The translator's ABCs: how to get started as a translator/interpreter

By Matthew Cserhati

Do you have high knowledge of a foreign language you want to put to use? Want to get started as a translator/interpreter as a part-time job? This guide will help you start out in the exciting world of translations. This concise guide covers topics from advertising yourself to ethics to CAT tools. Nebraska Association for Translators and Interpreters board member Matthew Cserhati shows you how.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Matthew Cserhati
• Release date: Jun 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301102532

Matthew Cserhati

Born in Thousand Oaks, California, on August 14, 1979. Studied biology at Eotvos Lorand University, 1998-2003. BSc in computer science at University of Szeged, 2010. PhD at University of Szeged, in biology, 2011. Worked at dept. of physical chemistry, ELTE University, 2010-2011. Associate researcher at University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 2011 - present. Board member of the Nebraska Association of Translators and Interpreters, 2012 - present.

Book preview

The translator’s ABCs

How to get started as a translator/interpreter

By

Matthew Cserhati

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY:

Matthew Cserhati on Smashwords

Copyright © 2013 by Matthew Cserhati

Table of Contents

1. My personal story of becoming a translator

2. Getting started as a translator/interpreter

3. The translator's resume

4. The rate wars

5. CAT tools and other translational computer tools

6. The dark side of the profession - translator scams

7. Translator ethics

8. Glossary

9. References

1. My personal story of becoming a translator

Ever since I was a child I was interested in understanding what things meant in foreign languages. With a gift for learning languages that I had inherited from my mother and my maternal grandfather I showed a capability for learning French, Hungarian, and German when I was young. My mother knew English, French, Italian, Russian, Hungarian, and also learned some Latin. My grandfather was a professor of linguistics and knew 11 Finno-Ugric languages. Originally my parents taught me Hungarian first when I was a baby, as they were immigrants from Hungary. My first word was the word lámpa, which means lamp (surprisingly) in English. When we moved to Hungary when I was 13 years old, we learned Hungarian fast enough in one year so as to be able to go to high school next year. In middle school I helped out other students in French. In high school they sometimes asked me to translate for or talk to people from English-speaking countries. Other students used me frequently as a dictionary on legs and always wanted to sit next to me during English class. I was also proficient in German and helped out other students.

During college I hit upon the idea of doing translations and teaching English for some extra money. I actually attracted the attention of a few students and also even a couple of my college teachers who had me do translations for them, three of them being major jobs. One of my early jobs was the translation of a text by a psychology student into English. Another job was the translation of a part of a book by a bird ecologist into English. The third big job I did was the translation into English of half of Truffles and hypogaeic mushrooms of Hungary, written by László Hollós, a Hungarian mycologist (a scientist who studies mushrooms) in the early twentieth century. It was about 230-250 pages long, and was considered a major work in the field of Hungarian mycology. The job was paid for by a researcher at the department of plant physiology at the ELTE University in

Reviews for The translator's ABCs

[심세은 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

excellent lecture~!
This book would be very helped for translator work.