TRANSLATOR VS INTERPRETER

In a world, that over the last decades has become globalized and
where there are no barriers to communicate from one country to another
due to the Internet and technology, languages have grown into the way to
reach knowledge, cultures, and people in any corner of the planet. For this
reason, and given the fact that any knowledge found in a country is
needed for people who speak different languages, the professions of
Interpreter and translator are becoming popular nowadays. Although
these two careers has to do with languages and demand an in-depth
knowledge of one of more foreign languages, they have different
responsibilities, qualifications, and skills to be developed.
Firstly, the translator is the person in charge of transforming written
material from one or more source languages into a target language. The
translator reads any document and rewrite it in the target language which
usually is his/her mother tongue. The main job of the translator is not only
to convert words from one language into another but to include in the
translation the meaning that most closely matches to the culture of the
target language. For this reason the translator requires knowledge not
only of the language but of the culture as well. In contrast, the interpreter
converts spoken or sign languages statements from one language to
another. The interpreter, unlike the translator, must listen to the source,
understand, memorise content and then reproduce the same statements
in a different language in a short period of time. Although there are

several types of interpreting, most of them required to be done at the

same time the source is speaking.
Secondly, to be a translator as well as to be an interpreter is
required fluency in at least two languages, but to work as a translator a
degree is essential. Nowadays many universities offer the program in
Translation which give the skills needed to take a test that will give the
title of translator. The course itself does not provided this title given that
every country counts with an organization that is who decides through an
exam whether the person has the skills or not to become an authorized
translator. However, when it comes to be an interpreter more than a
degree, interpreting skills and experience are required instead. This fact
has been changing over time. In the past one could become an interpreter
only having the proficiency in the languages but now is coming to be
popular that an interpreter must be entitled with a degree.
Lastly, translators and interpreters share some skills such as
proficiency in two or more languages and a good understanding and
extensive knowledge of the language and the specific country what
commonly is known as localisation, but the translator in contrast with the
interpreter oblige to have excellent writing skills and command of
grammar which with the assistance of dictionaries, the internet, other
reference materials and translation software develops their job. On the
other hand, an interpreter besides the abilities in common with
translators, require to be a person with fine social skills, good memory,

ability to learn fast and to deal with unexpected and difficult situations
and finally discretion and the competence to maintain confidentiality.
To conclude, both translator and interpreter mandatorily need the
ability of communicating in more than one language, ability that could be
reached through studies or empirically but the responsibilities and skills to
translate or interpreter, which are absolutely different, must be learned
through further studies and the title obtained from organizations created
specifically to provide it and control authorized professionals in these
areas in every country.