If you have been exploring new ways to utilize your bilingual skills, working as an interpreter or translator could be a promising career choice for you. Interpreters facilitate communication between individuals who speak different languages, primarily using spoken language. On the other hand, translators specialize in converting written texts from one language into another. While interpreters excel in oral communication, translators are skilled in written communication.
Interpreters require not only language proficiency but also strong interpersonal skills. The role includes interpreting for a wide variety of people and circumstances so people who enjoy communicating with others and who are comfortable being on the front stage are more suited to being an interpreter. Translators, on the other hand, primarily work with written materials. This allows for more flexibility in working independently and may be a better fit for people who prefer a quieter, more introspective work environment.
There are several categories of interpretation:
- Simultaneous – The interpreter speaks at the same time as the speaker, so the speaker doesn’t have to stop. Simultaneous interpreters normally work in pairs, alternating every 10 to 15 minutes. This interpretation is usually used for international conferences, with interpreting equipment.
- Consecutive – Once the speaker stops, the interpreter interprets the message. In this method, it is advised to stop after a couple of sentences or minutes, depending on the content of the speech. Overall, it requires twice the usual time since the interpreters need to repeat the same message in another language.
- Whispering – This method is used for small groups since the interpreter communicates in a quiet voice so as not to interrupt the conversation.
Life of an Interpreter
Does the life of an Interpreter sound sexy and exciting? I had a chat with Noriko Lily, CEO, and simultaneous interpreter at Lily’s Tran Support to see if the reality lives up to image. When I met her on a Saturday evening at a coffee shop in Atami, Shizuoka she was returning from a weeklong business trip and was looking forward to relaxing at home after the brain intensive work of interpretation.
According to Noriko-san, getting into the field of interpretation was not a straight path. She had a stint as a schoolteacher and spent time on self-directed study to improve her skills before fully embarking on a career in interpretation. The tragic event of Japan’s 2011 earthquake and tsunami in the northeast region gave Noriko-san a platform to exercise her interpretation skills since there was an abundance of international attention focused on the area at that time and she was able to lend a professional hand to her local community to work with the foreign media and visitors. Since that time, she has been able to devote full time to interpretation and even started her own business.
Japanese is a high-context language, meaning that Japanese prefer implicit and indirect communication. In contrast, low-context cultures such as those in the United States and Germany favor direct communication through spoken or written words. For interpreters working with the Japanese language, understanding the background of an event and the speakers provides better insight and enables more accurate interpretation. Noriko-san spends many hours conducting background research to prepare for her work.
This leads to the question of whether the role of interpreters will disappear as artificial intelligence (AI) improves. Currently, using AI tools for interpretation in social and informal settings is becoming a trend. However, in business and political contexts, there is still a strong need for human interpreters to help create and build trust among participants. Moreover, interpreters must grasp the atmosphere of a meeting, whether it is celebratory or somber. While a literal translation might be correct, it could disrupt the mood in certain situations. Interpreters need to know when to omit minor details to keep the flow of the event.
The COVID-19 pandemic jump started the adoption of online meetings, and now Noriko-san can work from home for interpretation events using Zoom and other online tools. According to Zoom’s website, they now offer translated captions, enabling real-time automatic translation of speech into captions displayed on the screen during meetings or webinars. While I have not checked this feature yet, it is an advancement in accessibility for multilingual communication which can only improve over time. These tools, combined with the growing number of multilingual individuals, reduce opportunities for interpreters to practice their trade in smaller, casual settings. Most of their work now occurs in conferences and other professional environments where there is less room for error.
Broadening Your Range of Career Opportunities
As many companies expand their presence across the globe, localization of products, web sites and other corporate material is essential. For the big-name companies who produce mobile games, localization is essential. Localization specialists may be involved in review or the translation of text, audio, and visual content into different languages, among other duties. They also need to adapt content to match the culture, preferences, and sensitivities of the target audience. Some of the career roles in localization are below.
As you see, some roles are dependent on having multilingual skills, while other roles such as the project manager have much less dependency on language skills.
- Localization manager/specialist – works with translators and specialists regarding internationalization and local specifics, creates guidelines for specific product regions, etc.
- UX Localization Specialist – translates, edits, and tests for quality assurance UX/UI copy
- SEO Content Writer/translator – engages in translating website content and adapting SEO elements to target foreign audiences to capture global search engine traffic
- Project Manager – oversees the project schedule, budget, and team to ensure the project is completed on time and within scope
Tools of the Trade
For large global companies who need to respond quickly and make changes across many medium, they will choose to use a translation management system to execute and track the changes for their marketing and customer service material, social media content, intranet, and web-based apps. Managing these systems and processes creates many new career opportunities.
Online translation management systems aren’t just for large companies, small companies and individual entrepreneurs can benefit from these as well. Not only do these solutions offer translation capabilities but they also have tools to help ensure a consistent tone across all languages as well as project management features.
Support for Interpreters and Translators
There are associations in Japan to assist both those looking to hire an interpreter/translator as well as those working in the field. The Japan Translation Association offers tests and certifications that assure customers of an individual’s ability. While these certifications provide confidence in a certain level of skill, an individual’s training and experience also significantly contribute to their overall capability.
The Japan Translation Federation is a voluntary group and is authorized as a public-interest corporation by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Their website has information on schools, job openings, style guides and many other resources.
The Japan Association of Translators (JAT) was set up to enhance its members’ professional abilities and provides professional education for translators and interpreters through general meetings, special interest group sessions, online mentoring, translation contests, and other activities, most of which are open to the public.
I know that a career in translation or interpretation is not in my future, but I wish the best of luck to those with the skills to work in this field—you can rest assured I won’t be competing for your job anytime soon.
