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Becoming an interpreter - worthwhile? | ||
Tags: Interpreting | Career | ||
 Language Learning Forum : Languages & Work |  | |
| dinguino Nonaglot Groupie GermanyRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4753 days ago 55 posts - 96 votes  Speaks: English, German*, FrenchC1, Catalan, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese Studies: Norwegian, Turkish, Russian, Irish | Message 1 of 16 04 December 2011 at 10:49pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Hi everybody!
I am currently at a point where I find myself having to decide what to do in the future. I finished school this year and now am doing voluntary service in France. I would love to become interpreter, since this is my passion and I spend much of my free time on learning languages. Nevertheless, when I tell my friends/family what I am planning to do, I often hear that the business of interpreting won't pay off in the near future for the reason that nearly everybody is able to speak English or more and more technical support (see google translator) will emerge, facilitating communication between people of different linguistic backgrounds. So now my question is: Is that true? If I will start studying interpretation this year (or maybe the following), will I find myself without work when finished? What do you think? I now speak German, English and French fluently and am currently working on my Spanish and Italian. In addition, I am eager to improve my Indonesian which I once started two or three years ago and want to learn Norwegian (+ maybe another Scandinavian language subsequently). Besides, I would also love to complete the Romanic languages by learning Portuguese and Rumanian. Do you think that one can be successful with such a range of language? (I am aware of the fact that I probably won't speak all of them fluently because that would require far more exposure to all of those languages by living in the country for a certain time.) I'm really getting more and more nervous by this time, because I can't think of something different to do and I would love to get to know if it's still worth studying interpretation or if you consider it being a ceasing métier? Thanks in advance :) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Iwwersetzerin Bilingual Heptaglot Senior Member Luxembourg Joined 5668 days ago 259 posts - 513 votes Speaks: French*, Luxembourgish*, GermanC2, EnglishC2, SpanishC2, DutchC1, ItalianC1 Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin | Message 2 of 16 05 December 2011 at 12:13pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Interpreting will definitely not die anytime soon, on the contrary! With increasing globalization, international commerce, etc. good interpreters are more needed than ever.
Translation and interpreting are booming, even in this gloomy economy. I'm a freelance translator and I have more work than I can handle, and my interpreter colleagues are very busy too. Do you really think the United Nations, the EU, high-level technical conferences or diplomatic meetings will rely on Google Translate or some sort of automatic speech translator? That would be a recipe for disaster! I think it's great that you want to learn that many languages, but, for interpreting, I would concentrate only on those that you already know well (English and French) and work on perfecting them. Being fluent is not enough for a top-notch interpreter. English to German and French to German are very good combinations for interpreting with high demand, whether you want to work as a conference interpreter, for the EU, as a liaison interpreter for business meetings or as a court interpreter. English and French are definitely the languages to concentrate on for a German native. If you want to go for conference interpreting, the European Masters in Conference Interpreting is the best program in Europe. The best place to study in Germany is Johannes Gutenberg Universität in Mainz (also a member of the European Masters network). 8 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5380 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian | Message 3 of 16 05 December 2011 at 4:02pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Although the Canadian situation is certainly different from the European one, there is no doubt that, as Iwwersetzerin said, you need to aim for perfection, not for broadness -- when you are on the spot and you have to interpret something to the best of your knowledge, as accurately as you can, in as perfect a language as you can so as to gain the trust of your listeners, as perfect a knowledge of the language is definitely what's going to matter. Your listener won't care how many other languages you know if he doesn't feel that he can count on you.
5 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| dinguino Nonaglot Groupie GermanyRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4753 days ago 55 posts - 96 votes Speaks: English, German*, FrenchC1, Catalan, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese Studies: Norwegian, Turkish, Russian, Irish | Message 4 of 16 05 December 2011 at 6:25pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Thanks for your answers! Some great news :)
@Iwwersetzerin: No, I definitely don't think they will rely on the actual google translator, but given that this tool has been hugely improved the last years, it could just be a matter of time till it functions very well. I don't believe this will happen in the next 20 or so years, but who knows what there will be in 50 years? I just wanted to know your opinion on this subject, since a career should last some 40 years and I haven't yet started it... but I think you're right - by now there are no causes for being afraid. Furthermore, do you know anything about studying interpretation abroad? I'm considering studying in France, but I think the studies are designed for French native speakers so that you are going to exercise by translating into French. This could be a problem for me as I would like to practise translating into German. Do you know anyone who studied translation abroad or even did so yourself? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Ari Heptaglot Senior Member Norway Joined 6581 days ago 2314 posts - 5695 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese Studies: Czech, Latin, German | Message 5 of 16 06 December 2011 at 7:35am | IP Logged | |||||
It doesn't really matter what profession you choose; in 50 years you'll still be replaced by a robot. 5 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Iwwersetzerin Bilingual Heptaglot Senior Member Luxembourg Joined 5668 days ago 259 posts - 513 votes Speaks: French*, Luxembourgish*, GermanC2, EnglishC2, SpanishC2, DutchC1, ItalianC1 Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin | Message 6 of 16 06 December 2011 at 1:19pm | IP Logged | |||||
Some of the most important translation and interpreting schools (Germersheim, ETI Geneva, ESIT Paris and probably others) offer courses in many language combinations and for speakers of different native languages. I studied at the ETI in Geneva which trains native speakers of French, German, English, Spanish, Italian and Arabic, and did an exchange semester in Madrid. You should definitely choose a program aimed at German natives, but it doesn't necessarily have to be in Germany. It can be an advantage to study in your native language, but in a place where one of your source languages is spoken (Geneva might actually be a good choice for you), so you can simultaneously improve this source language. I absolutely recommend spending at least one semester abroad, in a place where one of your source languages is spoken. Many programs even require this. 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| dinguino Nonaglot Groupie GermanyRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4753 days ago 55 posts - 96 votes Speaks: English, German*, FrenchC1, Catalan, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese Studies: Norwegian, Turkish, Russian, Irish | Message 7 of 16 10 December 2011 at 11:08pm | IP Logged | |||||
That means there are special interpreting schools for people aiming to become interpreters? How many are there (in France, in Europe...)? Would you nonetheless recommend studying at a "normal" university or is this formation too sketchy, too superficial? I have another question: If I want to become an interpreter, I don't really know what to study - one or two languages (Bachelor) and afterwards the Master in Translation/Interpretation? Or is it necessary to combine one language with economy or something similar, so that you specialize in a certain field and are well versed in what you are translating? Maybe some employers even do require this?
So you wouldn't recommend studying my languages in France (= in French) and that's all? In my opinion, this would be the easiest way as you can study languages almost everywhere. Apart from that, I have a general question: I have the impression that only a few interpreters are needed, which could pose a problem for those who are about to seek employment. Are there already "enough" interpreters or is there always a demand for them? Thank you very much for your help! 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| dinguino Nonaglot Groupie GermanyRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4753 days ago 55 posts - 96 votes Speaks: English, German*, FrenchC1, Catalan, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese Studies: Norwegian, Turkish, Russian, Irish | Message 8 of 16 11 December 2011 at 5:11pm | IP Logged | |||||
And one question which is a bit more particular @Iwwersetzerin:
Did you attend this university just after finishing school or is this a university you attend to do your master in interpretation after having studied at a "normal" university? /edit: More generally asked, do most of the interpreting schools mean to be "post-uni" schools where you only pass your Master or are they schools you go to right from the start (=after passing Abitur/baccalauréat etc.; is it A levels in Britain or how do you actually call it?!)? Edited by dinguino on 11 December 2011 at 5:45pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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