Linguistics or Translation?
Printed From: How-to-learn-any-language.com
Forum Name: Languages & Work
Forum Discription: How foreign languages can be used in your career, to get jobs, as translators, etc...
URL: http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=38690
Printed Date: 10 June 2021 at 11:38pm
Posted By: Tyrion101
Subject: Linguistics or Translation?
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 3:12am
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I've been toying with the idea of changing my major, and at this point its just an idea. I want to both be able to study multiple languages, and get work for it. I'm interested primarily in Asian languages. What references are out there for someone looking into either being a translator or linguist? Is there any way for a lay person to pursue linguistics as a hobby if I choose not to make it a career?
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Replies:
Yes it's possible to pursue linguistics as a hobby. Why not?
Retinend on 09 May 2014
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Oh good, I was wondering if it were one of those sciences you needed to be a professional to do.
Tyrion101 on 11 May 2014
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Sorry for being short. For it to be a hobby I suppose that it's a little difficult because
there aren't plenty of books are written for the layman on the deeper parts of the field:
phonology, syntax, semantics, computational linguistics. You'd need to read the same
textbooks that students do. They have technical terminology and established notation and
require a lot of practice using the notation to progress in understanding. But there's
nothing to stop you pursuing it as a hobby if you can get past the tedious beginning
stages.
Retinend on 11 May 2014
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I think there'd be more opportunity for multi-language study in linguistics than in translation. Most translating
jobs focus on a single language.
AlexTG on 11 May 2014
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If you study something like economics or engineering such language skills might also come very handy... You don't have to study linguistics or translation to use foreign languages in your career. Actually, it might be better to study languages on the side and get your degree in something else.
druckfehler on 12 May 2014
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I agree with the above. I got my BA in Linguistics and towards the end I was slightly regretting it. Now, don't get me
wrong, there is nothing wrong with studying linguistics, but for me (personally), I felt like it took away the fun
element of my favorite hobby and what drove me to study linguistics in the first place--learning languages. It was
too theoretical and it made me realize that I never really needed linguistics to be a good language learner. Again,
don't get me wrong, there were some topics in my linguistic degree that I felt were actually quite useful. Such as
learning the IPA and how to articulate the different sounds. I felt this helped me visualize how to pronounce sounds
that I had been doing wrong all along.
If I could do it all over again, I would choose a different major, but if you feel very strong about it, then just
take this as someone's experience which might differ from yours :).
LinguistRick on 13 May 2014
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My current degree is electronic engineering. I've had similar advice from others. Maybe I'll take a couple of classes in it when I get the chance and just see if it is worth changing a major over. Part of the Asian language fascination is practical, the other, I just like interesting writing systems, and being a musician I'm fascinated by languages where tone is everything.
Tyrion101 on 13 May 2014
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I don't know how you feel about moving but if you were to move to a country where they speak your target language, it might actually be better for you to get a degree in something like what you're currently doing, and just get a job in that field in the country. You might not be working with languages directly, but you would be using it at work every day. Kinda like what Khatzumoto (from AJATT) did. Overall it might open more doors for you and might still meet your language needs :-)
Liz
Lizzern on 13 May 2014
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Lizzern wrote:
I don't know how you feel about moving but if you were to move to a country where they speak your target language, it might actually be better for you to get a degree in something like what you're currently doing, and just get a job in that field in the country. You might not be working with languages directly, but you would be using it at work every day. Kinda like what Khatzumoto (from AJATT) did. Overall it might open more doors for you and might still meet your language needs :-)
Liz |
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Khatz learned Japanese in America, and then moved to Japan. So he's kind of a bad example. Aside from that, this guy wants to learn multiple languages so him going to Japan would be pretty counterproductive. I've had this conundrum. In Japan, nobody speaks anything but Japanese(obviously), and therefore you could know 30 languages and you wouldn't be able to use a single one ever. Maybe aside from the occasional English, and the even farther and fewer between Mandarin and Korean. Aside from that it's pretty pointless to know anything else. If your going to study something, you may as well just keep studying Japanese since you can never know enough.
For the OP, I would recommend what everyone else has said. Forget trying to work with languages and just find out how you can get a job using them on the side to increase your employers revenue. Spanish and Mandarin are the easiest sells. Especially if you live in some international place like California, New York, Texas, Florida etc etc. Knowing those 2 will make you far more money than most translators make, and your employer only expects you to be at a B2 level because he/she didn't hire you to be a translator. If that makes sense. I've always heard my bosses say, "If I had a guy who could speak to these Chinese customers, I'd pay him __,_____,___!" I hear this all the time from different people who run businesses. You just have to look around for someone who needs it. Hell, you could end up working in some hole in the ground and making decent money, just because they need a person there to translate.
The biggest problem with this, in my opinion, is, is that all you want out of life? I love languages as much as anyone here, but I realized that what it would take for me to be truly happy(and able to make a living) just wasn't going to happen. I grew up I the country in the middle of nowhere my entire life, with nothing to do OTHER than learn languages, and have no desire to move back anytime soon just for a job. While living in the "big city" is where all the opportunities are, it costs a fortune to live there. Unless you were making one of those big time translator salaries you hear about but never see anybody with, then you wouldn't and COULDN'T make it there. This is just the truth. And if all you have is a degree related to translation/international whatever then you are SCREWED. I could be making all the money in the world, but if I had to be in the middle of nowhere again to do it, or be paying like 1000$ a month in rent to live in the city to do it, then it's not worth it. Stick to your big money Electrical Engineering degree, and just be a polyglot on the side and keep it in your back pocket. One day you'll make one of your Elec Engineering bosses VERY happy with some Chinese/Japanese customers walk through. :)
Itadakimasu on 13 May 2014
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Many linguists don't bother learning a foreign language, even if they do research on that language. They then often only learn the necessary elements of the language in order to do their research (e.g. verbal prefixes). In these circles, doing research on very particular questions of a language is generally considered much more important and desirable than actual language acquisition.
Those who study a particular language as a major will likely be dissapointed, for they will discover that the actual language acquisition (e.g. the sorely needed autodidactic study techniques) is nothing that they will get much instruction on. They're usually given the advice to "go abroad" if they want to master the language.
Sterogyl on 15 May 2014
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On the other hand, linguistics is a great choice for an aspiring polyglot, as unlike majoring in a specific language, you're not limited in what exactly you research. I've written papers using materials in Finnish, Portuguese and Polish, and two more about the language politics of Finland and Croatia.
Serpent on 15 May 2014
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Itadakimasu wrote:
| Khatz learned Japanese in America, and then moved to Japan. So he's kind of a bad example. Aside from that, this guy wants to learn multiple languages so him going to Japan would be pretty counterproductive. I've had this conundrum. In Japan, nobody speaks anything but Japanese(obviously), and therefore you could know 30 languages and you wouldn't be able to use a single one ever. Maybe aside from the occasional English, and the even farther and fewer between Mandarin and Korean. Aside from that it's pretty pointless to know anything else. If your going to study something, you may as well just keep studying Japanese since you can never know enough. |
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I think you misunderstood what I was saying here. I was merely suggesting an alternative way of looking at it if someone wants to combine languages with their career. Where Khatz learned Japanese isn't the point - he uses Japanese for work now, even though he studied something else.
Lizzern on 16 May 2014
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I had just posted a similar topic beforing seeing your post. I would say for your situation it depends on what you really like or want to do. If you want to be a translator then forget (at least for now) about learning multiple languages at a time, because you need to spend a significant amount of time drilling on one language and make to native or near native level, especially for Asian languages which are notorious for complicated writing systems. If you want to be a linguist and then you will rather be flirting with most languages. You just need to know their patterns.
camus on 17 May 2014
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