What does it mean to be a translator? Happy International Translation Day!




Greater than 9 minutes, my friend!

Howdy friends!

It’s that time of the year again!

Today, hundreds of thousands of translators all over the globe celebrate the International Translation Day.

Since The Open Mic is a blogging community for translators we decided to publish an article that celebrates this incredible profession!

We reached out to the members of our community and asked them one simple question:

Here are some of the replies that we received. Enjoy and don’t forget to share! 👐👐👐

[clickToTweet tweet=”What does it mean to be a translator? We asked the members of @OpenMicXL8 community! #t9n #xl8″ quote=”What does it mean to be a translator? We asked the members of @OpenMicXL8 community! #t9n #xl8″]

 

julia thornton - community manager - the open mic - find translators on theopenmic.co

Julia Thorton

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Being a translator means removing a language barrier and, as much as possible, bridging a cultural gap between people.

 

sherif abuzid

Sherif Abuzid

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It means seeing the world through different eyes. As a translator, I work with people from all over the world. All of them have a different interpretation about life and other things. So, have more than two eyes while being a translator.

 

tracy miyake - facebook group admin - the open mic - find translators on theopenmic.co

Tracy Miyake

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Being a translator means helping my clients share their discoveries, inventions, and groundbreaking technologies and processes with the rest of the world, and that the Global South has a stronger voice in medicine, engineering, and science. I constantly learn about new developments that make me proud to be a part of my field and a member of my community.

 

Otávio Banffy

Otávio Banffy

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Being a game translator allows me to provide to others the same experience that has been provided to me in my childhood: a unique sensation that the game you’re playing was made for you. That’s what it comes down to, in my mind. It is also a new challenge in every project, because no game is ever the same, even on sequels, they all have their own, personal, tone.

 

triston goodwin

Triston Goodwin

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To me, being a translator means giving people access to things, knowledge, places, and people that they wouldn’t normally have.

 

Cristel Abou Anni

Cristel Abou Anni

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You see, in addition to impeccable linguistic skills and excellent command of both source and target languages, a translator must be knowledgeable. The simple amount of information a translator is exposed to in their career is simply fascinating to me. As a translator, you get to learn something new every day, which somehow builds you in ways you’ve never thought possible, and makes you an indispensable asset in any working environment you choose.

 

Silvia Giancola

Silvia Giancola

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Being a translator is a dream come true. It started more than 20 years ago and is still a true pleasure. An interest that fueled my determination to learn, discover, understand, connect, develop. A journey still on its way. A translator is a traveler. Always ready to start out for a new adventure.

 

Damien Yoccoz

Damien Yoccoz

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Being a freelance translator means freedom. Freedom to work (or not). Freedom to travel and work from anywhere. Freedom to create.

 

Solange Esteves

Solange Esteves

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Being a translator for me has two aspects – a general aspect and a personal one. The general aspect involves linking people, contributing to the improvement of human relationship in different domains. The personal aspect: I love to be a translator, to do this job even when it’s complicated. At the end it is always worth it.

 

Mariann Makrai

Mariann Makrai

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Being a translator is a big challenge. You constantly have to cope with the feeling that things could have been better and you are challenged to reach new heights with every new assignment. It’s up to you to further develop your skills and gain satisfied clients. Being a translator is a constant chase. You have to be up to date with different trends that make the translation process easier.

 

Qasem Mafi

Qasem Mafi

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Translator is a nobleman or noblewoman who translates the source language into target language. Also, he or she is a political researcher. Presidents or classy politicians speak through translator. Translation is a critical job, and your classy translation may save the world.

 

Eleonora Angelici

Eleonora Angelici

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By translating you get to know the world, you connect individuals with the people that matter to them, you understand and value differences.

 

Jane Davis

Jane Davis

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To me, translation means freedom. The freedom to choose your clients, your projects and the days or times you work. And above all the freedom to finally be able to combine, in a profession that pays well, a range of slightly odd skills – being fussy about grammar and spelling, enjoying research, knowing about a wide variety of obscure subjects, being perfectly happy working alone for hours or weeks at a time, loving to write… To me, being a translator is the best thing in the world!

 

Gentiana Hasko

Gentiana Hasko

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To me being a translator means omnipresence. You give a lot to a translation: time, dedication, struggle to find the right words etc. By doing so, your translation carries something that is truly yours. Eventually your work will be published and sent in different countries and to different people. That’s why I call it omnipresence. 🙂

 

Diana Jankowiak

Diana Jankowiak

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Being a translator means that I can balance being in- and outside of projects, discussions, negotiations – I am more of an observer than a participant, and this is a role in which I feel very comfortable. I see translation as my way of having an impact on the world and influencing, enhancing the success of my clients. It is a calling of sorts.

 

Fabio Descalzi

Fabio Descalzi

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Being a translator means putting all of my passion. Because I have always loved languages and foreign cultures. Because I worked very hard in search for my own language. Because my long road searching meant engaging in intercultural communication. Because I discovered my place in the world that way!

 

Tatyana Johnson

Tatyana Johnson

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It’s a great opportunity to learn new things through translation and research. And even greater opportunity to help people understand each other, get access to new cultures, and to important and sometimes life-saving information.

 

Flavia Luz

Flavia Luz

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To me, being a translator means freedom. I get to connect people through language and culture, I get to learn something new every single day, and it allows me to travel the world while I am working. The best job ever!

 

Sirajul Islam

Sirajul Islam

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I understand that language is a living thing. So, new phrases and cultural references are constantly being added as the time passes so translators need to embrace the culture of the languages they are dealing with and also the current events, as those have a major impact on the way people communicate. So, to me, translation means it’s not just conveying meaning from one language to another, they re-create. It’s architecture of words building bridges that connect people and cultures from around the world.

 

Svyatoslav Albireo

Svyatoslav Albireo

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For me, to be a translator means destroying communication barriers, spreading culture and helping internationalism. In this world, where languages aren’t a tool for the describing culture, but a tool of the separating people, the translators are those, who fight against it.

 

Claudia Botero

Claudia Botero

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Translation is my life. It’s what I do and I thoroughly enjoy it. It also changed my life and helped me find myself after I had to give up my career as a biologist. To put it simple I knew another language so I started translating and I have not stopped ever since.

 

Jennifer O'Donnell

Jennifer O’Donnel

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Anthony Teixeira

Anthony Teixeira

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Being a translator means everything to me! It allows me to make a living by sharing amazing information and content about topics I love with the rest of the world. And being a freelancer gives me the flexibility to always be around for the people who matter to me. Who would look back?

 

Clarisa Pereira G. A.

Clarisa Pereira G. A.

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The main feeling I get when I start a new project or when my students discover the meaning of a technical sentence is that translators are the key that opens the world door to people who cannot open it by themselves. What I’m saying is that we help people study, travel, do business, read, know, feel, meet, buy, etc. like any other human being on the other side of the world, or let people from the other side of the world do the same with us too. It’s like we help people be connected and be closer.

 

Marianna Sacra

Marianna Sacra

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I open portals to other worlds.

 

Teresa Giuffrè

Teresa Giuffrè

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To me, being a translator means helping people gain access to information that otherwise would have been unavailable to them, and information is power. Besides, reading and practicing my languages are part of my job, but as they are activities I enjoy a lot, it doesn’t feel like working at all. This is really the job I never knew I needed!

 

Feroz Ahmed

Feroz Ahmed

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To me being a TRANSLATOR means performing a divine duty of justifying the brotherhood of men through languages. Being a translator I feel like curing a paralyzed body to fitness for work by making the body parts to interactively respond to each other’s reaction. 

 

Isabelle Struk-Thibert

Isabelle Struk-Thibert

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It means everything. Communication is key to everything. Without it, we are all lost. So I see myself as a Superwoman of languages. if I can help someone to clearly convey their message in another language then wam bam thank you maam’! 🙂

 

Mariana Alves Passos

Mariana Alves Passos

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Translation brings together lots of things that I love: storytelling, communication, learning (to name a few). Being a translator is bringing information, stories and culture from different parts of the world to people who might never have the chance of learning a second (or third) language. It means facilitating communication in small (individuals) and big scale (corporations). And I learn something new everyday! Either new words, or instructions to use a new equipment!

 

Aleksandra Muraviova

Aleksandra Muraviova

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To me, translation is a way to help people share ideas, knowledge, experience and all the awesome things there are. We are all separated by language barriers. Translation is a way to overcome and destroy them. Just imagine, what an awesome world are we creating!

 

Fabien Cothenet

Fabien Cothenet

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While nowadays some people want to build walls to hide from strangers, I like to see myself, as a translator, as a bridge builder. However small and insignificant that bridge may be, I’m working towards bringing people together. Take that, Donald!

 

Dmitry Savin

Dmitry Savin

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For me being a translator means to bring one world to another, to connect it and to give both worlds an opportunity to understand each other. It’s more important job that it may look. I’d say it’s more of a mission rather than just a job.

 

Anna Toombs

Anna Toombs

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Being a translator for me is to be the bridge between two communities, one that makes both cultural and linguistic communication possible.

 

Pieter Beens

Pieter Beens

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As a freelance translator I feel honored to work for so many big and small companies that keep our economy running. It’s an amazing feeling when you deliver a good job and then see it in marketing materials of your client or when you translate a press release and then see it picked up by the media. My love for languages is combined with my fascination by fabulous technologies and I keep exploring that field, always eager to see what comes next. Thanks to the freedom of being a freelancer I can always explore new paths which can offer new opportunities to my clients and colleagues alike. Even when it doesn’t work out the way I thought it would, I still enjoy it nonetheless.

 

Claudia Befu - community engagement - the open mic

Claudia Befu

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Being a translator means, that I can help products, services and ideas to spread around the world.

 

What about you friend?

What does being a translator mean to you, friend?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment box below

Or tweet your reply and tag @OpenMicXL8!

 

[clickToTweet tweet=”Being a translator means… #t9n #xl8″ quote=”Being a translator means… #t9n #xl8″]

 

Once again, happy International Translation Day, dear friends and colleagues!

Whenever you are in the world I hope that on this day you’re not glued to your screen, working on another urgent project.

I wish you a lot of success and I hope that your professional life will be rife with new opportunities, exciting projects and terrific clients who respect you, appreciate the work you do and, of course, pay you handsomely. 🙂

Happy International Translation Day, friend!

Hugs and high-fives from Toronto!

~ Dmitry

 

Dmitry Kornyukhov

About Dmitry Kornyukhov

Founder of The Open Mic. Video game localization specialist. I help video game developers, game publishers and localization studios bring their projects to the Russian-speaking gaming community.

3 thoughts on “What does it mean to be a translator? Happy International Translation Day!

  1. Dear Dmitry, this is an impressive collection of thoughts.
    What can I say? Being a translator means also missing your deadlines sometimes, feeling a little bit stuck and even frustrated when you don’t do what you are good at.
    But, being a translator, you are part of this community and this is awesome!

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    1. Hear, hear, Giovanna! The unpleasant sides of this profession (like any other) are more than compensated by the wonderful exchanges and experiences you get to make 🙂 And thank you Dmitry for this collection!

      Report comment

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