Translation is interesting and enjoyable on the one hand it is difficult, challenging and even infuriating. It is never easy to be a translator. We know that every line or trade has its own standard of qualifications. What are the requirements for the practitioner of so demanding a profession as translation then? What, indeed, makes a good translator?
Translation is interesting and enjoyable; on the other hand it is difficult challenging and even infuriating. It is never easy to be a translator. We know that every line or trade has its own standard of qualifications. What are the requirements for the practitioner of so demanding a profession as translation then? What, indeed, makes a good translator?
1. Language Proficiency
To be proficient in a language means not only to master its grammar and vocabulary, but also to be familiar with the idiomatic ways of expressing things in the language. This requires the translator to understand a sufficient number of dialectal or stylistic variants in the language, including not only formal or literary expressions, but also jargon, slangs, euphemisms, jocular sayings, etc. It is worth noting that by language proficiency is also meant one’s competence in the target language.
2. Good Knowledge of the Subject Matter and Knowledge-acquiring Capabilities
It is exactly because good knowledge of the subject matter of the original is one of the essential requirements of a good translator that some university translation programs in Europe and the United States require or strongly suggest that the students take a group of courses in a specific subject area, e.g. the Bachelor of Science program in Translation Major in the Institute for Applied Linguistics at Kent State University in the United States stipulates that the student taking the program must complete a Subject Area Specialty module, which is a departmentally approved coherent sequence of courses in one or more other disciplines and which accounts for as many as roughly one third of the total credits needed for graduation from the program.
Since a translator may need to translate a variety of things and since human knowledge is to a great extent interrelated, the translator is desirably something of an all-rounder. Ideally, the translator should be as knowledgeable or erudite as possible, knowing something about everything.
Of course, it is impossible for any person to know everything there is to be known. It is possible, however, to know how and where to find things out. It is worth remembering the old saying that “two (or more) heads are better than one”. To research a subject and talk to specialists or other translators, the translator usually needs to set up “temporary informal networks”. It is advisable to keep records of who you talk to on a given subject, or names of organizations to ring. You never know when you may need them again.
A translator’s knowledge consists of three parts: knowing; knowing where to find out; knowing how to find out where to find out.
3. Sensitivity and Superior Critical-thinking Ability
Professional translators must have a near-perfect understanding of the subtleties and nuances of meaning in one language, culture and context in order to convey the same meaning in a different language, culture and context. They need to have a sensitive heart and an analytical mind. These are especially important when they mediate between two widely different language-cultures such as English and Chinese.
The translator needs to be keenly aware of the overall mood of the work, the atmosphere of each scene in it, the full implications of the conversations, as well as the writer’s temperament and spiritual tendency as mirrored in the work. Otherwise the original may suffer from serious deformation or distortion.
4. Commitment to One’s Work
More important than all that is discussed above is the translator’s commitment toward his work. For any translator, knowledge and talent is finite, and yet the problems and difficulties he may encounter are virtually infinite. Only a professional spirit marked by dedication and a strong sense of responsibility may prompt him to go to all lengths to ensure the maximum faithfulness of his work to the original.