We live in a dynamic world where things change quickly. And to repeat today the hackneyed phrase of stagnant times that translation english to bangla is not a profession means simply to see nothing around you.
No one argues that being the president or at least a member of the board of a commercial bank or a large successful company (preferably in the oil and gas sector) is more prestigious and, most importantly, more money than poring over technical translations or orally translating other people’s tongue-tied words into human language at a frantic pace.
Although in business there are also enough difficulties and troubles, and money does not flow into anyone’s pocket.
Being a specialist in a good position, plus knowing a foreign language and using this knowledge of the language as a competitive advantage, of course, is more comfortable than just being an on-call interpreter. But no one invites you there. So let’s go back to the sinful earth.
In Soviet times, translation was indeed a rather rare profession: contacts with foreigners were allowed only through official channels and within strictly limited limits. And Intourist, which was engaged in the reception of foreign tourists, was aimed primarily at knocking out currency from the damned capitalists.
The number of simultaneous interpreters of one language or another could be counted on the fingers of one hand. After all, they were required mainly for the translation of CPSU congresses, CMEA meetings and major international forums, the number of which was also limited.
Today, the situation is completely different: even simultaneous translation has become a relatively mass profession. There are dozens of translators who interpret simultaneously with varying regularity (some two or three times a month, others several times a year), in Moscow alone today, at least for the main languages: English, German, French, Spanish.
And those who want to become simultaneous interpreters without even having time to master elementary translation skills, well, just a dime a dozen.
If you think that translation is not a profession, then I can just as well say that an engineer is not a profession, an economist is not a profession, a doctor is not a profession. Without specialization and practical experience, a specialist in any field is worthless. And translators are no exception.
As I write on my many websites, today not just translators are in demand as a gray faceless mass, but highly qualified, mobile, trouble-free translators.
The competition in the translation market is quite high, although there are not so many true high-class translation professionals.
To make translation a profession for you, you need to:
– in-depth knowledge of native and foreign languages
— good professional skills and serious translation experience (2-5 years, depending on the intensity)
— your own niche in the translation market that best suits your inclinations and abilities
— the ability to position yourself in the market and fit into the translation community
– willingness to constantly improve or at least maintain the language and translation form.