What Does It Take to Be a Good Interpreter

Frequent readers of this blog may know that I have worked as a Chinese – English interpreter, among other jobs. For those who might be thinking about studying interpretation or working as an interpreter, let me talk a bit about what kind of person it takes.

Being able to speak a foreign language quite well is one thing, but being able to interpret accurately is another. Let me explain what I mean.文章源自WordsLinker-https://www.WordsLinker.com/what-does-it-take-to-be-a-good-interpreter.html

When you are just speaking a foreign language, if you don’t know how to say something, you can just paraphrase or try to explain it in a different way, using simpler words, but if you are working as a professional interpreter, this is only something you should do as a last resort.文章源自WordsLinker-https://www.WordsLinker.com/what-does-it-take-to-be-a-good-interpreter.html

A lot of people can speak two languages, or even more, to a high standard, but not all of them would make good interpreters, even people who are bilingual, because interpreting is much more technical that just “saying something in a different language.”文章源自WordsLinker-https://www.WordsLinker.com/what-does-it-take-to-be-a-good-interpreter.html

To be a good interpreter, you really need five things:文章源自WordsLinker-https://www.WordsLinker.com/what-does-it-take-to-be-a-good-interpreter.html

1. You need an extremely high level of ability in two languages (or more). This means, not just being able to speak the languages, but native-level accuracy in vocabulary and grammar.

2. You need to have a thorough background knowledge of a wide range of topics that you might encounter in your work – such as politics, economics, finance, environmental issues and even sometimes even quite technical topics. A native speaker might understand such things, but not necessary “have the vocabulary or know how to talk about them in the other language.”

3. You need to have the skills associated with interpretation. This includes the linguistic techniques to deal with different types of sentences and things that may be ‘difficult to translate’. For consecutive interpretation, the speaker speaks first and then you interpret, and you need to be able to make detailed notes so you can translate everything they said in the same way to a high level of accuracy. For simultaneous interpretation, you need to be able to speak confidently and listen carefully at the same time, and be able to convert between languages at a much higher speed.

4. For consecutive interpretation, you might be standing on a stage with a speaker in front of hundreds of people, so you need good public speaking ability in both languages.

5. Interpreting is all about communication, so it goes without saying that it is a job that demands good people skills. From communicating with a client and securing the job, to dealing with criticism if something goes wrong, interpersonal communication is key. Interpreters are providing a service, and just like anybody who works in the service industry, they have to keep their clients happy!

If you are thinking of learning interpretation or working as an interpreter, I hope this gives you an idea of whether it might be for you. If you have any questions, then just leave a comment below!文章源自WordsLinker-https://www.WordsLinker.com/what-does-it-take-to-be-a-good-interpreter.html 文章源自WordsLinker-https://www.WordsLinker.com/what-does-it-take-to-be-a-good-interpreter.html