Does being bilingual make you a qualified translator?
Anyone who knows me knows that my answer to that question is a big, hearty “no.”
This Psychology Today blog post, “Desperately Seeking a Final Translation,” offers a fascinating read on the difficulties of translating and the importance of specialized training in the art and science of translation.
The author, François Grosjean, Ph.D., explains it well:
“Translators must express in one language, in as faithful a way as possible, the meaning and the style of the text in another language. This entails fully understanding the original text in the ‘source language’ and having the necessary transfer skills, as well as the linguistic, stylistic and cultural skills in the target language to produce a correct translation.”
He goes on to say:
“Translators are very much ‘special bilinguals,’ and translation is definitely a difficult bilingual skill.”
This is especially true with a subject like healthcare. My family moved to the United States from Argentina when I was in junior high. My parents never really mastered English, so as a child I was often called upon to interpret for my family members. When my dad was diagnosed with cancer, it was difficult for him to understand the information given to him. Without a full understanding of the medical terminology and cultural nuances of both languages, it’s impossible to convey the true meaning of the life-and-death information being communicated. That’s one reason I’m so passionate about being able to bridge the linguistic and cultural barriers in any setting. It’s the only way we can take this terrifying and unfamiliar world and make it familiar.
Since those are the stakes, I wholeheartedly agree that being bilingual is not enough.
Have you ever been called on to interpret or translate something simply because you’re bilingual? Or, have you ever had to enlist the help of someone who is bilingual, but not a trained translator? How did it work out? We’d love to hear your experiences.
–George
