The first thing any translator new to the discipline should do is read the book “Essential Glossary of Translation” to ensure you know well translation terminology. The next task to do is to familiarise yourself with the most commonly used translation tips for students. The most important are
• Understanding loan words, verb translations and nominalization
• How idioms should be translated.
The next task is deciding at the start of your translation career whether you need to specialise in a specific translation area. There are several areas worth considering and these are technical translations, scientific translations and legal document translations. On top of these choices is whether you prefer to be an interpreter or a translator.
Once you have decided on the above alternatives you now need to get work. What you should remember there is no room for poor quality translations which means from day one you should be turning out perfect translations. Clients will not want learners translating their important legal documents such as contracts because of the serious consequences if there was a mistranslation. Quite frankly the sad truth is that all potential employers and clients will want experience and they won’t give you the opportunity to accrue this experience unless, of course, you agree to start a job unpaid just for the sake of building up experience.
Other translation tips and tricks for students
• Offer to do free translations for friends
• Translate some TED videos for subtitle experience
• Translate for Global Voices, which willingly accepts volunteers
• Get some work through your university even if it’s translating marketing materials for events.
This isn’t everyone’s choice as it involves a certain amount of uncertainty but it’s sometimes possible to get work directly or through translation companies. If this isn’t what you would want to consider you should begin now by learning how to write a winning CV. Look up some online websites on compiling the best CV and start experimenting with it as soon as possible. This will give you a good idea of what your likely chance is of getting the most suitable job.
Self-learning is important
Don’t expect your university to teach you everything about being a translator. You will need to go past that and engage in your own learning. This will involve reading translation blogs, websites compiled by translators’ associations and participating in webinars and other discussions through well-known sites like. A self-learner always seems to achieve a lot more than someone who expects ideas to be thrown at them for them to either accept or reject.
