Translator - R.P.
Ph.D in Pharmacology
and Toxicology
5 yrs. experience
You have a PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology and have other very high qualifications. But, was becoming a translator always at the back of your mind while pursuing these courses, what is it that drew you into becoming a translator?
I always loved writing and helping my colleagues with their publications, so when I finished my post-doc, this seemed like the perfect career where I could combine my passion for languages and my passion for science.
It is very interesting to know that you chose English translation service as a career although you are a Portuguese native. Please tell me about your history and experience with the English language, and do you think a person can be an expert in two such different languages?
Well, English has been my working language since 2006. When you read, write, and speak a foreign language for such a long time I think it is very easy to become an expert in that language.How do you keep yourself updated with the recent developments in the industry and the subjects you translate and at the same time maintain and improve your English skills?
Nowadays, it is very easy to keep yourself updated. I usually check relevant websites and journals to read about the latest happenings in my areas of expertise and I´m always reading new research papers published in English, which help me improve my English language skills. Could you tell me about your areas of specialization?
I’ve specialized in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and have a PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology. How do you actually go about translating manuscripts? What are the essential attributes you think every professional translator must possess?
Before starting on any new translation assignment, I usually do a background check by browsing relevant websites and reference files just to get a bit more acquainted with the topic. To be a good translator, I think you need to be detail oriented and have a keen interest in learning new topics. Have you translated papers from outside of your areas of expertise? If yes, what is your process for the selection and usage of technical terms in such assignments?
Yes, I´ve translated papers which are not related to my areas of expertise. I usually follow the same steps as for any other assignment, i.e., first, I do a thorough background check by reading relevant reference files and searching online for information and technical terms that are pertaining to that topic. Only then do I proceed with the translation.According to you is there a difference between the translation of academic and non-academic papers? Do you follow a different translation process for the same?
Well, the process is the same but usually non-academic papers take a bit more time to translate because their language is a bit more ambiguous.
Could you give us an example of an assignment that challenged your skills as a translator?
I remember one document dealing with statistics that was a bit complicated but at the same time it was very rewarding, because it was completely outside my comfort zone.
Have you used/are currently using any translation software? Please share your experience with us.
I haven’t used machine translation or any software in any assignment yet. I think we are still a bit far away from relying completely on machine translation, especially in the Portuguese–English language pair. Portuguese is a tricky language because it differs a lot from country to country, and also because some words have several meanings, sometimes you have to read the whole paragraph to understand the meaning of a specific word in that context and this is not possible with machine translation.
What is the most interesting point you have come across while working on documents as a translation checker and do you think there is a difference between translation and translation checking?
All the assignments are interesting because you always learn something new. But, I’m particularly fond of documents related to medicine. My approach towards checking assignments is the same as translation, i.e., I first do a background check by browsing relevant websites and reference files just to get a bit more acquainted with the topic. However as a checker, it is important for me to make sure that the translator has fluently communicated the author’s thoughts from the source language to the target language, without introducing any mistranslations and omissions and at the same time maintaining the correct technical terminology. Sometimes, translators tend to get too engrossed in understanding the source text which results in an unnatural target translation.
