Answer the following questions based on the text.

• What differs a good translator from the person who knows one or several foreign languages?
• What is a good translator?
• Does a translator need a special linguistic education?
• What can say about translator’s background knowledge?
• What is a simultaneous interpretation?

1. Provide your own answers to the following questions:

Ø What's the difference between translation and interpreting?

Ø What kind of jobs are open to translators?

Ø In your opinion, for a professional translator, do language skills count more than subject-matter knowledge, or less? Explain the reasons of your choice.

Ø Provide a description of a translation workflow, including steps to be performed before the actual translation, and after it.

Ø What kind of knowledge is important for a translator to have, and why?

Ø If you were to work as a translation project manager, what steps would you perform in order to ensure that the work you receive is of good quality?

Ø List a few types of translation errors, and what you would do in order to avoid them in your own work.

Ø Can you think of other ethical or moral problems we may have to tackle as translators? Please, briefly describe them.

2. Read the following thought exercises and reflect on what the ethical translator—that means you!—would do in each situation. Think about these scenarios as junctures or forks in the road. How does good foresight and ethical conduct avoid pitfalls?

Scenario 1: You fall ill while working on a major project, causing work to take twice as long. Not wanting to trouble others with your problems, you soldier on and don’t bring up the issue with Gengo staff—elbow grease will see you through. Before long, the deadline is here, but you still aren’t finished! What do you do?

Scenario 2: A lucrative job shows up in your queue, but on further inspection you find it consists of advertising copy for an alternative medicine product—one that you think is nothing more than snake oil. You hesitate. Should you take it? If you do, how will you word the text? How can you be sincere to both the client and to the end-user of this shady product? After some soul-searching, you…

Scenario 3: You start work on a small but honest job: the liner notes for a violinist’s debut album. While working, you spot another job just added to the queue—a textbook with a reward worth several thousands more. A dilemma: you have to pay rent and support your family. If you hesitate, that job will be snapped up. The clock is ticking, and your current job is only halfway finished. You take a deep breath and…

3. Organizing a debate:

Will profession of a translator disappear if we adopt a single international language (Linguafranca)?

1. Look at the pictures and answer the following questions:
2. What parts of your future job do these pictures represent? Which of them seem to you the most exciting and which are the most boring?
3. What does the process of translation usually involve? What does he/she work on? (discuss in pairs, make a list)
4. Now check your ideas with the list below. Which of them seem to you the most/the least interesting? (http://www.becomeatranslator.com)

 

 

 

Adverb clauses

A good way to improve the sentence is to add adverb clause. Adverb clauses are similar to adverbs. They help to describe or modify the verb or the entire sentence. Adverb clauses have the pattern.

Subordinating conjunction + subject +verb.

Here is the list of subordinating conjunctions:

Time Reason/cause contrast

After because although

Before since while

When

While

Whenever

 

Adverb clauses can come before or after the main sentence. Put a comma after the adverb clause only if it begins the sentence.

Because George missed the bus, he decided to take the subway. (comma needed)

George decided to take the subway because he missed the bus. (no comma needed)

1. R ead the sentences about finding a job after graduating from college. Underline the adverb clause and circle the subordinating conjunction. Add commas where they needed.

Interviewing

1. Whenever Irene looks for a new job she gets nervous.

2. Since Irene is a college graduate she feels confident about her background.

3. She often felt nervous and failed to make a great first impression because she lacked interviewing experience.

4. Although she scheduled many interviews she was not offered a job at first.

5. While many people in Irene’s position would have ended their job search immediately Irene made the decision to get from a personal coach.

6. Irene was also talking to friends about possible job openings in their companies while she was training.

7. After she successfully finished her interview training Irene was finally confident in her ability to interview for a job.