How to Maintain Your Language Skills as a Translator
As translators, our language skills are our main tool. Ideally, we become more proficient in all our languages, including our mother tongue, throughout our lifetime, but that is not necessarily the case. Just as our computers and CAT tools need updating, so do our linguistic skills.
How to Maintain Your Language Skills as a Translator
As translators, our language knowledge is our primary tool. Ideally, we become more proficient in all our languages, including our mother tongue, throughout our lifetime, but that does not always happen naturally.
Just as our computers and CAT tools require regular updates, so do our linguistic skills. Depending on your situation, you may need to devote more or less time to your source or target languages.
A French-to-Spanish translator living in Madrid will have to work hard to keep their source language up to standard, seeking out every opportunity to engage with it. That same translator living in Paris, however, will have different concerns; they will likely have more day-to-day contact with their source language than their mother tongue.
You may not think you need to work on your native language, but languages are always changing, and you don’t want your translations to sound old-fashioned and out of touch. Remember that your target language writing skills are often considered just as valuable, if not more so, than your source language comprehension, as the final output must read naturally to the end user.
This is why we have come up with a short guide that will help you maintain your language skills.
Reading Widely Enhances Linguistic Skills
At its core, translation is deeply connected to the written word. To be a top-quality translator, you need to be an observant reader. Reading is one of the most effective ways to pick up new vocabulary and maintain your language skills effortlessly, and it is enjoyable, too.
Make multilingual reading part of your daily routine; reading in your source language will reinforce language acquisition, while reading in your mother tongue will make you a better writer.
Your reading should be vast and varied. Don’t worry if you’re not into novels; peruse newspapers or follow industry blogs. These days, it’s easy to access great writing in any language.
Movies and Podcasts Make Leisure Time Productive
Translators spend most of their working day reading and writing, so it’s understandable if reading in your spare time doesn’t seem very relaxing.
Watching television can greatly contribute to improving your language skills and, by extension, the quality of your work. Check out streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, where content is available in a multitude of languages.
Podcasts are also a great tool because you can listen while you work out, cook, drive, or complete various daily tasks, making them a highly efficient use of time.
These outlets are also a good way to keep up to date with the pop culture and politics of the countries you work with; current knowledge of cultural contexts is crucial for accurate localization.
Regularly Talk With Native Speakers Wherever You Live
There’s nothing like immersion in a language and culture, and the best way to achieve that is by spending time in the country or countries where your source language is spoken. Overseas trips aren’t always possible, but you can still have contact with native speakers from wherever you live.
Research language exchanges in your local area: events where you can meet like-minded people and practice languages you have in common.
Don’t worry if you live in a remote area; in today’s digital age, there are many websites, such as Conversation Exchange and Speaky, which provide the option to practice linguistic skills via video call. It’s impossible not to maintain your language skills!
Focus on Your Specialization
As translators tend to specialize in specific fields, your knowledge of your source and target languages should be particularly strong in those areas.
Naturally, you will have continual contact with texts in your specialization through the documents you translate, but you should also be well-versed in multiple facets of the topic and related subject matters to ensure you don’t use out-of-date language.
If you are a medical translator, for example, read medical journals and attend conferences, which are also great places to network.
When it comes to maintaining a second language, people often roll out the old adage ‘use it or lose it’, but for professional translators, it’s important to be more specific and expand our specialized linguistic skills.
Challenge Yourself to Explore Your Languages
Have fun with your languages! If you’re looking for less intense ways to maintain your language skills, why not practice your translation skills on texts that you don’t normally work with?
Translate a song or try subtitling a few scenes of a beloved movie. Play with translating out of your mother tongue and into your target language; you never know what these exercises might teach you.
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