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Apr 08 2013
Corinne McKay

Which language is "the best"?

I am often asked this question, in various forms:

  • I want to become a translator/interpreter: which language should I study?
  • Which language is the most in-demand for translation and interpreting?
  • What is the best language for a translator or interpreter to know?

The answer, like the answer to many freelance-related questions, is a resounding it depends. I’ll give you my thoughts here, then please chime in with yours (so that I can use them to answer this question the next time it comes up!).

To me, “in-demand” and “best” are two different things. For example in the U.S., the most in-demand language in general terms is undoubtedly Spanish. It’s the second most commonly spoken language in the United States, after English (insert one of my favorite factoids, that the U.S. has no official language!). But when people ask about the “best” language, I usually assume that they’re talking about a balance between demand and income potential, even when they don’t phrase it that way. And in terms of income potential, Spanish translators face a lot of challenges, starting with heavy competition from in-country translators in Latin America whose cost of living is often much lower, and who are in the same time zone as U.S. clients. In addition, because there are so many Spanish speakers in the U.S., true professional translators and interpreters often come up against the “anyone can do it” mindset held by some would-be translators and interpreters and even some clients. So, despite the very high demand for Spanish in the U.S., it’s probably not the language that I would encourage someone to learn if they’re starting from scratch.

I think that every language has its pros and cons. For example I think that for U.S.-based translators, French and German are appealing because there’s a good balance between work volume and rates, and because U.S.-based translators have some financial advantages (generally lower cost of living, and the fact that we don’t charge VAT). Also, the U.S. time zone is an advantage, as European clients can send work at the end of the day their time, to be returned the next morning. However, the European business culture is very relationship-based, and it can be hard to find and retain direct clients in Europe unless you can go there with some frequency.

In terms of critical need, I think that Middle Eastern and Asian languages are certainly the winners. Also, I think that Japanese to English is one of the highest, if not the highest-paid language combination in most market surveys. But my sense is that for some of these language combinations, there is a lot of competition from translators who are not native speakers of English but who translate into English anyway, even if they shouldn’t. Also, these cultures are much less similar to American culture than European culture is, and it is probably more difficult for translators who grew up in the U.S. to “fit in” in China or Saudi Arabia than it is in Spain or Switzerland.

Then there’s personal affinity: I love the sound of Italian and Portuguese. I’m such a nerd that sometimes I listen to Italian or Portuguese news on the radio (via TuneIn) even though I can’t understand it at all. Biking through the Dolomites last summer was one of the best vacations of my life: I just love Italy! If I were going strictly for income potential, I’d probably go for Japanese, but I really struggle with character-based languages–for example when my husband and I traveled to Nepal, I had a relatively easy time with the spoken language but couldn’t read anything, while he was the opposite.

Anyway, enough rambling thoughts on the merits of various languages! Readers, what do you think? A high school student e-mails you and asks “What language should I study?” and you respond…

Written by Corinne McKay · Categorized: Freelancing, Getting started as a translator, Languages, Reader questions

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. windhof says

    April 8, 2013 at 6:08 pm

    This one is an easy one to answer: it is obviously and without any doubt German!

    Reply
  2. Wenjer says

    April 8, 2013 at 6:13 pm

    Ah, of course, it’s German and nothing but German. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Alina says

    April 8, 2013 at 6:15 pm

    Not an easy question and, like you said, the answers may vary. While having Japanese or Chinese as one of your work languages may just prove to be the right balance between demand and income, it also depends on your background. Starting to learn one of them later in life may not prove that easy. But if, let’s say, you already work from Spanish into English, and you want to add another one under your belt, learning Portuguese for example might not be impossible.

    Reply
  4. Jesse Tomlinson says

    April 8, 2013 at 6:23 pm

    Hi Corinne!

    Thanks for your post, it’s true, people talk a lot about what is the “best” language to study. My advice to someone who asked me this would be “What language are you interested in? What language do you think you have/might have a natural affinity for?” When I think of the dedication and time that it would take, not to mention money for travel and living abroad, to learn a language from scratch and to become well versed enough in that language to be a translator, I think it would be a very special set of circumstances that would facilitate that happening.

    On the other hand, many translators and interpreters have for some reason (mother/father/diplomat/natural affinity/many travels to a certain culture/language) a connection to the language or languages that they translate into and out of. And what seems to be a common thread is their absolute love and dedication to those languages.

    I translate from Spanish>English and like your example, started studying Spanish in high school. But first I studied German, quickly discovering that it wasn’t for me. At the base of my relationship with Spanish is not an economic carrot driving me, but a love, fascination and respect for that gorgeous, melodic, complicated language. To me, translation is one of those professions where you never turn off your learning and curiosity for your non-native language(s). The language is not just about your work—it’s your life.

    Reply
  5. julest66 says

    April 8, 2013 at 6:28 pm

    I would say Japanese to English (my combination) is pretty good in terms of rates. There is an issue of non-native translators, but when clients want a quality job they ask a native English speaker all the time.

    Reply
  6. Rosado Professional Solutions says

    April 8, 2013 at 6:31 pm

    Very interesting and well-said! The only thing I would add is that if you are really good, it doesn’t matter. You will always have interesting work and you will live quite well.

    Reply
  7. Duncan R. Bell says

    April 8, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    In the UK, of course, Polish is now officially the “second” language (acc. to a recent government statement), yet there are virtually no signs in public places, or similar, available in Polish – but you can get help in Welsh in telephone boxes in Edinburgh (Scotland), which I find bizarre!.
    A small point: translations are considered a “service”, not a “product” in EU law, so translators supplying translations to clients in other EU member states are not entitled to charge VAT (either, like translators in the USA). However, (again, bizarrely), many German tax offices won’t accept invoices from non-VAT-registered suppliers (such as translators) in other EU Member States – you have to have a VAT number, and specifically “free the invoice amount from VAT” – so you still have to do nil VAT returns for your home country tax people, while not charging VAT! Extra unnnecessary admin. , , and it might similarly be a problem for translation providers in the USA (I assume). Duncan

    Reply
    • RobinB says

      April 9, 2013 at 7:35 pm

      I don’t know which tax offices you’ve been dealing with here in Germany, but there is no requirement in the German VAT regulations for a supplier in another EU country to have a VAT number (I think the Spanish want that, but the Germans don’t). UK translators need to add a explanatory note on their invoices if they are VAT-exempt by virtue of the UK small business exemption, and (even if they are registered for VAT) they also have to add some boilerplate about the fact that the recipient of the invoice is liable to pay VAT on it. It’s the client in Germany who has the paperwork to do (we have to add VAT to the invoice amount in our VAT returns, but can reclaim the same amount as input tax, provided that the invoice contains the boilerplate).

      Reply
  8. Megan Madill says

    April 8, 2013 at 6:52 pm

    I’m a recent graduate with French and Spanish – looking for in-house work here in the UK is frustrating because German seems to be what everyone’s looking for. And as my partner is in Ohio, I’ve been looking for in-house jobs there too and it’s all Japanese. I think there’s a very high demand for French and Spanish but there’s also a high supply, so it balances itself out – in the end, the work is there if you can stand out enough to grab it.

    Reply
  9. patenttranslator says

    April 8, 2013 at 6:57 pm

    One thing that few people probably realize is that it is much easier to learn languages now than a few decades ago, even “difficult and complicated” languages such as Chinese or Japanese.

    There are learning tools (for example for Japanese and Chinese characters) on the Internet, one can watch TV in just about any language through satellite, etc.

    So my advice to people who are wondering which language to learn would be: learn the language that grabs you the most! It if it a love at first sight, go for it!

    You don’t want to be stuck with a language that may later pay the bills but does not quite agree with your personality.

    If I were you Corinne, I would start learning Italian or Portuguese. I learned in Latin classes (from Plutarch) that “Cato senex litteram Greacam didicit” (Cato, a Roman politician, learned Greek when he was about 80), and you are barely half his age.

    Think of the fun you will have practicing your Italian on Italians!

    Reply
    • Wenjer says

      April 8, 2013 at 7:43 pm

      Correctly, love at first sight. German was my first love and it was at first sight. When I found some books written in Fraktur (German type) in my grandpa’s library, I fell in love with the language that had such a beautiful typeface. Well, modern German changes its typeface, but the language hasn’t ever failed me. It brings me my daily rice. I never regret. 🙂

      It’s all right with English. Love or no love, it’s modern Latin of the Empire. Got into the school, I came, I heard and I conceded. Modern Latin was there. What else could I do but learning it?

      My problem is that I fell easily in love with languages and my second love at first hearing, Russian, is lagging behind. And there are so many other languages that I love while I have only 2 decades to become so old as Cato.

      But Steve, was Japanese your love at first sight?

      Reply
      • patenttranslator says

        April 8, 2013 at 8:40 pm

        @ Wenjer

        No, my first love was French (the language).

        But at the age of about 23 I realized that it will be probably easier to make a living with Japanese so I started learning nihongo.

        Incidentally, I just finished two long French chemical patents, each about 13 thousand words.

        The more languages you can fake, the easier it is to pay the bills.

        Reply
  10. RuTHaL says

    April 8, 2013 at 7:07 pm

    It is absolutely true and I honestly feel the same way. One should learn whatever language he can and could comfortably improve to his/her best interest or financial advantage. Learning does not necessarily mean becoming an excellent translator study and self education in a continuous way could make the difference in terms of money and steady clients. I have for instance a four language combination and no clients … But I have gone back to the university to get a degree and acquire the proper techniques to become a better translator … :)))

    Anyway … Like your blog and I read it weekly.
    Keep up the excellent job.
    You have gotten me addicted to your posts and thoughts … On translation … The bestest
    Job ever :)))

    Reply
  11. EP says

    April 8, 2013 at 7:22 pm

    On the one hand, it’s a reasonable question (which language should I study?). But on the other hand, I think you should do what you do best, do what you’re really interested in. If your heart’s not in it, I doubt if you’ll be all that good at it. The people who really love French, for instance, are going to be best at translating French.

    Reply
  12. kevinhendzel says

    April 8, 2013 at 8:07 pm

    Corinne: A high school student who wants to be a translator e-mails you and asks “What language should I study?” and you respond…

    “If you wanted to become a doctor, would you ask me which disease should be your favorite?” 🙂

    It’s one of those things in life that requires you to jump in the pool first and decide whether you actually like water.

    It’s also the wrong question on what translators actually do, of course. It’s like that same student asking:

    “I want to become a successful, entertaining and compelling public speaker. Which microphone do you recommend?”

    Of all the translators I’ve ever worked with, do you know who my favorite was? Carl Sagan. Now I was the one translating language (Russian to English) for him. But he was always a better translator — in the truest sense of that word — than almost anybody I ever knew.

    Reply
  13. Evelyna Radoslavova says

    April 8, 2013 at 8:08 pm

    With all due respect, someone who is already in high school but doesn’t yet speak (fluently) a second language is already too late to think about becoming a translator. I may be wrong, but I think most translators are born, not made, and those who are made were already halfway there by the time they reached adulthood 😉

    Reply
    • Evelyna Radoslavova says

      April 8, 2013 at 8:12 pm

      PS: Now, if a parent asked me: “Which language should my child study in order to have a better future”, I would go with an Asian language, even though my personal preference would be a Latin language such as Spanish, French, Italian or Portuguese. However, the truth is that all depends on the one’s personal affinity with a culture, not just a language.

      Reply
      • Dancingrage says

        November 26, 2013 at 5:13 pm

        I think you may have a point, but it may not have anything to do with knowing a language, to be fair. Grammar and vocabulary aren’t that hard to pick up, the ability to notice the little quirks and nuances are what’s harder to get in any language, learning from context, and getting a rapport with whoever you’re talking to/working with, skills like that are something you need to learn on your own by getting out there and talking to people, and while it seems hard to start, once you pick it up, it’s something that rather easily shifts into another language.

        Age-wise, I don’t think there’s really an upper limit on whenever you learn a new language, though. Your brain is like any other muscle, if you’re not using it, you will lose it. A foster parent of mine was in his late 50s and picking up Greek and Chinese enough to be conversant with folks from those countries. Getting to translating wouldn’t have been that much more of a stretch for him.

        Reply
    • Beth Smith says

      April 8, 2013 at 9:23 pm

      I studied German for 4 years in high school, but ended up taking French in college because they didn’t offer German. Guess which one I like better? I’ll never be a native speaker, but my French is very good – certainly good enough to translate from French to English – even though I didn’t start learning it until I was 20. I think it depends on the person and the situation. I went from learn to say “Je m’appelle” in French 1 to starting a master’s program in 3 years. 🙂

      I agree that an interest in the culture is important. You can’t just learn grammar and vocab in a vacuum.

      Reply
    • Kenny says

      April 12, 2013 at 2:56 am

      Really? I only started studying Russian at the beginning of college about 10 years ago, and now I am passively fluent in the language and have high active proficiency. And I also now work as a Russian to English translator, of course.

      Reply
    • Alice says

      July 22, 2013 at 3:42 pm

      Dear Evelyna, I’m sorry but I have to strongly disagree with you. I grew up monolingual and have worked translating from two languages that I learned as an adult.

      Reply
    • Jasmine says

      August 21, 2013 at 10:17 pm

      No. You are incorrect. You can learn a new language or several new languages, quickly and become fluent in those languages at any age. It is possible if you have the interest and commitment to learn the language, you will learn it.

      Reply
      • palomnik says

        August 22, 2013 at 12:09 am

        I have to agree in general with Jasmine; I started learning Portuguese when I was 36 and I do a lot of work in it; in fact, I get offered a tremendous amount of work in it. Apparently there aren’t very many people doing Portuguese > English legal out there.

        However, I must admit that when you reach a certain age it does seem to get harder; I’m learning Vietnamese now and I have never had so much trouble getting a pronunciation down in my life (I’m 63 years old).

        Reply
  14. Natalie says

    April 8, 2013 at 9:01 pm

    People, all of you are wrong here: Russian is obviously the best language. 😉

    All kidding aside, I definitely think a person needs to have some sort of emotional connection with the language and culture. I’ve studied other languages in addition to Russian, but I have yet to find one that I am as passionately in love with as I am with Russian. (Ukrainian and Belorussian are close seconds, admittedly. And I’m not sure if I spelled the latter correctly in English.)

    Reply
  15. Nouf says

    April 9, 2013 at 4:45 am

    I believe that what language you shoul learn depends on several factors as follows (the way they are in order is not according to importance):
    1. Nature: it depends on the language that you grew up with and use with your family and friends.
    2. Usage: what languages do you use in your country of origin or the country that you are currently residing in? For example, you may study French in school, but will end up forgetting it if it is not your native language or a language that you use within your community outside the classroom.
    3. Demand: what languages are widely used and spoken in the market, sector, industry, country, region, etc. that you are targeting. What languages are in demand is hard to say as every country, region, business, etc. will have a different preference.
    4. Purpose: think about why do you need to learn that language. Is it to communicate with native speakers, people within your community, required in the school you study in, needed in your marketplace, pleasure, etc.?
    5. Interest: some people want to learn a language because they find it interesting and feel fascinated by it. Others tend to learn a language that arouses their curiosity somehow. For example, one may be interested to learn about the history of France and may believe that the best way to do so is learn it from a French point of view.
    6. Target client: professionally speaking, it depends on who are the clients you are targeting and what languages they need, which may be different than the languages used in the country they or you dwell in.
    7. Circumstances: you may suddenly for one reason or another need to travel to another country to work, study, tour, etc. Thus, you would need to learn to communicate in that country’s language if you need to interact with native speakers, especially in some countries where natives may not speak in your language.

    Reply
  16. Kamila Wyszyńska says

    April 9, 2013 at 6:16 am

    Hello Corinne. This is a very interesting post, as the question you try to answer is indeed one I’ve frequently discussed with my friends. Well, being an avid Italian culture lover, for me it has always been a matter of passion for a country that speaks a given language, its culture, people, food, history. I believe that if you are attracted in a certain way (be it whatever you like!) to your language speaking country, you will certainly study much more enthusiastically and probably try to visit the place as often as possible, which obviously entails a better understanding of its reality and consequently, will make you a better translator. Maybe my choice of Italian is not the most profitable one, but then again I think I would never make a good German – Polish translator, while I can become excellent with Italian and enjoy what I do.

    Reply
  17. joseph.lemien@gmail.com says

    April 9, 2013 at 10:46 am

    I’d strongly recommend Chinese. It is an unrelated language to English, so unlike Spanish, German, or French, there aren’t grammatical similarities or cognates: almost everything is completely new. (although that might be a downside if one wants to learn something easy) The pay is quite high, and the amount of Chinese-American commerce is increasing.

    As a downside, there are large numbers of Chinese people who study English and many gain an advanced level of competency.

    Reply
  18. Tess Whitty (@Tesstranslates) says

    April 9, 2013 at 12:48 pm

    I think that the “best” language is the one you know. You practically have to be bilingual to be a good translator, and many translators are.

    Reply
  19. Silvia DAmico says

    April 9, 2013 at 6:51 pm

    For translators in the European Union, I’ve often heard that working with a language that is spoken in the “newer” Member States can be an advantage, as those languages are not particularly common among citizens (and translators) of older Member States. That being said, I think you have to be passionate about a country and its culture to be able to commit yourself to learn its language and work with local people.

    Reply
  20. RobinB says

    April 9, 2013 at 7:28 pm

    Corinne: I don’t know why you think U.S.-based translators (or indeed any translators domiciled outside the EU) should have some sort of VAT advantage when they supply translations to clients in the EU. Provided that those clients are liable for VAT (which will surely almost always be the case), those clients still have to add VAT at the national rate to the invoice total in their VAT return. This “import VAT” can then be offset by an equal amount of input tax, provided certain formalities are observed (and these differ from EU member state to member state). So, ultimately, translators outside the EU are treated just the same as translators in other EU countries as far as VAT is concerned.

    Additionally, VAT doesn’t play any role at all in whether or not to buy from a particular supplier (at least, it doesn’t for clients who actually understand VAT!). VAT doesn’t make a translation more expensive: it’s merely a pass-through tax that is levied on top of whatever the freelance is charging in the first place.

    Reply
    • Wenjer Leuschel says

      April 10, 2013 at 7:19 am

      Hi Robin,

      My clients in EU countries indicate me that I shall put two sentences at the end of each invoice:

       Da der leistende Unternehmer nicht in EU ansässig ist und
       weil es zwischen EU und Taiwan kein Steuerabkommen
       besteht, entfällt die Umsatzsteuerleistung. Der Steuerschuldner
       ist der Leistungsempfänger.

      This means that the VAT matter is none of the translator’s business who lives in a non-EU country. For this reason, I have never stated a VAT value in any of my invoices and my clients in EU countries obviously have no “import VAT” to be offset.

      Honestly, I have never ask my German, Austrian, French and Spanish clients how they do with their VAT. It isn’t my problem, anyway. But I do enjoy the advantage of having no VAT values to be stated.

      Regards,
      Wenjer

      Reply
      • RobinB says

        April 10, 2013 at 7:37 am

        Wenjer: You seem to have misunderstood what VAT is all about. Your clients in EU countries still have to charge notional import VAT and then reclaim the equivalent input tax in their VAT returns, even if you’re not aware of their having to do it. It’s none of *your* business, as you say, but it certainly is *their* business. Your advantage is that you don’t have any paperwork, but you don’t have any price or other competitive advantage because you don’t charge VAT (incidentally, this also applies to translators within the EU who aren’t registered for VAT because they fall under the de minimis threshold). Put simply: you’re not cheaper because you don’t charge VAT.

        Reply
    • Wenjer Leuschel says

      April 10, 2013 at 7:58 am

      Right, I have never been cheaper and I know that my clients have to do their paperwork to the Fiskus (tax authority).

      However, I am glad that I don’t have to do the paperwork. That is already an advantage for me. There is another advantage for me which is not the topic in our discussion here.

      Reply
    • Corinne McKay says

      April 10, 2013 at 3:57 pm

      Robin, I trust you because you’re the finance guy! But I’m just going on what some of my EU clients have told me; that if the work is performed outside the EU, they do not pay VAT. That may be incorrect or may be specific to their situation, but that’s what they’ve told me.

      Reply
    • Wenjer says

      April 11, 2013 at 4:34 pm

      Corinne, I am sure that Robin is perfectly right about VAT in EU countries. It is said that Death and Tax are for sure.

      I think, the reason why my clients ask me to state in each invoice the mentioned two sentence is because they do not like to pay VAT that I have to pay to my government while they cannot offset that VAT in EU countries. However, while we pay 5% VAT in Taiwan, they pay 15% or above VAT in EU countries which they have already paid when they charge their clients in EU countries. So, while I mark up my price by 10% and earn take the ca. 5% difference as a bonus for the works I do for the clients in EU, they feel that I am cheaper than those who live in EU countries who most probably have to add a 15% or above VAT to their invoices to the clients.

      I cannot be sure of my reasoning for the reason why my clients ask me not to state any VAT in the invoices and, instead, the two sentences mentioned above. But we hear such an expression as “dead sure” while we’ve never heard such an expression as “tax sure.” We could never figure out the real reason why your EU clients tell your that they don’t have to pay VAT outside of EU.

      In my case, I know exactly the advantages for me, but I don’t really want to know the real reason why on the side of my clients. It is none of my business, anyway.

      Reply
  21. Chris Durban says

    April 10, 2013 at 4:04 pm

    Robin is absolutely right on the VAT business — it makes no difference at all for a translator working on the books. (Perhaps the confusion comes from working cross-border not with businesses but with individual clients, who don’t recover VAT so might have an eye on this?)
    @Silvia, I have it on good authority that translators applying for jobs with the European Commission can generate extra interest (and apparently get extra points) for presenting one of the accession languages in addition to the standards. It serves as a differentiator. E.g., an into-French translator who works from Italian and English who (via Erasmus or another program…) studies Romanian and has that as a plus. This won’t get you in on your own, but it will get you rated higher if you are competing with other strong candidates.

    Reply
    • RobinB says

      April 10, 2013 at 8:17 pm

      Chris, I think if you really want to generate extra interest from the European Commission, what you need to offer is Maltese. But I don’t suppose you can learn Maltese anywhere at school, or even probably at university (except in Malta of course).
      Overall, though, the language that I think offers native speakers of English a combination of the strongest private-sector demand and the highest prices that are likely to be sustainable in the longer term, plus a relatively small number of really capable translators (i.e. potential competitors), is …. German, especially in conjunction with subject areas that also offer tremendous long-term potential, such as financial, legal, environmental engineering, medtech and pharmaceutical.
      I also think it’s worth reminding young people that knowledge of a foreign language is not in itself sufficient to be able to translate, and that you’re going to need many, many years to acquire the level of knowledge needed to translate competently (university study can only ever provide you with the basics – if you’re lucky). You also have to be able to translate, which is either something you can do or you can’t (all a university course can do is teach you some techniques – maybe). And you need substantial subject knowledge of one or more subject areas – the sort of level that allows you to converse with a subject area specialist for five minutes without them knowing you’re a translator. Again, this takes many years to learn if you haven’t brought it with you from a previous career. These are just some of the reasons why there are so very, very few really good translators.

      Reply
  22. kevinhendzel says

    April 11, 2013 at 4:07 am

    Robin is also right on there being so very, very few really good translators.

    In my experience the true Turing Test is not just the ability to pass oneself off as a subject-matter expert, but the ability to actually correct those subject-matter experts (politely and graciously) in their own area of expertise.

    Or to demonstrate confidence on that same high level of expertise yourself, which, not coincidentally, is exactly what Robin just did.

    Reply
  23. Dzintars Skarbovskis (@Vilx) says

    April 11, 2013 at 10:54 am

    I will suggest to study some smaller languages that have enough work to translate into English. For example Latvian and Lithuanian (Baltic languages). At the moment a lot of local translators translate into English, but they are not native English speakers.

    Reply
  24. Mounia Daniel says

    April 11, 2013 at 10:08 pm

    Hello Corrine. To answer the question on which language to study..I would say go with what you are good at. I was very good in French and Spanish but had a huge difficulty with the German even after I lived there for a couple of years..

    Reply
  25. Gert Van Assche says

    April 12, 2013 at 12:33 pm

    I think we should also advice young people to have a long term view. Machine Translation is improving slowly, but in 20 years from now it will be pretty good on language pairs for which there is a lot of training data available. The value of a translator, and the reward for his work, will depend on his added value for some good languages, and for the best language pairs that added value will be low. ENG>GER is an example of what I would not advice. ENGJPN is difficult pair for SMT systems because of the natural word drop in JPN, and I don’t see a solution for this any time soon. Also smaller LPs with high revenues (like the Nordic languages) might still be good on long term as there is not and there won’t be a lot of good training data.
    I would definitely advice young people to bet on 2 horses running the same contest:
    – learn how the post-edit when you’re young; it is hard to adjust when you get older;
    – specialize in a domain where humans have unique selling proposition: literature, legal, high-tech… and for those, see your translation skills as a secondary skill. Be sure you have profound domain knowledge.

    Reply
  26. gonenative18 says

    April 12, 2013 at 2:00 pm

    I must go for inclination. Language learning, I think, is a talent, you have it, or you don’t. If you don’t have the talent, you can learn a language, using blood, sweat and tears, but will never get the hang of it. So go for the Italian, because you love it. Not for the money!

    Reply
  27. Lakshmi Ramakrishnan Iyer says

    April 12, 2013 at 4:33 pm

    Just an anecdote really. Eric Boury, Icelandic crime fiction writer Arnaldur Indridason’s French translator, was one of the speakers at a round table discussion at the Paris Book Fair’s translation day last month.
    The man has the Icelandic to French market cornered; he’s literally having to beat French publishers off with a big stick.

    @ Chris: Not just individuals – lots of arts organizations and tourist offices in France are not-for-profit (the 1901 law) and therefore can’t claim back the VAT, so they’re also keen on suppliers who don’t invoice VAT.

    @ Tess: I agree, but what do you say to a student who wants to learn a language they don’t know?

    I’d say learn the language that appeals to you for now, and for which teaching facilities (and opportunities to actually practise speaking it) are available where you are. Life’s so unpredictable that you’ll probably end up speaking some completely unenvisaged language anyway.

    @ Corinne: If you haven’t heard the album “Ainda” by the Portuguese band Madredeus, give it a listen: haunting fado-inspired melodies and plenty of those lovely swishy-swooshy sounds (yes, I’m a would-be Portuguese speaker too).

    Reply
    • Corinne McKay says

      April 12, 2013 at 5:51 pm

      Ooh, “Ainda” is beautiful; listening to it right now! The bonus of Portuguese music is that since I don’t understand a word, I can listen to it while I’m translating! Thanks Lakshmi!

      Reply
  28. Corinne McKay says

    April 12, 2013 at 5:53 pm

    Thanks everyone for all of these fantastic comments; I’m really enjoying reading them! Also, just to clarify, I am not looking to learn another language right now (but if I were, it would be Italian or Portuguese!). French is enough and I love it; just collecting information for my students and consulting clients.

    Reply
  29. palomnik says

    April 15, 2013 at 7:30 am

    I’ve been working in translation for quite a few years and my initial advice to would-be translators is that there are three equally important factors to deal with if you want to be a translator:

    1) You have to speak the source language well. The ironic thing is that this is not as important as you might think. The days are gone when you needed to have a perfect command of a language and a shelf full of specialized dictionaries – everything you need is pretty much available online, including finer grammatical details and specialized glossaries for at least the commoner languages. Face it. It’s true! You don’t really need to spend two years immersing yourself in another culture any more, although it can be fun.

    2) You need to have a great deal of sensitivity to stylistics – in the target language. And you have to be able to produce good copy in the target language. In fact, I think that this is the most important qualification. If you can’t produce polished versions of contracts, legislation, patent material or what have you in the target language, it doesn’t matter how good your skills in the source language are.

    3) You have to like doing translations. Translating is hard work. In fact, it’s the hardest job I’ve ever had…it requires a tremendous amount of concentration for 6-8 hours a day. I never had to do that when I worked in an office.

    To get to the issue at hand, what is a good language to learn depends on whether you intend to freelance or find a steady job with benefits or you want to go freelance. As a freelancer, I work in Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. Russian sounds like a good choice, but contrary to what you might expect, I’ve been experiencing a drop-off in Russian jobs, and the reason is that there are a large number of Russians that are translating into English, and charging lower rates than I can to survive. Are their translations any good? Almost never; I know that because I have proofread them, and I end up spending an inordinate amount of time correcting mistakes, so much so that I refuse to take Russian proofreading jobs any more. I would expect something similar for Chinese work as well.

    If I were starting over and wanted to pick a language to work in as a freelancer, I would want one that has a large amount of work available, has a small number of qualified translators and a relatively high standard of living in the country where it is spoken, so that local speakers will not be tempted to undercut rates. How does Japanese sound?

    I won’t deny that there is value in loving the language you work with; that’s how I got involved with Russian. But I believe that if you’re good at working with one language, you can probably get up to speed with other ones if you put in some effort – and not necessarily spending two years in country.

    Reply
    • Wenjer says

      April 15, 2013 at 8:33 am

      “You need to have a great deal of sensitivity to stylistics – in the target language. And you have to be able to produce good copy in the target language. In fact, I think that this is the most important qualification.”

      Perfectly right.

      “You have to like doing translations. Translating is hard work. In fact, it’s the hardest job I’ve ever had…it requires a tremendous amount of concentration for 6-8 hours a day. I never had to do that when I worked in an office.”

      Most translators would agree with this. However, I was salesman and I know there are harder works than translating or interpreting.

      As to proofreading English translations done by Russians or Chinese, I cannot say anything to it. There are good ones and bad ones, people say. But since I know exactly that I can only write in sic, sic English, I don’t bother to translate anything into English, Spanish, Russian or German at all. My clients know that they can rely on me when it comes to translated into Chinese and that’s enough for me.

      Steve Vitek wrote above, “The more languages you can fake, the easier it is to pay the bills.” He is right about it. But I fake only one language and project manage 3 Asian languages to make a happy translator.

      Which language should be with more money-making potential? I guess, nobody knows. In fact, Kevn Hendzel is perfectly right in comparing this question to such a question like “I want to become a successful, entertaining and compelling public speaker. Which microphone do you recommend?”

      Reply
  30. Dan says

    April 20, 2013 at 6:03 am

    A high school student e-mails you and asks “What language should I study?” and you respond…

    I’d suggest that launching a career based on a ‘should’ is a terrible idea. It seems like a waste to spend several years of hard work and dedication acquiring what you thought might turn out to be a useful language that then, for any number of reasons, didn’t, or you find yourself shackled to a language and culture that doesn’t really sit well with you. I can think of a few translators I know like this. Focus on whatever language and culture you find most exciting, inspiring and rewarding. Then, whether you end up translating the language, working in the source country doing something totally unrelated, or even just discovering one or two life changing friends, novels, films or experiences, it’ll have been worth it.

    I work between Japanese and English and, while it does command greater per character/word rates than European language pairs, this does not mean it is exempt from the same kinds of competition and downward pressure on rates from CAT tools, etc., nor would you be immune to the same insecurities and quiet spells faced by every translator. Sadly, there is no magic language pair or speciality that will solve all the challenges we face, and it grates on my nerves when some translators I meet assume that my language pair has made building a business an easy ride somehow.

    As for picking a language, I would recommend watching a bunch of TV, films, listening to podcasts and radio shows to get a general feel for the culture, thinking of your passions and interests and see how well they are catered to in the source culture, and do that for about a week. In this way, I dipped my toe into several cultures and eventually fell for French, which I’ve been learning for about two years now. Good luck!

    Reply
  31. idiomatico says

    April 22, 2013 at 4:26 pm

    In my case, because I am from Spain, study English has been very useful. In addition to this, I learned Italian just because I loved it!

    Reply
  32. 苏诚忠 says

    November 7, 2013 at 12:29 pm

    First of all, you have to require the linguist to speak the truth. If they couldn’t, then I will do it. For two thousand years linguistic study vended too much false information to the people. Now these fabrications returned them what they deserved. I believe once people understand what language is, everybody knows how to deal with this issue. Once you understand what language is, there is just no issue.
    https://sites.google.com/site/chengzhongsu/linguistics

    Reply
  33. Shan says

    January 26, 2014 at 3:43 pm

    Hello! I really like your blog! I am in my last year of undergrad and I’ve studied a couple of Asian languages for fun but not to any proficiency. I am interested in translation as a possible career path, but I wonder if I’ve waited too long to study. My next step would be to learn one of my target languages more in graduate school, but I don’t know if this would be a viable option.

    Reply
    • palomnik says

      May 18, 2014 at 2:51 pm

      Shan, one nice thing about this field is that it’s like being an artist – you don’t really need to have academic credentials to get started (certification is nice but can wait until you’re sure you like this work). If you’re still an undergrad you certainly haven’t waited too long to start. As far as Asian languages go, there is certainly a demand, but it can take a long time to get proficient enough in Chinese to be a good translator. Still, it is my considered opinion that a translator is really only as good as his skills in his target language.

      Reply
  34. Graecus Demetriades says

    June 19, 2014 at 3:51 am

    Hi there, I really enjoyed reading this thread as I’ve been in a dilemma myself for over 7 agonising years now. I studied Chinese and Japanese at university and then went on to do a Master’s degree in Applied Translation Studies. Originally, I really wanted to focus on Japanese that I absolutely adore, but when it came to making a decision on which two languages I would like to work out of, I listened to everyone who reccommended that I choose Chinese because China was and still is in the UK seen as the next superpower whereas Japan is rapidly dropping lower and lower each year.

    So I went for it and boy I hated every minute of it! When it came to doing my extended piece for my final assessment, I couldn’t find anything remotely interesting to me to translate. I asked a Taiwanese friend of mine to look for a kung fu novel as I am into martial arts but she ended up sending me a lesbian kung fu drama script instead. I plunged right into it regardless and translated it. I did a fairly good job at it but since I never really connected with the culture, it wasn’t my best piece of work. Finally, I graduated in Chinese and Greek and then went out into the big scary world. I did the freelance thing for a while but that didn’t provide me with a sufficient income as new translator and I was forced into looking for a regular job. It was only going to be for a little while until I became established.

    A little while has been going on for seven years now. I’m stuck in a dead end customer service night job which leaves me no time to keep my hand in both Chinese and Japanese. I have to drop one, but I’m faced with the obvious dilemma: Love or Money? Everyone in the UK where I live are going through a Chinese Fever that extends throughout all industries due to the UK’s tendency to eye up cheap labour markets around the world thinking they’ll go in and dominate them. Of course we all know that China will never let that happen but the British will not stop until they’ve tried at least. So Chinese is THE language to know, apparently. They are even reccommending it as a subject to be included in the national curriculum. BUT my heart has Japan written all over it in big bright Kanji. So what do I do? Do I go for Japanese? Would it afford me a comfortable life in the end? Do I drop the language I don’t love but I’m more qualified in (at least on paper) or do I drop the one that ‘makes me tick’? Interesting to read everyone’s responses here but somehow I remain torn between Love and Money…both are equally important…are they not?

    Reply
    • palomnik says

      June 19, 2014 at 7:27 am

      Graecus: “Between love and money” indeed. I think you need to start by asking yourself what you want out of life in general.

      One excellent solution to your problem is to move out of the UK. One true beauty of this job is that you can do it anywhere, and there are a lot of places cheaper to live in than the UK – East Asia, India, Latin America, even the USA. I live in Vietnam, for instance. Before this, I lived in Thailand, and before that in India.

      Of course, there may be other problems involved. If you’re in a committed relationship, living overseas may not be an option. Your tax and governmental benefits may also be a problem; I’m from the USA, so as long as I file my taxes every year it’s not an issue for me, but I have heard other stories from EC member country citizens, so check it out. And there is always the issue of getting visas to live somewhere, but once you’re on the ground you may find that is less of a problem than you think. And in any case, living overseas is not everybody’s cup of tea, although my experience has shown me that translators are a more likely group to enjoy it.

      As for whether to go with Chinese vs. Japanese, based on what you say I think you should go with Japanese, since that’s where your heart is. There’s a lot of work in Japanese, especially in scientific material. There’s a lot of work in Chinese, too – and a lot of native Chinese that will charge lower rates than you can afford. And what’s more, my personal opinion is in the long run it is easier to stay on top of the vocabulary curve in Japanese than Chinese, although you obviously have that under control. I have some familiarity with the area – my degree is in Oriental languages (Chinese and Japanese) , although I don’t generally do translations from them.

      Reply
    • Peter (@Nerian99) says

      June 21, 2015 at 7:10 pm

      You’re mistaken. Japanese will pay you more than Chinese! You can go for LOVE AND MONEY! Rates don’t work like that. It works on supply, demand and the state of the industry. Chinese rates are low in translation and interpretation right now. Undeveloped economy, poor standards, and huge competition from non natives who can do it for a pittance are all factors. Not to mention, people are learning Chinese in droves. You don’t jump on when everyone else is, that’s the losers way. Supply and demand! Secondly, do you really want to live your life 8 hours a day, translating/interpreting a language that you don’t like? How much extra money did you think you’d get? 10%? 50%? 100%? How can you trade money for passion when either way you will make a good living and the difference would be miniscule? And if you love a language then you’ll be better at it anyway, and you’ll therefore make more because you won’t make average, you’ll make above average, because you will be sought after. Anyway, you’ll make more with Japanese. Japanese rates are and will remain high. Japan is not going anywhere. It’s still a massive economy, and very few Japanese people speak good English. If they want to participate globally, they simply have to translate important documents. And people who would have been learning Japanese now learn Chinese.

      Learn Japanese. Enjoy and prosper.

      Reply
  35. GMK says

    March 2, 2015 at 8:56 pm

    Check here for the languages highest in demand:
    http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/EN/translation-market.htm

    I would also like to become a translator: Spanish-Dutch-German. I will probably follow this course in Holland in a kind of distance education which you can combine with a job.

    Reply
  36. Laura says

    April 10, 2015 at 10:53 pm

    For U.S. based translators, what other languages besides French and German would have a good balance between work volume and rates?

    Reply
  37. Lionel Djito says

    May 7, 2015 at 7:28 pm

    Thank you for your post and wonderful comments of our fellow bloggers! As for me, I have a question so troubling to me. I really love working with Languages as in Translation. But I wonder “With all the Translation challenges (best language work volume & rate), could Translation be a suitable job for me?”

    Reply
  38. Susannah says

    June 23, 2015 at 2:39 am

    Can someone advise me please? I am passionate about Swahili language and culture but afraid that there is little work available in an English/Swahili combination. Or maybe it is a niche , thus creating a higher demand.. I am comfortable making 30 to 40 k per year. That is all I need . Someone please advise.

    Reply
  39. joenewbie316 says

    June 29, 2015 at 5:27 am

    How about rephrasing the question, which should be my “first” foreign language to learn? Once you learn one, the second is an easier process.

    Reply
  40. Sonia says

    October 4, 2015 at 1:37 pm

    So funny! I do the exact same thing with Italian and Portuguese! LOLOL. Thought I was the only one! I listen to both languages in news broadcasts because I love the sound so much even though I can’t understand them.

    Reply
  41. Maria Guzenko says

    February 25, 2016 at 8:15 pm

    I’m a little late to the party, but I’d like to chime in. Sometimes your career goals may also determine your choice of language. For instance, I consider both Spanish and German my “C” (passive) languages. However, if I ever decide to look for a career in international organizations, especially affiliated with the UN, I might just have to prioritize Spanish over German. The latter, as many will know, is not an official UN language.

    Reply
  42. Didier says

    September 5, 2018 at 12:52 pm

    The party might be long over… =) But I’ll chime in anyway. What about Finnish? Most Finns are pretty good at English, but not as good as someone working as a professional translator. Or maybe Hungarian?

    Reply
    • Corinne McKay says

      September 5, 2018 at 2:39 pm

      Thanks, Didier! It’s never too late to suggest good languages 🙂

      Reply
      • Didier Declercq says

        September 6, 2018 at 2:06 pm

        You’re welcome, Corinne. Of course I want as few people as possible to agree with me…

        Reply

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