Does anyone want to work as a translator or interpreter in the future? Translation is a job that you can do at home, and sometimes you can also interpret in your spare time, so it’s a popular job for housewives, isn’t it? There are various types of translations and interpreters, but translations and interpreters are not direct translations, so some training is required. Of course, you can go to a translation or interpreter training school, but there are also study methods that you can do at home. Here, I will talk about study methods that can be done at home.
By the way, do you know the difference between translation and interpretation? Translation and interpretation refers to the work of translating what was written in one language into another.
On top of that, translation means the work of translating a sentence written in a document into a different language. Therefore, writing ability is required.
On the other hand, an interpreter is a person who stands between people who speak different languages, translates both words and conveys them to the other person, and establishes communication.
The ability to flexibly grasp and express the feelings of the other party is required. As you can see, translation and interpretation have different meanings, so be careful.
Books or movies
Think subjectively
If you want to do a translation job, read the book as if you were there when you read it, whether in Japanese or English.
By reading a book as if you were in the world of the book, rather than just reading it as a reader, you will be able to think subjectively. And this subjective thinking power is useful as a translator.
When translating a book, it should not be a literal translation. When translating a book, you have to translate it so that the reader can understand the situation, so for example, when translating the lines of a character, you must be able to express the feelings of the character firmly.
Specific field of books or movies
When translating or interpreting, there is basically a specialized field. For example, even if you translate, there are some genres of things to translate, such as those who translate books for children and those who translate detective novels. In addition, there are some fields of interpretation, such as interpreting for foreigners who come to Japan for sightseeing and interpreting at medical sites.
So if you want to translate or interpret, make sure you have a specialty. It is also important to get acquainted with unique phrases by touching books and movies that use words related to your specialty.
Learn new words or expressions
Maybe you need to know trend words
When you look back on your English proficiency calmly, you should not think that your English proficiency is okay, for example, because you have a TOEIC score of 900 or you have an Eiken grade 1. If you work as a translator or interpreter, you need to know English expressions that match the times and trends.
Trendy expressions change every day, so if you work as a translator or interpreter, you need to know new expressions, whether in Japanese or English. Therefore, even if you get a perfect score on the TOEIC or take the first grade of the Eiken test, you should not be satisfied there. If you want to work as a translator or interpreter, you have to keep studying English every day.
Also, know the non-trend words
If you want to work as a translator or interpreter, which is sensitive to the times and trends, you need to know the trends other than language. For example, if you know what kind of clothes you are wearing and what kind of habits are popular, you can use it for translation and interpretation.
For example, it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with English, but if you know what kind of children’s programs are popular, when you’re interpreting for a foreigner with children who came to Japan, When asked what a trendy children’s show is, you can answer. You may be able to liven up the conversation.
Get used to English conversation
Translation job requires conversation skills
Especially in the case of translation, if you can read and write in English, you feel like you can translate. However, the ability to speak English is very important, whether it is a translation or an interpreter. Sure, translation translates a sentence into English or Japanese, but there is conversation in that sentence. Therefore, in order to make a realistic translation, it is necessary to have the ability to speak naturally in English.
And it goes without saying that interpreters need to have the ability to speak English. Reading and writing skills are certainly important, but listening and speaking are important, especially for interpreters.
Being exposed to foreign environment is also important
If you want to be active as a translator or interpreter, it is also important to go abroad and get in touch with the atmosphere of foreign countries. In Japan, there is a current situation where you cannot learn the expressions used by native speakers, and there may be a culture where you go abroad to talk with foreigners and learn for the first time.
It is also important to acquire English conversation skills that can keep up with the speaking speed of foreigners. There are still few people in Japan who can speak English as natively as native speakers, so if you can speak English slowly, you may be evaluated as “quite able to speak English”. However, in order to interpret at a comfortable speed, it is also important to go abroad and get used to the speed at which foreigners speak.
Find job on internet is common
Some people who want to work as a translator or interpreter may want to know how to get such a job. Nowadays, it is common to search for such jobs through the Internet.
Some jobs such as translation, interpretation, and correction of English sentences can be done at home, so there is a surprisingly high demand. However, in order to be hired for such a job, it may be difficult if you cannot prove your English proficiency with TOEIC or Eiken, so you must make an effort to improve your English proficiency on a regular basis. ..
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