Professional translators are an easy going bunch. We love what we do (well, most of the time) and pride ourselves in our craft, knowledge and abilities to build bridges between people and businesses. Still, even experienced professional translators aren’t perfect (although some may strongly disagree) and while we may never admit it, we too indeed have our little insecurities, worries and bad habits. Here are just a few examples of things most translators do regularly, but would never admit of doing…
1. Wish they could translate as fast as machines
Just the idea of being able to provide translation services as fast as a machine and as accurately as a human gets every translator a little excited. If you ask a translator what they think of machine translations, most of us would reply with something along these lines “Well…#@%! % #!@!& @&!”, but deep down, although we despise their accuracy and complete lack of creativity, we’re extremely jealous of machine’s ability to translate large documents within seconds.
2. Overload themselves with work
This isn’t a trait assigned specifically to professional translators, although, let’s be honest, it’s definitely something most of us are guilty of. Even though we’re fully aware that taking on work whilst we’re already struggling with deadlines is a big no-no, we still sometimes do it.
3. Drinks too much coffee
Some cars run on fuel, some ships run on diesel and most translators run on coffee, fact. Our job requires focus and attention to details, often, for long periods of time, and therefore drinking coffee is the only solution for many of us. Take a break? Rest instead? No thanks, I just overloaded myself with projects, I must work…
4. Worries about the future
On a more serious note, thinking about the future of the translation industry as a whole is definitely something that the majority of professional translators do. Although we may not admit it, because, well, we are superior to machines and everybody knows it, deep down we are slightly worried about what the future will bring. Will machines replace us, or will we be able to work alongside them to improve our services? You can read more about the future of translations here.
5. Uses Google translate
Okay now, this isn’t something that we all do, but definitely something some of us are guilty of. Of course, not for professional purposes because we’re lazy, but simply for fun. Most translators like to check the level of our competition from time to time and see how developed the machine translations really are. ‘It’s raining cats and dogs’…okay, you got that one right Google, but sooner or later I’ll find a mistake, screenshot it and post it all over my social media…
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