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Learning a new language

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Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:33
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Speaking and writing are two different things May 4, 2014

If translation is how you earn your living, then it makes sense to specialise in your strongest language combination and treat any other languages as a hobby.

Agreed. Even in one's strongest pair, very few people are truly equal in both. For me "bilingual" (a much abused term) means somebody who cannot be distinguished from a native speaker in either language, whether in terms of accent or speech structure. Over the past thirty years or so, I have met very few people who meet that condition.

In written language, of course, accent is not a factor, which is an advantage. However, I suggest that minor errors in conversation are heard but quickly forgotten so that provided the speaker's language is fluent and idiomatic the listener is left with an overall impression of smooth competence. On the other hand, errors in written language are more noticeable because they are persistent. By that I mean that we can return to the text as many times as we like and see them sitting there. In most cases they may not materially reduce the communication content of the text, but they're noticeable.

What this means for me is that I can translate simple texts into my "best" second language (Japanese) and I am competent enough to be able to sub-edit the written Japanese of others to some degree. Nevertheless, I do sometimes make minor mistakes and I do not have anything like the range and subtlety I can command in English.

Is the result adequate for communication? Yes. For example, informal emails to clients in Japanese are not a problem. Is the result sufficiently polished to submit as a finished product in a professional environment, such as marketing materials or in a court of law? No. It would have to be checked and edited.

On the issue of whether it is unprofessional or not, that depends on the client. The client may just want a decent but rough translation so that they can access the meaning quickly. If they trust you and understand that (say) your French is not as competent as your Swedish, that's fine. Deliberately misleading the client by exaggerating one's linguistic abilities is unprofessional, but I think we all knew that anyway?

Incidentally, I find the words "native speaker" and "native language" to be useful. I am a native of the UK and a native speaker of English and often describe myself as such. I do not regard either as offensive.

Dan


[Edited at 2014-05-04 08:09 GMT]


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 13:33
Spanish to English
+ ...
My deux cents May 5, 2014

I originally offered translation from French as well as Spanish. Nowadays I find that my French is pretty rusty and I rarely get any requests for translation. I also perceive French as having evolved/changed quite a bit in the past couple of decades, but maybe that's just me. However, I have left it in my profile because I can usually find some friend or colleague to pass it on to who is available for French translation and will be grateful for the work. The same goes for German and Russian...

 
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Learning a new language







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