Blog Archives - Certified Translation Professional Program

Why You Should Work in the Translation Field

seoAugust 29, 2023 0

The demand for translation services continues to grow. That is great news if you’re looking to put your foreign language skills to good use. In a profession like translation, getting certification gives you a leg up over others and inches you closer to landing a well-paying translation job.

Keep reading to learn more about what a translator is and the reasons to choose a translation career.

What is a Translator?

A translator is a professional who converts written material or text from one language to another. Professional translators ensure that translated content remains faithful to the intent, style, nuances, and tone of the original text. That way, the meaning of the original content is preserved.

Benefits of Being a Translator

There are many advantages of being a translator. But what actually makes this job so fantastic? Why choose a translation profession? Here are three translation career benefits.

Good Income

One of the advantages of working in translation is good income. Translators who are capable of accurately conveying the meaning of the original text have a high demand despite the increase in sophisticated translation technology. You can expect attractive pay from clients when you’re a professional translator.

Of course, your income will largely depend on your level of expertise and area of translation. Also, some languages like German and Spanish are in higher demand, so specializing in such languages means you can charge higher rates for your services.

If you’re just starting out, one of the things that potential clients look for when sourcing for new talent is certification. Ensure you add this to your language tool basket.

Flexible Schedule

If 9 to 5 isn’t for you, being a translator can offer you the freedom you’ve always desired. All you need to do is beat your deadlines. That’s it. You can translate any hour, day or night.

You could be in Fiji enjoying the endless blue skies and white sandy beaches or warmly tucked away in Antarctica. It’s up to you to shape your days however you want and choose your work conditions. There’ll be no complaints as long as you deliver quality work before deadlines. In other words, you’re your own boss.

Learn Other Cultures

It’s a given that you’ll interact with people from around the world when working as a translator. You’ll get to immerse yourself in different cultures and experience vibrant local traditions and customs.

This can be a very enriching experience. And it can supercharge your linguistic skills and understanding of the source culture.

Invest in a Certification Program for Translating Professionals

As you can see, becoming a translator has some fantastic perks. With our training and certification program at the Certified Translation Professional, you can be a cut above the rest and show potential clients that you know what you’re talking about. We’re a best-in-class online training and certification program that can help you thrive as a translator.

Are you interested in offering certified translation services? Enroll with us now to get certified.

The Top 3 Challenges of Legal Translations

seoAugust 22, 2023 0

Legal translation is among the most complicated types of translation today. For starters, grasping the writing style of legal documents takes years of study and practice. What’s more, legal transcription requires in-depth knowledge of the law and technical terms and their actual meanings. To be successful in this niche, you need specialized training.

Keep reading to learn more about what legal translation is and the most common legal translation difficulties.

What is Legal Translation?

Legal translation involves translating law-related documents from one language to another. These documents include agreements, patents, contracts, safety guidelines, immigration documents, decrees, or other legal texts. In other words, a document that uses legal terms or anything with legal implications can be handled by a professional legal translator.

Legal translation is a meticulous craft. The translators must have extensive, up-to-date knowledge of the legal systems of the languages they are translating between. They should also meet special requirements and qualifications to deliver accurate, effective translations. Ideally, a translator needs research skills, technical qualifications, and necessary certifications.

High stakes are involved in legal translation. That’s why clients needing legal translation services hire the best, most qualified translators. In addition to your skills and experience, you can demonstrate to prospective clients that you’re ahead of the curve by getting certified.

Challenges of Legal Translation

Some of the main legal translation challenges include:

High Level of Accuracy

All documents require correct translation. However, legal translation demands a higher level of precision because of the risk that can come with a mistranslation. Simply put, there’s no room for legal translation mistakes. Otherwise, errors can lead to serious legal and financial consequences. A legal translator has to pay attention to technical expressions and terms, format, and text structure in order to match the translated document with the original content.

Different Legal Systems

Each country has its own legal system, even if the language spoken in both countries is the same. Therefore, without an in-depth knowledge of local legislation, ambiguous translation or mistranslation can easily occur. A legal translator must have a deep understanding of legal systems in addition to a masterful grasp of the languages they are translating to avoid legal translation errors.

Constantly Changing Laws and Systems

Laws and legislation change often. They are amended and modified from time to time. You may find that the legal guideline and template you used a few months ago is no longer applicable. For this reason, legal translators should stay current with the ever-changing laws and regulations that could impact legal document translation. This involves always being on the lookout for any new law that can affect your work to prevent legal translation problems.

Become a Certified Legal Translator

At the Certified Translation Professional, we’re a top-rated online training and certification program for translation professionals. We will ensure you have mastered a specific base level of knowledge when it comes to handling professional legal translation projects.

Do you want to get a translator certificate? Enroll now in our training and certification program.

The 3 Easiest Languages to Learn and Translate

seoAugust 15, 2023 0

You’ve decided to learn another language as a translator. That’s great. The next step is to choose among the different options. Fortunately, there are many easy languages to learn. If you have a knack for learning new languages, you can go a step further and become certified with us as a professional translator. Becoming fluent in a foreign language and getting certified can help you stand out.

Keep reading to learn more about the easiest languages to learn as a translator.

The Easiest Languages to Learn

Here are some of the easiest languages to learn if you wish to master a second language.

Swedish

With about 11 million speakers across the world, Swedish is among the top 100 most spoken languages worldwide. Swedish is closely related to English since they’re both in the Germanic language family. Swedish has many cognates. This is one of the reasons why it’s the easiest foreign language to learn. Cognates are words that sound and look the same and have similar meanings.

Here are some of the Swedish cognates you’ll recognize immediately:

Swedish	English
Gras	Mouse
Mus	Bring
Starta	Start
Lokal	Local

Pronunciation could be a struggle initially. But after you get your head around it, Swedish sounds pretty melodic. Once you’re fluent in Swedish, you may even be motivated to learn Danish. The best part is you’ll become fluent in Danish in no time after grasping Swedish.

Danish

Approximately 5 million people in the world speak Danish as their first language. Danish is also among the easiest languages to learn in the world. Like Swedish, Danish is a Germanic language, meaning it shares commonalities with English. Both languages have similar histories and follow patterns you would be familiar with.

So you’ll be able to pick up on words and grammar very quickly. Also, there are plenty of cognates between English and Danish. Some examples include:

Danish	English
Efter	After
Bringe	Bring
Mandag	Monday

You’ll realize that a lot of concepts will click into place once you start learning Danish. Taking the step to learn Danish can open up new career opportunities in translation.

Spanish

Spanish ranks as one of the easiest languages to earn. It’s spoken by more than half a billion people across the globe. Spanish orthography is pretty straightforward—you pronounce the words as they are written, making reading fairly easy. Orthography is the spelling system of any language.

That said, Spanish has many false cognates. So words may sound and look the same as English words but have completely different meanings.

For instance, asistir looks like to assist in English but actually means to attend in Spanish. Another example is chocar. While it may look like choke, it means to clash or collide in Spanish. You can fix such slip-ups with practice. That’s the easiest way to learn a language.

Spanish has a wide reach. So, if you’re looking to become fluent in a language that will boost your career in translation, Spanish is an excellent choice.

Become a Professional, Certified Translator

Once you know a foreign language like Spanish, Danish, or Swedish perfectly, you can advance your career in translation. And with our translation certificate course at the Certified Translation Professional, you can significantly increase your chances of getting hired. Enroll today to get on the path to becoming a certified translator.

Essential Tools to Help You Land a Translation Job

seoAugust 8, 2023 0

There are plenty of opportunities available if you’re looking to work as a translator. But you need the right tools to secure a translation job. Moreover, many clients will be asking for your specialized training to see if you have what it takes to handle the role.

Keep reading to learn more about what a translation job is, tools for translators, and tips to help you with a translation job.

What is a Translation Job?

A translation job involves reading and understanding given material, researching industry-specific terminology, and using special tools and dictionaries to accurately convert written material from one language to another. The work is done by translators proficient in the source and target language.

Translators make sure that the translated content maintains the original tone, meaning, and format. They play a vital role in facilitating understanding and communication between different language speakers.

Essential Tools to Help You Nail that Translation Job

Here are some of the best tools and tips for translation jobs:

Resume/CV (Curriculum Vitae)

A resume or CV (the European equivalent of a US resume) is a formal document used to summarize relevant work experience, skills, and educational background for a job position. When reviewing your resume, translation job recruiters usually look for certain information like your interpersonal skills, cultural awareness, and language proficiency level.

Ensure that every word on your resume or CV is packed with value. Your resume should include the following to catch the attention of the recruiter and make it easy for them to find the required information:

Certification in translation
Language combinations
Field(s) of specialization
Relevant qualifications experience
Achievements
Relevant software you can access
Education history
Contact details
Your top selling points

Cover Letter

A cover letter is a single-page document submitted as part of your job application, often alongside your resume. It introduces you, explains your interest in the job, and summarizes your professional background. Landing a job as a translator needs a strong cover letter.

Thus, when creating one, consider the skills the client is looking for and emphasize your translation skills. Add relevant experience you have with translating. Also, be sure to include any qualifications that will demonstrate your terminology knowledge.

An intentional and thoughtful cover letter can spark the recruiter’s interest and convince them to read your resume.

Application Forms

An application form gives you an excellent opportunity to make a good first impression on a potential client.

Application forms help recruiters gain a better understanding than they would from a resume or cover letter. Recruiters get to ask specific questions about the information they want to know for the role. So, fill out the entire form without leaving some fields blank to show that you’re really interested in the position.

Remember, a potential client likely has many job applications to go through. Hence, overlooking some questions and hoping to land the position won’t cut it.

Enhance Your Credibility and Marketability

Our online training and certification program at the Certified Translation Professional will prove your skills and knowledge and help you get noticed by potential clients.

Want an official certificate that can give you an edge? Enroll now to get started.

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