Aspiring to be a translator...

On 2002-02-20 00:40, cmjenkins wrote:

I have a BA in French and I learned Korean at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. I know that much more than my education is required in order to be considered a good linguist...what else do I need to do?





The most important thing for future translators to know is that translators work _into_ their native language _only_. Granted, there are a few exceptions who master both source and target languages, but these people are few and far between.



From your post, I gather that you are a native of the US, and therefore English is your native language. Thus this is the language you master and therefore the language you should translate into (I noticed your profile indicates translation into French and Korean...).



If you want to have both French and Korean as your source languages, and you feel you need to improve, spending time in each country is ideal. You asked about how to perfect the art of translation: to me, translation is also a skill, and the only way to improve a skill is to practise.



I know that there\'s a translation and interpreting school in Monterey (can\'t remember the name, but an Internet search would turn up something) where you can get a good theoretical background of what\'s involved in translation.



I hope that helps a bit.



Erika Pavelka

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