# Norwegian: Certified translator



## eric489

Hello,


Sorry to rack your brains on a Monday, but I'm desperately searching for the Norwegian equivalent of a "certified translator".

I could only come up with "sertifisert oversetter" but I'm sure there's probably a better term.


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## NorwegianNYC

'autorisert oversetter' or 'autorisert translatør' is probably better


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## Sepia

But he may very well be certified by some organisation, without necessarily being an 'autorisert translatør'.


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## Lugubert

Sepia said:


> But he may very well be certified by some organisation, without necessarily being an 'autorisert translatør'.


I highly doubt that it is possible for any "organisation" to confer some kind of certificate. At a Norwegian interpreters' site, they only mention "statsautorisert translatør" as a protected title for officially tested and cleared professional translators. Titles like _oversetter _or _fagoversetter _are not legally protected.

This seems to mirror the Swedish set-up: anyone can claim to be an _översättare, _or even _facköversättare_. (The organisation for the latter lot is _Sveriges Facköversättarförening_, _SFÖ_, "The Swedish Association for Professional Translators", which can't and won't issue certificates, but the requirements for membership is supposed to guarantee some level of expertise.)

The "Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency" (_Kammarkollegiet_, the oldest public authority in Sweden, founded in 1539) is the one and only body that authorizes interpreters and translators.


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## Sepia

Lugubert said:


> I highly doubt that it is possible for any "organisation" to confer some kind of certificate. At a Norwegian interpreters' site, they only mention "statsautorisert translatør" as a protected title for officially tested and cleared professional translators. Titles like _oversetter _or _fagoversetter _are not legally protected.
> 
> This seems to mirror the Swedish set-up: anyone can claim to be an _översättare, _or even _facköversättare_. (The organisation for the latter lot is _Sveriges Facköversättarförening_, _SFÖ_, "The Swedish Association for Professional Translators", which can't and won't issue certificates, but the requirements for membership is supposed to guarantee some level of expertise.)
> 
> The "Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency" (_Kammarkollegiet_, the oldest public authority in Sweden, founded in 1539) is the one and only body that authorizes interpreters and translators.




I have not checked the details in Norway, but I, myself, am certified as a translator from a Danish university. Still this is only part of the way to becoming "translatør" (I'd need two more years on top of that). I'd would not count on things being different in Norway and base a translation on that assumption, without having checked it in detail. I can't recommend anyone else doing so.


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## NorwegianNYC

@Sepia: You wrote "_he may very well be certified by some organisation, without necessarily being an 'autorisert translatør'_"
Would this individual not be 'autorisert' by this organisation, then?


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## Sepia

Authorised, maybe - "_translatør", no._ Depends on how you define "authorise". Like I just told, you can be certified, which basically means that somebody means that you are good enough to translate and charbe money for it. That still does not necessarily mean that you are qualified to do any kind of translation for which an "authorisation" is required by law. That - at least in DK - is what a "_translatør" _can do. Otherwise, you basically are not required to show any qualifications at all to translate. Such a law would probably conflict with the constitution all democratic societies as it would limit your right to free speech. In Germany where I live it is similar. We just use different terms.


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## NorwegianNYC

Hi Sepia,

My Norwegian resources list _translatør_ and _oversetter_ as synonyms. This might be different in Danish, but _translatør_ is not a protected title even there (I looked it up); it is simply an alternative word. I doubt there is a degree of proficiency that separates _translatør_ and _oversetter; _I strongly suspect this is a distinction sprung from professional pride and self-awareness. Etymologically speaking, "_trans-latere"_ and "_over-sette"_ are identical.

I work extensively with Germanic languages, but since Norwegian and English are my native tongues, I cannot guarantee my proficiency in the nuances of Danish (although I speak and teach some broken version of is). However, Eng. _certified_ = No. _autorisert_. This does NOT mean (and I believe this is your point) that you have a degree in translation. It simply means you are certified/authorized by some body/authority to do translation work in that particular language. For instance, ATA, American Translators Association, authorizes/certifies individuals based on their own criteria. ATA is not a collegiate or governmental institution, but is has earned the credibility of the public to preform this task.


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## AutumnOwl

According to this site there is a Norwegian exam for translators, http://www.statsaut-translator.no/website.aspx?displayid=1205 and the members can stamp and sign their work, with the words "True Translation Certified", something I don't think other translators can do.


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## Ben Jamin

This might be slightly off-topic here, but since you have made an attempt to reconstruct the latin source of ‘translatør’, I feel it might be useful (especially for translators) to make it clear: there is no Latin verb like "latere", the verb is 'ferre' (to bear, carry), the past tense is 'tuli' and the past participle is 'latum' (very irregular!). From 'trans-ferre' (to carry over) we have the participle 'translatum' (something carried over), and 'translator' (the one that carries over).

Note the Latin expression, still widely used “relata refero” (I am telling something told to me).


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## NorwegianNYC

Ben Jamin said:


> This might be slightly off-topic here, but since you have made an attempt to reconstruct the latin source of ‘translatør’, I feel it might be useful (especially for translators) to make it clear: there is no Latin verb like "latere", the verb is 'ferre' (to bear, carry), the past tense is 'tuli' and the past participle is 'latum' (very irregular!). From 'trans-ferre' (to carry over) we have the participle 'translatum' (something carried over), and 'translator' (the one that carries over).
> 
> Note the Latin expression, still widely used “relata refero” (I am telling something told to me).



Hi Ben Jamin,

Ah - good old "fero-tuli-latum". I had a teacher who was in love with that one, and perhaps once every class would break into a lengthy explanation ("Here we have 3 stems in one word! FERO and FERRE is a cognate of 'to bear' in modern English and... etc."). When I say trans-latere and over-sette is the same, it is not in a strict etymological sense, but the meaning of both is "to carry something over [in this case the gap between two languages] and put it down"



> AutumOwl: According to this site there is a Norwegian exam for translators, http://www.statsaut-translator.no/we...displayid=1205 and the members can stamp and sign their work, with the words "True Translation Certified", something I don't think other translators can do.



Yes. To be 'statsautorisert translatør' in Norway you have to pass this exam. However, in Norway, that term 'translatør' is not a protected title. It can be used by anyone doing translation work (although 'oversetter' is probably more common). If some authority or body (such as ATA in the US) has certified you, you can call yourself 'autorisert translatør/oversetter' as well, just not _statsautorisert translatør_, which pertains only to those who pass the exam AutumnOwl mentions.


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## Ben Jamin

I just wanted to point out that "translat*ere*" is a non existent word, but "translatum" exists.


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