Poll: Is it important for your professional career to visit the country of your working languages?
Dave Bindon Greece Local time: 01:20 Member (2010) Greek to English
I agree with Philip
Jan 22
(Hi Philip)
Like Philip, I live in my source language country (Greece) so you could say that I'm on a permanent visit!
As for my other working language (British English), I've spent most of my life in the UK and I have ample opportunity to keep up to date with changes in language and culture without visiting the country. I don't think a lack of visits to the UK will cause me to become a poor translator (especially since almost all of my texts are medical or legal, and staying abreast of the latest slang is not an issue).
Anyway, as Philip pointed out, the question is about my professional career. No client has ever asked me if I've visited the UK recently, and no client has ever had any reason to question my 'outdated' or 'foreign-sounding' use of English, so I have to say that visiting the (other) 'country of [my] working languages' is not important for my professional career.
If the question had been, 'Is it important to live in or visit a country (or countries) where your source language is spoken?' then I would say (with reservations) yes.
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Like Philip, I live in my source language country (Greece) so you could say that I'm on a permanent visit!
As for my other working language (British English), I've spent most of my life in the UK and I have ample opportunity to keep up to date with changes in language and culture without visiting the country. I don't think a lack of visits to the UK will cause me to become a poor translator (especially since almost all of my texts are medical or legal, and staying abreast of the latest slang is not an issue).
Anyway, as Philip pointed out, the question is about my professional career. No client has ever asked me if I've visited the UK recently, and no client has ever had any reason to question my 'outdated' or 'foreign-sounding' use of English, so I have to say that visiting the (other) 'country of [my] working languages' is not important for my professional career.
If the question had been, 'Is it important to live in or visit a country (or countries) where your source language is spoken?' then I would say (with reservations) yes.
Prospective clients have asked me (many times) how I keep in touch with the developments in my own country and how many times I go back every year...
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