Mindset of a Good Translator

Recently, I am posed this question from a friend who asked me “What is the mindset that a good translator should have?”

I see translator as a language professional who is highly skilled in the level of his language understanding and usage. They take great pride in their finished copy and ensure that good quality work is generated.

So, the first answer that pops into my mind is “being service-orientated”. We are in a world of either we are being served or serving others. Sometimes we need to serve others, like for example we serve our clients in our jobs, or helping others etc. Other times we receive service from others in our workplace, convenience stores, café, community clubs etc etc. I certainly feel great if I am being serviced by a good and friendly person.

Likewise, if a translator has such mindset, he or she will take on a serious view on their work…ensuring accurate, good quality translated copy and submit their copy within the stipulated timeline. I have had the privilege of working with such translators and we are grateful to them for their hard work in generating an excellent piece of work within a short period of time. And sometimes, they submit the work earlier than expected.

The second mindset that I mentioned is “consistent improvement”. As such, I would mean that he or she would be always seeking better and faster ways of doing things. Some of our translators would propose better methods to improve our routine of doing things. Some would give feedback to improve their client’s original copy and make it better. Others will take up further courses to improve on their semantics. Well, they must have a passion for learning and re-learning to reach greater heights.

Lastly, I told my friend the third mindset….a mind that is open to ideas and creative. If the mind is like a sponge and absorb experiences learnt from books, movies, daily routines, interaction with our surrounding, conversation with friends etc.  This will definitely enable the translator to have a better understanding of the copy and its background information.

I guess these 3 simple mindsets would not only be helping just translators, but also anyone else who would read this article. Hope these small pointers can help you in whatever you do, especially for the coming new year!