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Writers, journalists and translators
Thread poster: lingomania
lingomania
lingomania
Local time: 06:10
Italian to English
Jun 19, 2007

I have often wondered about this. Would writers, journalists and reporters necessarily make good translators? Do you think they have an advantage over non writers/journalists. What about vice-versa. Comments welcome. Thank you.

Robert.
 
Natalia Eklund
Natalia Eklund  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 22:10
French to English
+ ...
Vice versa Jun 20, 2007

lingomania wrote:
Would writers, journalists and reporters necessarily make good translators?
Robert.


I think good translators could make good writers, journalists, and reporters.

- Translators have to love the written word and be extremely literate, mastering their mother tongue above and beyond the average joe. Like writers.

- Translators have to be curious, constantly seeking out new terms and language evolutions in all their language pairs. Like journalists.

- Translators have to be observant and open to multiple cultures, subjects, and news to apply their knowledge to their jobs. Like reporters.

Natalia
 
lingomania
lingomania
Local time: 06:10
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Speaking for myself Jun 20, 2007

Hello Natalia. Your reply is logical and very 'accomodating' so to say. Speaking for myself, I have never written a book or novel and I don't think I have the capabilities and skills to write a readable book. Oh I like reading and writing very much and that is a very important factor for a translator. A good translator needs to know quite everything of the linguistic culture of his/her linguistic pairs. Perhaps my next queston would be if only good writers make good translators...?! Writers may ... See more
Hello Natalia. Your reply is logical and very 'accomodating' so to say. Speaking for myself, I have never written a book or novel and I don't think I have the capabilities and skills to write a readable book. Oh I like reading and writing very much and that is a very important factor for a translator. A good translator needs to know quite everything of the linguistic culture of his/her linguistic pairs. Perhaps my next queston would be if only good writers make good translators...?! Writers may have a slight advantage over non writers, but good translators will necessarly fill the gap along the way.
Thank you for your reply.

Robert

[Edited at 2007-06-20 12:20] ▲ Collapse
 
Vania de Souza
Vania de Souza
Local time: 21:10
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Translators, journalists and writers Jul 4, 2007

Translators can be very good journalists, like Natalia says:translators must be curious. They can also be writers, as they have a good command of the language and a vast vocabulary apart from interest in a variety of subjects. However, both writers and journalists cannot be good translators. Translation is a technique of transfering to a different language what's being said in another.

It is a mistake to think that journalists can be good translators. Having worked in a newspaper, I... See more
Translators can be very good journalists, like Natalia says:translators must be curious. They can also be writers, as they have a good command of the language and a vast vocabulary apart from interest in a variety of subjects. However, both writers and journalists cannot be good translators. Translation is a technique of transfering to a different language what's being said in another.

It is a mistake to think that journalists can be good translators. Having worked in a newspaper, I''ve found that they make the simplest mistakes we learn not to make quite early in translation school. In my experience, I came across some very weird translations done by some very good journalists. ▲ Collapse
 


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