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Even though translators are not fairy tale creatures — let us assure you that they are in fact very real — they still have a mysterious and even magical ambiance around them. Here are top 5 translator myths that have entered our lives.
Well, this myth is a common one. Some people think that translators nowadays do not perform their work tasks themselves and only use Google Translate or another machine translation software of their choice, later editing the least successful phrases. However, there is more to it than meets the eye. Translation agencies do provide such services as Machine Translation Post-editing, but that is a different case. When talking about standard translation, responsible professionals do their job using infinite capacities of their multilingual minds (that, and dictionaries, reference books, websites and other helpful sources).
Every translator is a person who knows at least two languages, but not every person knowing at least two languages can be a translator.
While some translators can successfully use their skills in a comprehensive range of unrelated topics, many of them tend to choose a field or two and later deepen their knowledge in it. The reason for that lies in the fact that quality translation is based on the profound and time-consuming input consisting of topic-specific research, constant vocabulary expansion and skill improvement. This set of competencies is not easy to maintain when it comes to multiple topics specialisation.
Contrary to popular belief, translation is not always like riding a bike. It is a trade that requires an in-depth foundation. Professionals in this domain may not have a higher education diploma or a specialised course certificate, but they still need to gain fundamental knowledge that would allow them to master their skills. So, let’s sum it up. Every translator is a person who knows at least two languages, but not every person knowing at least two languages can be a translator.
Translators and interpreters, even having the same level of work experience, cannot always substitute each other.
The more developed the skill, the less time translators need to do their job — this is the assumption that our fourth myth stems from. In real life, even highly qualified translators sometimes need a prolonged period to finish their tasks. Yes, orders of a certain topic may become so routine for a translator that it would take them but a fleeting moment to complete it, but a different situation is also possible. Depending on the topic, the text may contain complex aspects to it, as in diagrams, equipment names, regional realia, etc. All those things may take up a lot of time, causing the final completion period to exceed the one estimated by the client. So, sometimes you need to wait more to get more.
We’ve already covered the myth about multiple topics specialisation, and our fifth one is similar to it. Translation and interpreting have the same process at their core — decoding from language to language — so it would be okay to expect that professionals in those domains are interchangeable, right? Unfortunately, the answer to this question is no. Translators and interpreters, even having the same level of work experience, cannot always substitute each other. While the end product of translation consists of written speech, interpreting results in rendering spoken words from one language into another.
We have touched on only 5 myths about translators, but the list goes on and on. Yet, knowing the mentioned aspects will help you to better understand this often enigmatic realm.
