Bilingualism

A good translator is by definition a bilingual person. However, the opposite is not necessarily true. A born and bred bilingual will still need two things to become a translator. First, the skills and experience necessary for translation and second, the knowledge of the field in which he or she will translate.

The skills and experience for translation include the ability to write well in the target language, the ability to read and understand the source language material very well, and the ability to work with the latest word-processing and communications hardware and software.

This brings up the question: does a born and bred bilingual makes a better translator than someone who learned the B language later in life? There is no definite answer, but the following issues are important. First, a born and bred bilingual often suffers from not truly knowing any language well enough to translate. Second, born and bred bilinguals often don’t know the culture of the target language well enough. And last, they often lack the analytical linguistic skills to work through a sticky text.

However, the acquired bilingual might not have the same in-depth knowledge of slang, colloquialisms, and dialect that the true bilingual has. As well, the acquired bilingual will not be able to translate as readily in both directions (from B to A language and A to B language. Finally, true bilinguals often have a greater appreciation of the subtleties and nuances of both their languages than someone who learns their B language later in life can ever hope to have.