American Language Services has worked with some of the same language professionals for 10+ years and beyond. Our Project Managers know the strengths of each linguist and place projects with our language experts according to the project’s specifications. Although we know our translators and interpreters very well, we realize that our clients may not. Because of this, we’ve decided to share some of our linguist’s insight with our clients periodically via a short survey they’ve filled out including their background and overall view of the language industry. Contact our customer service team for any questions you’d like to see answered in the future.
Survey # 2 ‘ Korean <> English Translator
Q: How long have you been a professional translator?
A: 10 years
Q: What language pairings do you work with?
A: Korean and English
Q: What type of translation project do you enjoy working on the most and why?
A: Social science related, history, political science because I majored in history. History is something that I know very well.
Q: Do you prefer working alone or with other translators?
A: Mostly I do my own work all the time but when I need someone because of time constraints, I have to collaborate with others.
Q: In your opinion, what is the most challenging aspect of being a translator?
A: Meeting deadlines and taking care of all the work coming in all at the same time. I wish work comes in an evenly flow so that I don’t have to work long hours into the night to meet the deadlines.
Q: What aspects of translating do you find most rewarding?
A: Helping others understand a language they don’t read.
Q: Many people would say translation is an art form. Would you agree? Why or why not?
A: It can be. Technical texts like work manuals can’t really be said as an art form, but poetry and literary works would surely be in the level of being an art form when trying to translate them.
Q: How would you go about translating creative text like a poem or a song?
A: I would read it several times to get the deep feeling of the language it was written. You need to think in the language you are trying to translate in order to clearly get the feeling of it, what the author is intending to say, you need to know that in order to properly convey it to another language.
Q: If you come across a word or phrase during translation that you are not familiar with, how do you handle those obstacles?
A: I look for it in a dictionary first, of course, and then I search the Internet or call someone to find out more about it.
Q: What attracted you to working with languages?
A: I was a history major and always liked to read and write, so I guess it kind of came to me naturally, also being a bilingual person surely pointed me to this way too.
Q: Any other thoughts you’d like to share?
A: Translating is great a very nice way to be productive and help others.
Keep reading for additional translator surveys to come!
