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Earning your degree and demonstrating proficiency in your target and source language certainly helps show you are ready for a career in translation, but there are skills you can hone that can supplement these aspects.

For this reason, we developed a list of some prominent skills we see as the most important for translators. These translator skills will help you go above and beyond in your career and are followed by easy tips to help you strengthen each one.

A Look at Key Translator Skills

Dependability, flexibility, and integrity will be useful in your professional translation career, but these qualities need hard skills to back them up. We’ve highlighted four translation skills below that will better prepare you for your career in translation.

1. Strengthening Written Communication Abilities

Maximizing your abilities in the translation field requires knowledge of written communication in your target and source languages. Depending on the field you enter, you could experience written communication for marketing materials, legal matters, casual or slang terminology, and technical presentations. To strengthen your written communication and overall translation skills, you can try the following:

• Compile writing expertise in the domain in which you’ll be translating
• Collaborate with your peers to gain advice
• Read your translations aloud to pick up on phrasing
• Note any unusual phrases you come across and work on incorporating them into your vocabulary

2. Gaining a Deep Understanding of Culture

Experienced translators have deep knowledge of both the source and target languages, which also includes the culture associated with each. This incorporates cultural values, how members of a culture view the world, pastimes, customs, and more. If you are interested in extending your cultural knowledge and further diving into this translator skill, work some of these activities into your schedule:

• Travel abroad to the home of the source or target language you are looking to master
• Watch movies, read books, and consume media in the source or target language
• Seek out cultural events and attend them to further immerse yourself in the culture
• Conduct research on the aspects of the culture you are not familiar with

3. Honing a Sound Translation Judgment

One major translator skill is the ability to use the correct terminology and structure needed while deeply understanding the tone that is intended. Though instinct can play a role in this, there are ways to enhance your abilities. Test out some of these activities to improve your translation judgment:

• Work with a colleague and allow them to offer tips based on your performance
• Find a mentor who is able to help you hone your translation skills and offer feedback
• Revisit old work and see if you can find common errors and improve upon them
• Practice translation with every opportunity you can, as this will only help you get better

4. Acquiring Advanced Knowledge of Language

Good translators go beyond the words being translated and can understand subtle nuances and context implied by the text. If you don’t fully understand the text you are trying to translate and the context in which it's delivered, you risk delivering an inaccurate translation. To obtain more knowledge of both your source and target language while improving your other translation skills, try to:

• Read more in your source and target language until you feel more confident in your translation abilities
• Consume media widely and regularly
• Stay motivated and patient as you learn, since learning a language is an ongoing process rather than a target
• Continue your education by earning your master’s in translation from an accredited university like Kent State

Strengthen Your Translation Skills at Kent State

Regardless of the language path you take, your journey to becoming a professional translator takes dedication, interest, and skill. While you already show dedication and interest in a language by pursuing it as part of your degree, there is always room to improve your skills and knowledge.

Knowing this, Kent State makes it easy to hone your skills so you can move confidently into your career. Discover courses like these that can help strengthen your translator skills:

• Specialized Translation Practice (in fields such as medicine, law, and technology)
• Localization
• Editing
• Terminology and CAT Tools
• Project Management
• Intercultural Communication in the Language Industry

Our curriculum is built to expand your skill set while offering the flexibility that comes with an online program. See how you can become a competitive candidate for a variety of language industry positions when you earn your master’s at Kent State!

Apply to ºÚÁÏÍø

Start strengthening your translator skills by getting your degree from Kent State. Not only will this help you grow in your knowledge, but it will also assist you as you create a network and gain more insight on the world of translation.

Apply to Kent State or contact us today to learn more!