random people who think that because they have good knowledge in two or more languages, they are ready to be a translator and simply start working on this business (probably as a second job). Well, it does not work quite that simple! 

Being a translator requires many other skills than proficiency in the language combination. It goes way beyond! 

It is no coincidence that there is an increasing number of colleges, as well as acknowledged and certified courses for professionalization on this important and promising job.

Below are some tips and appreciated skills of good and experienced translators:

• Be creative! Think outside the box, avoid literal translations that sound awkward and not natural/fluent in the target language;
• ALWAYS take into account important cultural aspects and consequent adaptations for the target audience while translating;
• Learn about CAT tools (as many as possible), glossaries, TMs, and other increasing technologies for this area. Keep them up-to-date to use the helpful and cutting-edge advantages they offer to optimize the translation process and quality assurances;
• Be curious! A translator needs to be a tireless and assertive researcher - a solution seeker with a constant and intense willingness to learn new terms, new content, and new tools.
• Follow client's references and instructions. If not provided, make sure to look for the main terminologies for the field (dictionaries for the specific area, termbases, etc.) , possible key-terms on client's website, and standard general rules for the target language or area (such as how to deal with acronyms, capitalization, UIs, etc.). It is important to keep consistency regarding the adequate verb tense and level of formality throughout the work.
• Give the text your own personality, your own style. It is good to recognize that the translator is, somehow, a co-writer - even if in different levels, depending on how technical or marketing related the text is, and also depending on how are the client's expectations and openness to adaptations/recreations, as necessary.
• Freelance translators are responsible for a continued self-development and expected to have a workstation with the minimum required tools. Possible upgradings, purchases, and repairings are expected from times to times and should be taken into account too.

Working with translation is challenging, is hard, is tricky - and is magnificent!

A simple example of tricky translations jobs is subtitling for comedy series/movies. They are full of idiomatic expressions, slangs, and puns that are really hard to keep up with without being labeled as a poor translation or without having to add those famous (and often not very appreciated) footnotes.

To illustrate better, I always like to refer to a pun I once heard in an English TV show with the words Lawyer and Liar (no personal judgment intended here!) - which was practically impossible to reproduce in Portuguese, as these translated terms sound completely different in this other language, so the joke can be easily missed. Would it be possible to think of another solution without losing sight of the joke? Maybe, but that's one of the many possible kinds of situations the translators would have to spend a lot of time and put a lot of effort into.

So kudos to all the professional translators who take this work as seriously as it should be, with commitment, understanding, and so many efforts!

This is a hard and complex job that should not be underestimated or taken for granted.