# Question for Translators: Why would you study another language?



## attitude

Hi!

I was wondering why a translator would study another language, apart from the pair they translate.

Suppose you were English and you translate from German to English. Why would you study another language (for instance, French) if you have got your degree and you are able to translate that pair? The major reason for which I wouldn't study another language is that it is not "professional" to translate languages you haven't got a degree.


I hope you understand this dilemma

Greetings


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## bozgeez

Hi,

Well, professional translators are often people who have a passion for languages, and so taking up another language might simply be a hobby for them.

Also, with every new language that one learns, one gains a new insight into a different grammar system, syntax order etc., and can learn about how this language was formed, giving them a greater understanding of languages in general and how they work.

Finally, I agree with you, that you need to know a language incredibly well indeed to be able to do professional translations with it.  But a translator taking up another language might have a long-term plan, i.e. learning the language in-depth over ten years before starting work in translating to and from this language.

Or, they could just be learning it to be able to order a drink while on holiday! (or should I say vacation, I don't know how many Americans will be reading this...)

bozgeez


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## Etcetera

One of the possible reasons: out of curiosity. Many people take pleasure in learning foreign languages. 
Besides, if you haven't an official certificate of completing a course of, say, Japanese, you still may receive a translation job with Japanese, at least in Russia.


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## attitude

I posted this thread since I don't think pleasure is enough to study another language rather than becoming a better translator in your pair.

Thank you for your answer, hope more people will participate


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## Hakro

I have translated professionally from Swedish, German, English and French (and Danish and Norwegian and Dutch but they don't really count). Besides, I have studied Italian, Spanish and a little Portuguese, mainly to be able to read these languages (Italian professional magazines, Spanish newspapers and Portuguese love letters). Later I found that sometimes they were also useful for uderstanding better French and English.

Lately I have found it very useful that I don't have to limit my Internet search to the languages I know better. I can find some valuable information from German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, etc. sites although I can't read them very fluently. With a dictionary I can understand the main part.

Most of all I have studied Finnish because I believe that most important for a translator is to know his/her mother tongue.


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## badgrammar

Well, my answer would be that although I am a translator (and I translate only from French into English, not the other way around), I am also just a person, and as such, I have had personal  reasons to learn other languages.  We don't always learn a language strictly for professional reasons. 

But it is very interesting to note that the more languages you study, the more you understand about syntax, etymology etc., in the languages you already speak, so it is great for rounding-out one's intellect.  Also, it is great for keeping our mind active, always learning new things...


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## cuchuflete

For fun...and to perplex those who don't understand what a powerful motivation this may be.


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## Etcetera

badgrammar said:


> But it is very interesting to note that the more languages you study, the more you understand about syntax, etymology etc., in the languages you already speak, so it is great for rounding-out one's intellect. Also, it is great for keeping our mind active, always learning new things...


I totally agree!
And I'm sure most of us here study different languages for pleasure. Just because they love learning something new.


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## jess oh seven

I don't necessarily think you need a degree in a language to be able to translate it. A degree doesn't necessarily entail mastery of a language. 

Once you do have a good grasp of one language, however, it becomes easier to gain proficiency and find patterns in another, especially if it's similar (e.g. learning more than one romance language or germanic language). A lot of the skill in translation is in technique as well, and knowing the function of particular types of language. 

I am desperate to learn German, although I've never studied anything but romance languages. I know it will be challenging, but I think I have enough general linguistic knowledge and motivation to do it!


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## lateacher

It´s PASSION! I can´t think of any other word. And it´s POWER as well!


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## TrentinaNE

attitude said:


> I was wondering why a translator would study another language, apart from the pair they translate.


Why might a professional pianist also seek to play the violin or the guitar or drums? 

Your question suggests an attitude that learning languages is a chore to be avoided unless there is compensation involved. But there are many people who simply love languages and wish to be conversant in as many as possible for their own enjoyment and utility. Is that really so puzzling? 

Elisabetta


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## coconutpalm

I'm not yet a translator, but only an English major that wants to be a translator. My second foreign language is French which is required by our curriculum, but I don't think it's a bad thing to know another language. I love reading, and original version is nearly inevitable better than translated version (no offensive meant). It would be great to be able to read Les Trois Mousquetaires en Français instead of in Chinese or English.
I've started reading the simplified version Les Trois MOusquetaires. HOpe it can help me. My French is toooooooo poor.


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## EmilyD

My son spent 5 days in a hospital a few months ago (apendicitis) and I was there and awake (mostly) for those days. 

When I realized that many of the staff spoke Portuguese and others Cape Verdean Creole, it was a precious opportunity for me to use my limited phrases and gain more... 

_Nomi_


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## palomnik

I'm a bit perplexed about the statement about it not being "professional" to translate languages for which you don't have a degree.  My degree is in Chinese.  I've done a lot of translating, but virtually none of it with Chinese - I've translated English into Russian and Spanish, and vice versa, along with the odd shorter piece into English from several other languages.  I had no idea I wasn't being professional.

As for learning other languages, very often when a student develops an intense interest in one culture he or she becomes interested in studying other languages related to that culture or that had a significant influence on that culture.  Most students of Romance languages I've ever met studied at least two of them.  Students of Chinese may well take up Japanese as well if they can handle the course load.  Students of Latin America frequently will take up Portuguese after learning Spanish.  Rather than being an aberration I would say it is a natural progression.


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## attitude

@Mods: Please, do not erase this message



palomnik said:


> I'm a bit perplexed about the statement about it not being "professional" to translate languages for which you don't have a degree.  My degree is in Chinese.  I've done a lot of translating, but virtually none of it with Chinese - I've translated English into Russian and Spanish, and vice versa, along with the odd shorter piece into English from several other languages.  *I had no idea I wasn't being professional.*
> 
> As for learning other languages, very often when a student develops an intense interest in one culture he or she becomes interested in studying other languages related to that culture or that had a significant influence on that culture.  Most students of Romance languages I've ever met studied at least two of them.  Students of Chinese may well take up Japanese as well if they can handle the course load.  Students of Latin America frequently will take up Portuguese after learning Spanish.  Rather than being an aberration I would say it is a natural progression.



Lo voy a decir en Castellano, idioma que sé : El hecho de no ser profesional si traducís sin tener título fue lo que me dijo una traductora. Yo no lo dije y tampoco soy traductor.

Por último, tengan cuidado de la forma en la que responden y con la ironía (que a veces se transforma en mal educación) porque no saben quien está del otro lado, como en mi caso que soy menor de edad y me tengo que aguantar que personas me respondan de una forma inadecuada o con ironía. En ningún momento dije que soy traductor, no lo soy y sólo quiero saber algunas cosas relacionadas con la traducción.


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## karuna

attitude said:


> The major reason for which I wouldn't study another language is that it is not "professional" to translate languages you haven't got a degree.



As far as I know the EU translators are required to know at least two other languages that are the EU official languages besides their target language. For example, a Latvian translator would normally speak English and Russian but to become a EU translator it is not enough because Russian is not an official EU language. In order to apply he/she would be required to study French or German or some other language, even if the job required translation only in one language pair. It may be a red tape requirement but the reason might be that a translator who, in case of uncertainity in the source text, is able to read the same text in two languages has certain advantages.


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## horusankh

attitude said:


> Hi!
> 
> I was wondering why a translator would *study another language*, apart from the pair they translate...


 
Hello,

I'd like to express my opinion, and I'll try to do it in a most respectful way. 

First of all, I don't know what Palomnik meant, what I do know is that when I first read his post I didn't find his words disrespectful, but anyway, I'm not going to discuss that, I just want to start from here to add that the reason I would have to learn more languages is not only to learn other grammars and other possibilities of interesting and beautiful sounds, but also to expand my vision of the universe, because for me, a language is a way to interpret the reality, for instance, I'd say that German has a very logical, mathematical grammar, therefore it's very good to express complex thoughts, like philosophical ideas, and Italian is a very useful language to express feelings. And this happens not only with foreign languages, I have a Spanish friend, and once, when I was visiting him in Madrid, I thought he and his family were arguing and mad, but they were not. I made that interpretation just because I was "understanding" that situation through my Mexican Spanish language, and vision of the universe, which is different than the one they have, although we share almost all of the words.

I also would learn another language, because I don't see learning a language as a burden or something I have to "suffer", but something I enjoy, and this reason has been said. I think people can make a living with any job they want, but why would anybody want to be a victim of his/her job if it could be a pleasure?

I think that if the world could understand that there are other points of view different than mine, and equally valid, we could manage to live in peace, and I believe that learning languages has that power.

Saludos.


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## SJAJ

Hi attitude!
 
A simple answer to your question would be STAYING COMPETATIVE. 
If one is an interpreter by profession, one has to stay competative in the respective field and it is not easy when you have so many bilingual persons who work as interperters. The fact that they are bilingual, gives them an enormous head start.
Apart from my mother tongue, Serbian, I speak English and Spanish, but I had to learn those languages. I did not acquire them spontaneously while growing up. That took time and hard work. I hope you note the difference, 'cause I didn't write this in order to brag. 
The limit is constantly moving. In my country for example, when looking for a job (not necessarily interpreting): twenty years ago it was considered an advantage if one knew one foreign language. Ten years ago, when I was finishing highschool, it was already obvious that by the time I finish my studies, the minimum number would be two. And so it is. The last two or three jobs I had, I got thanks to the fact that I speak another foreign language, apart from English. 
So, today, if one wants to have an advantage over others, one should speak 3 foreign languages. 
I myself am thinking about Chinese or French.
 
Hope this answers your question.
 
As for degrees, you can have as much as degrees you want. You only need to study for them. 
I do have degrees for the languages I speak, but my experience and your common sense will tell you that degrees do not guarantee quality service in any profession, especially this one.
Bye


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## yaggi

Hi everyone

I'm not actually a translator, but my girlfriend intends to become one (following English and Chinese lessons), and we are both fond of foreign languages.

Just for the record, we had many rows because of the way we said things to each other in our native language (choosing one word instead of another, trying to use understatement etc.). So now, when she thinks she's about to tell me something we can argue on, she says it in english  and so do I.
It may sound weird at first sight, but it works! Now if we argue on something, then we just argue on the content (and not the words).

To resume the current topic, I'm explaining why both she and I are going to study Japanese. The first reason is the curiosity we have for the country and its culture.
The second reason is based on her future translator status :
> she wants to get her degree in Chinese
+ as Chinese is a complex language she is eager to find something to round out her Chinese lessons
+ Japanese and Chinese are deeply connected via Kenji's structure
+ and she's even more motivated than me to learn Japanese because she wants to be able to read mangas as soon as they are released in japan 

Finally she would become a translator, knowing French as her mother tongue, English and Chinese (she started learning both at 10), and Japanese which would be for her leisure and general knowledge in languages.

To conclude with my point of view, I would say that learning another language is a evidence of being open minded even for someone who is not a translator. So when we talk about someone who actually is a translator, it is even more important. Take this for an example: I'm a computer scientist, do you think I can possibly only focus on PCs and don't give a **** about Macintosh? 

You would say I'm making a mistake, or a malpractice wouldn't you ? 

PS @coconutpalm : If you need some help in French, just let me know. Because my girlfriend my need some help Chinese if you are inclined to give a hand


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## zebedee

attitude said:


> Por último, tengan cuidado de la forma en la que responden y con la ironía (que a veces se transforma en mal educación) porque no saben quien está del otro lado, como en mi caso que soy menor de edad y me tengo que aguantar que personas me respondan de una forma inadecuada o con ironía. En ningún momento dije que soy traductor, no lo soy y sólo quiero saber algunas cosas relacionadas con la traducción.


 
Attitude,

Palomnik wasn't being ironic in his/her answer to you. In fact, your opening post was ambiguous in tone and could also be read ironically. Por favor, trata a tus compañeros con el mismo respeto que tú les pides para ti.

Thank you.
zebedee
Moderator


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## palomnik

Attitude:

Comprendo exactamente lo que quiere decir, y por favor no suponga que me ofendo.

Me parece que el trabajo del traductor es algo semejante al del artista; en ambos casos un título no significa mucho - lo más importante es que el candidato manifeste dotes y deseo.


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## Jeanie

*Wer fremde Sprachen nicht lernt,* so Goethe*, kennt seine eigene Muttersprache nicht.*


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## m'targem

karuna said:


> As far as I know the EU translators are required to know at least two other languages that are the EU official languages besides their target language. ...



Being one of those translators, I can confirm this. We have to know one of either English, French or German, one other language from the other 18, and, obviously, our native language. However, we are required to learn French/English later if we don't know it yet since most EU documents are drafted in one of these two languages.

Now, why would I personally learn another language? First, because it's fun. Second, because it gives me more job opportunities. Third, because it's fun. Oops, sorry, already said that.  Seriously, I think that someone who studies to become a translator must have certain predisposition for wanting more. It feels great to be able to understand books written or people talking in a foreign language. 

In my opinion, it is also important what a translator translates. I think if you translate novels or poetry then one foreign language may be enough. However, if you translate anything else then you may not want to limit yourself to one language only.


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## yaggi

I don't remember who said this before, but I agree on this : "A language is a unique view of the world".

One of the best example, I think, that can confirm this statement is to look at sayings. Just compare the english sentence "It's a small world" to the spanish one "El mundo es un panuelo", the meaning stays the same but the allegory (point of view) changes.

To sum up, learning a new language can open up your mind


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## Sepia

I never could understand those people who travel regularly to the same foreign country and never bothered to learn the language spoken there. Let alone the friendly encounters with the people they are not going to have, they never realize what info they are missing and how people can bullshit them without them ever knowing. 

Here is one very, very simple and unsentimental example: Every time I go to Spain, tour operator staff tell us where to rent cars to be sure that you get safe cars and sufficient insurance coverage.

In fact the dirtiest car in the worst shape I ever rented was from one of the main stream car rentals with tour operator recommendation.
In the meantime I know enough Spanish to read the insurance and rental conditions. So now I always rent from the local - sometimes Spanish speaking only - car rentals.
Usually saves me approx. 10 Euros a day.


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## Lugubert

attitude said:


> Hi!
> 
> I was wondering why a translator would study another language, apart from the pair they translate.


_The_ pair??? Nowadays, I try to restrict myself to English and German to Swedish, but before getting established enough to chose among offers, I took on French, Dutch, Norwegian and Danish. Very little Spanish, and one Italian and one Arabic job, with a little help from my friends. My main degree is Master of Chemical Engineering. My linguistic degree focussed on Classical Arabic and Sanskrit...




> The major reason for which I wouldn't study another language is that it is not "professional" to translate languages you haven't got a degree.


Colleagues and customers find me sufficiently professional. Not one of my working languages in my degrees.

The languages I have studied (at assorted universities) during the last seven years are Modern Arabic, Hindi, Russian, Bulgarian, Bible Hebrew, and I'm currently concentrating on Chinese.

Why?

Some people collect stamps or coins. I sometimes think I'm mainly collecting writing systems. If I am successful at the end of 2nd year Chinese (one year is 40 weeks at (supposedly) 40 study hours per week) I might go for even higher levels in that language, but adding Classical Tibetan wouldn't be wrong either. I'm prepared; my library includes (better add: printed) grammars and/or dictionaries and/or tutorials in/for more than 100 languages, and, I think, on more (deciphered) scripts than most people have heard of.

I don't miss an opportunity to refer to Tom Lehrer, so, how did I get that way?

I try to make the most of the genes my parents gave me, and how they supported me.

Again, why?

The primary reason is of course that I thrive on it. Learning languages is great fun. I'm sometimes planning to go from the top of the list on number of speakers and work my way down. That would make me able to communicate with the majority of the world's inhabitants in their own languages.

Two more reasons but two that haven't delivered:

1) By learning lots of languages, I hoped eventually to understand how languages are learnt, or at least, how _I_ learn languages. Failed. Once into the process, I concentrate on learning the language, not on the hows. Moreover, the effort required is orders of magnitude greater now than when I was, say, 24. At that time, I learned Dutch from absolutely zero to a working knowledge in less than two months, living and working in Amsterdam, and at no conscious effort. Now, I really have to use all the required/assumed 40 hours per week efficiently to keep up with the progression of the Chinese curriculum.

2) I have been translating full time since 1987. I now and then try to analyze how I do it, professionally and/or for course assignments. I just don't understand what happens in me. Sometimes I get the feeling that I can't control it, it just happens, more or less like (I suppose) painters, sculpturers, mechanics etc. can't explain in words how they work. Now and then, I think that I decipher the source text, buffer the meaning somewhere, and then express my understanding of that message in Swedish. Not very dramatic I think, and it probably would be difficult to expand it to a Ph.D. thesis, like a prof. of linguistics sugggested.


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