What do you think of when you think of a “translator” or “translator”?
What do you think of when you think of a “translator” or “translator”? For me, it was an object of envy that I did when I wanted to do what I wanted to do. One day when I was at work and living with microbes, I saw a person focusing on his work while knocking on his laptop in the corner of a cafe I visited during a meeting. The moment I saw that scene, I thought, “Ah... While having a cup of coffee at a cafe during the day on weekdays, I thought, “How good would it be if I just translated my favorite...” While watching a colleague who works as an in-house translator, I thought, “It's really nice to only do what I want to do...”
After thinking about this over and over again, I decided to quit my job and go to the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation. I didn't necessarily have to go to the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation to become a translator, but I had a desire to receive specialized education. Personally, I think I spent two of my luckiest times in my life passing and graduating from the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation.
Also, in February of this year, when I took my first steps in the market as a translator after graduation, I thought I could now live the life of my dreams as a translator. But for some reason, I'm not going to use the coronavirus as an excuse. It's a difficult time for everyone. Even if it's not COVID-19, getting started isn't easy for freelance translators who are just taking their first steps. Relaxed translation at a cafe that I only thought of as romance (to be honest, it only looks relaxed in the eyes of others) was a work environment where I couldn't consider translating important documents where I had to pay attention to every letter or character, and there are days when I can't do it because of work even if I wanted to do it at a cafe. I was asked to do a test translation, but some translation companies didn't even reply whether it was stuck or dropped, and they did their best to translate it, but they insulted me because it was different from the client's (wrong) common sense...
Of course, there are many days when I feel proud and rewarded. I thought for days and days trying to find the best translator for a word, and then I felt happy because so many good ideas came to mind, and I think I've found my natural job after all. After living this kind of life, I suddenly wanted to share the translator's real experiences. My main major at university is language, and when I decided to do a double major in another language (not a current level), I studied while feeling worried from those around me, and (in a world where the view that language is only a means rather than a purpose) is the belief that I work as a translator with the belief that I work for the purpose of my native language and foreign language.
Someone wants to talk about an ordinary translator that may be an area outside of interest, but no one can easily do it. Beyond simply talking about the work of translators, I would like to talk about the experiences and thoughts I have gained from relationships centered around the work of “translation,” such as translators, translation companies, and clients. Please stay tuned!
*This content has been transferred from Gicon Studio to Letterworks.
