Tag: Native translator

7 Curious Facts About the Native Professional Translator

CategoriesNative translators, Translation servicesPosted on

The mind of a Bigtranslator is an intricate maze, but it is an organised maze, and the intricacies of this mental labyrinth allow the native translator to hit on the central nerve and true meaning of a text to be translated.

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The internal workings of the professional native translator’s mind are a thing of wonder…

The mind of a BigTranslator is an intricate maze, but it is an organised maze, and the intricacies of this mental labyrinth allow the native professional translator to hit on the central nerve and true meaning of a text to be translated. The mental switch made by a native professional translator is something incredible, like the work of the synapses, passing small electrical impulses from one to the other. Translation, in the mind of a native translator, is exactly like this: an electrical storm.

 

professionals translators

 

Among the interesting facts that, perhaps, you didn’t know about native translators:

1. A translator never stops translating. Their brain is in translation mode continuously. A translator translates EVERYTHING around them, everything they hear in another language, they translate. A continual ‘hearing-mental translation-understanding-reworking-final translation’ circuit without an off switch.

2. A native professional translator counts in their own language, regardless of where they are in the world. Counting literally anything usually takes place in their native language. 1,2,3…

3. The organisation of their life plans is done strictly an ‘according to future translations’ basis.

4. A native professional translator can find the right nuance for every word or cultural expression, so that the message is passed from one language to another without losing ‘too much’ of its true meaning.

5. Each piece of information that a translator’s brain processes is dissected piece by piece. No part of the information is left un-interpreted in the translator’s mind. And if they don’t understand the exact meaning of something, their mind stays there and thinks it over, and thinks some more, and thinks a little bit more still until, suddenly, ‘eureka’! That perfect translation makes its light bulb appearance.

6. A native professional translator feels the weight of the cultural importance that goes hand in hand with being an important representative of their language on their shoulders. Translation is treated with the utmost respect.

7. Finally, something you’d never believe… The native professional translator lives on coffee! Native translators barely sleep when they are busy with their translation projects and they become a kind of nocturnal species, which manages to stay awake solely by the power of that modern nectar known as coffee!

Translation: a demanding profession

Moving on from this last humorous note, one thing that we are sure will indeed make your hairs stand on end, is the dedication and sense of vocation of the native professional translator. They demand a lot from their mind, and invest a lot of their time in their work. When you entrust your project to a native professional translator, you can be sure that whatever quality you demand from their work, they will demand double from themselves.

Rugilė from Lithuania: Lithuanian Translations

CategoriesBigT news, New, Our partnersPosted on

This week, our intern Marie, the most recent addition to our in-house team, interviewed one of our senior Lithuanian translators, Rugilė. Below is a little post put together by Marie using Rugilė‘s answers to her questions.

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Rugilė is one of our English to Lithuanian translators…

lithuanian translations

You provide Lithuanian translations, but where abouts are you based?

I am Lithuanian but I have lived in Spain for almost 15 years. For the last 10 of these, I have always had jobs related to the use of different languages. I have a degree in Translation and Interpreting and, since finishing my degree, I have worked on numerous different Lithuanian translations.

What languages do you use in your translation work, and how do you maintain your proficiency?

I studied at the University of Vilnius & University of Jaume I in Castellon, I had the opportunity to study Spanish and English language. Currently, my working languages are: Lithuanian, Russian, Spanish and English. For me, translation is a bridge that unites people that speak different languages and an indispensable tool for communication.

Was being a translator your dream job when you were little?

I can’t say that I discovered my vocation as a child, but my interest in languages did take shape over the years from my travels and my discovery of different worlds and the people that inhabit them. As well as a translator, I am also an intercultural mediator and I believe that these two professions are those which best define me professionally.

How did you become one of BigTranslations native translatiors providing Lithuanian translations?

I work at BigTranslation as a translator and proofreader. Sometimes life brings you unexpected surprises and exciting proposals, and that was the case with BigTranslation. One day I received a call and here I am, forming part of an extraordinary team. This is a young, dynamic team, with lots of enthusiasm, and which always ensures that all of its services are of the highest quality. I believe that the core pillars of this translation agency are its ability to adapt to the demands of the market and its strong technological foundation.

 

lithuanian translation

 

What are your top tips for professional translators who are just starting out?

I would say that a good translator is not afraid to move away from a text’s words in order to transmit its message. They manage them in such a way that the message and the purpose of the text are unaltered and the message is transmitted to the recipient in the most understandable way possible. Truthfully, I can’t imagine a world without translators even less, as Lithuanian translations is becoming a highly sought after profession, thanks to the rise in globalisation and the growth of technology. All new technologies and research need to be communicated to the greatest number of users as possible and, as such, Lithuanian translations will always need to be present.

Want to become a BigTranslator?

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Professional Translation Team: Stefanie Crolla

CategoriesBigT news, New, Our partnersPosted on

Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Stefanie and I’ve been a Dutch translator for BigTranslation for several years now. I was born in Belgium and am currently living in the Netherlands.

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translator-dutchProfessional translation into Dutch:

Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Stefanie and I’ve been a Dutch professional translator for BigTranslation for several years now. I was born in Belgium and am currently living in the Netherlands. During my academic career, where I achieved a BA in Language and Literature, MA in Business Communication and MA in Journalism, one thing was always on my mind: I wanted a career as a professional translator, and one way or another I was going to achieve it. And I did!

A passion for translation

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been passionate about languages and professional translation. As a kid, I was always looking for spelling mistakes in newspapers and magazines. I would read the subtitles on television to see how translation and subtitling worked. I would watch kids’ television in French, English and Spanish without subtitles, just to develop my language skills. Because that’s what it is: language is a passion, professional translation is a passion. Trying to find the right words, putting them in the right place, conveying connotations and meanings that are created by putting specific words together and helping someone else understand something they never could before. Without professional translation and translators, we might have never heard of some faraway countries, we would never have understood the lyrics to our favourite songs and we wouldn’t be able to follow a movie in another language.

Translation as transferral

To translate is more than just replacing one word after another with words of a different language. To translate is to replace one language with another, transferring the meaning of the text, but also conveying the words between the lines, all the nuances and suggestions. It’s like the famous English writer Anthony Burgess once said: “Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture.”

Marijke van Veelen – Dutch translations

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I have been a translator at BigTranslation for some time now, and recently became a validator as well. I like BigTranslation for their easy Dutch translations of products and for their flexibility: you can take work when you can, as much as you can.

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Dutch Translations: Freelancer Marijke van Veelen

I have been a freelance translator English-Dutch since 2008.

 

dutch translationWhat’s great about carrying out Dutch translations as a freelancer?

What I like about Dutch translations is also the hard part of it: trying to find creative solutions to overcome the limitations of language. Translating is like solving a puzzle. Besides translating in different fields like toys, fashion, games, marketing and others, I also frequently work on reviewing texts, transcribing audio, and I have even done some subtitling for American and British shows being broadcast in the Netherlands. That is the second thing I like about translating: the diversity. As a Dutch translator, you never know what your day will bring when you wake up in the morning. But the good thing about being a freelancer is that you can easily structure your day yourself and take a break when you need to. Whatever happens, you are still in control.

What challenges do you face in your work?

The downside about being a freelance translator, besides the lack of colleagues, is the danger of overloading yourself with too much work or not getting enough work. For me, I tend to take on way too much work for one day and I find it hard to keep track on what I have to do during the day and when my deadlines are. But by watching the clock regularly, taking notes on what I have to do and when it has to be done, and not being afraid to turn down a job sometimes, I always make it and that makes me feel proud.

Dutch translation for BigTranslation…

I have been a Dutch translator at BigTranslation for some time now, and recently became a validator as well. I like BigTranslation for their simple Dutch translations of products and for their flexibility: you can take work when you can, as much as you can.