| Konudaki sayfalar: < [1 2] | Poll: Do you have books in your source language(s) on your specialization(s)? Konuyu gönderen: ProZ.com Staff
|
|---|
| Source vs target documentation | Oct 24, 2021 |
Rachel Waddington wrote:
I have lots of books on my specialist areas, but mostly in English (my target language) because that's the language I'm going to be writing in. When I'm reading I'm focussing on understanding the subject, not picking up new foreign-language terminology (which is usually the easy part once you have an understanding of the subject itself).
I do read a lot of newspaper articles about renewables and green technology in my source language though, just because I subscribe to a German newspaper and turn to those articles first.
Thank you for your thoughtful answer!
That's what I wanted to know when I submitted this poll many years ago, as a budding translator. My goal, then, was to develop new specializations. I figured that it would be more useful to read subject matter documentation in my target (native) language, but I wanted to know my colleagues' opinions. My reasoning was not, as you reckon yourself, that it makes a difference in terms of understanding the subject (one should normally be equally able to understand concepts in all our working languages), but that was the only way I could securely acquire terminology (and phraseology as well, something you don't readily find in help material like glossaries) in my writing language. Once new concepts were understood, terminology and phraseology acquired, then I could claim myself a subject matter expert.
That being said, I realized later that you cannot become a SME in many fields (at best you are just "knowledgeable" in them, not an expert, who should be able to answer just about any question in their field). I personally make a distinction between general/non-specialist subjects, whose concepts can be understood by just about anybody equipped with a properly functioning brain; semi-specialized subjects, whose concepts usually require some research and/or previous knowledge but can be grasped 'on the job' nonetheless; and specialized subjects, whose concepts are so complex that you need to have spent many, many hours studying them before (generally in a formal education programm).
My formal education is languages/translation, I never studied anything else formally. I wanted to move on from lowly rates and fast turnaround times, but at the same time I needed money right now because I was a young freelance translator, so I thought that my best bet was to become a very skilled, versatile semi-specialized translator, able to understand quickly and reliably concepts in many branches of knowledge thanks to superior reasoning and research abilities.
10 years later, I can say this strategy and my efforts paid off.
| | | | Tom in London
Birleşik Krallık
Local time: 01:57
Üye (2008)
İtalyanca > İngilizce
If you say you have a specialism I would expect you to be interested in it, and to keep yourself up to date with developments in that specialism via not only books but also publications, conferences, academic papers, etc. etc. If not, you can't claim it as your specialism.
| | | | jyuan_us 
Amerika Birleşik Devletleri
Local time: 20:57
Üye (2005)
İngilizce > Çince
+ ...
Rachel Waddington wrote:
... you are saying you don't believe in continuing professional development for established translators. And that established translators have nothing to learn about their fields.
I would say that you keep on learning throughout your career. In any case, if you are interested enough in a field to make it your specialism, wouldn't you WANT to keep on learning about it?
I develop my career partly by getting information from various avenues either online or off-line. Reading books in my specialization is the last thing I would do, because it is neither cost-effective nor efficient. The reason is that you may not get anything new after spending a couple of hours reading such a book. You would learn much more quickly by conducting targeted internet search when you need a solution for a concept that you are not familiar with.
There are many ways that can serve the purpose of learning and developing your career other than reading books in your specialism, unless you are still a student.
[Edited at 2021-10-24 20:10 GMT]
| | | | | Fair enough then ... | Oct 24, 2021 |
jyuan_us wrote:
Fortunately, I keep developing my career also by getting information from various avenues either online or off-line. Reading books in my specialization is the last thing I would do, because it is neither cost-effective nor efficient. The reason is that you may not get anything new after spending a couple of hours reading a book. You will learn much quickly by conducting targeted internet search when you need a solution for a concept that you are not familiar with.
There are many ways that can serve the purpose of learning and developing your career other than reading books in your specialism, unless you are still a student.
[Edited at 2021-10-24 19:33 GMT]
... if that's what works for you. I have always found research conducted whilst doing a translation to be an inefficient and frustrating way to learn, and that what I learn in that way is shallow and easily forgotten.
I would agree that there are lots of ways of learning and furthering your career though. And, of course, it does depend what your starting point is - we're all different.
| | |
|
|
|
| Specialist vs semi-specialist | Oct 24, 2021 |
Tom in London wrote:
If you say you have a specialism I would expect you to be interested in it, and to keep yourself up to date with developments in that specialism via not only books but also publications, conferences, academic papers, etc. etc. If not, you can't claim it as your specialism.
I don't think the source of your knowledge or how interested you are in your discipline has anything to do with whether you are entitled to call yourself a SME or not. I would rather define a specialist translator as a linguist who can score e.g. 70% on a multiple-choice questionnaire (with a sufficiently representative number of questions and without any help) in said specialization.
Most translators who claim to be SMEs are not, they are only semi-specialized. The few translators who are actual SMEs are so because they have formal training in their technical discipline. They are not pro linguists initially, languages are just a secondary skill for them. Those have access to the hightest tier of rates. Semi-specialists to the second tier, and others to the lowest tier.
| | | |
Some time ago I got into the habit of reading textbooks and scientific articles of my specialties in English because of several reasons: knowledge being published first in English (even by non-English speaking authors), pleasure of reading the original sources, lacking of information in my target language (Spanish) or poor quality of the existing translations, etc.
I would rather say my problem is the opposite: I don't tend to look for books written in or translated into Spanish, so... See more Some time ago I got into the habit of reading textbooks and scientific articles of my specialties in English because of several reasons: knowledge being published first in English (even by non-English speaking authors), pleasure of reading the original sources, lacking of information in my target language (Spanish) or poor quality of the existing translations, etc.
I would rather say my problem is the opposite: I don't tend to look for books written in or translated into Spanish, so I read comparatively less about my specialties in this language.
[Edited at 2021-10-25 00:22 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
Hollanda
Local time: 02:57
Üye (2006)
İngilizce > Afrikaans
+ ...
Yes. The next question should be: have you ever read them after you bought them?
| | | | Kay Denney
Fransa
Local time: 02:57
Fransızca > İngilizce
Rachel Waddington wrote:
I have always found research conducted whilst doing a translation to be an inefficient and frustrating way to learn, and that what I learn in that way is shallow and easily forgotten.
I would agree that there are lots of ways of learning and furthering your career though. And, of course, it does depend what your starting point is - we're all different.
I would agree that it's inefficient, you might follow all sorts of false trails and if you're panicking over the deadline, you might not be thinking as clearly as necessary. Much better to already have a couple of trustworthy, go-to websites where you've already learned a fair bit.
For my main specialisations in the arts, fashion, architecture, I have books in both source and target language, simply because I'm interested in them. When I read in my target language I'll be underlining bits and pieces, thinking that the turn of phrase could well come in useful at some point. Reading in both languages, I'll be underlining ideas to mull over.
| | | | | Konudaki sayfalar: < [1 2] | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Poll: Do you have books in your source language(s) on your specialization(s)? | Anycount & Translation Office 3000 | Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.
More info » |
| | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
