Top Five Translation Specializations to Start as a Translator in 2023

How many translation specializations do you think currently exist? Translation itself covers many fields. As a translator, you might be unsure about what niche you would like to specialize in. Even though there are machines, software, or AI available to use as translators, they’ll never replace the intelligence and critical thinking of humans. This post is a complement to the skills a translator must have to stand out from the rest, so you can picture what it is like to work in these disciplines.

Each one of these specializations require accuracy and precision. Wait no more and continue reading today’s post so you can learn new skills for next year and launch your career as a translator in 2023!

Medical Translation

If you’re into medicine and science discoveries, this field is just right for you. Each day, hundreds of patients visit hospitals and clinics for their appointments and checkups. Patients living or visiting a new country may come across a problem when seeking medical attention: the language barrier. In some countries, people who weren’t born there come across a problem: language barrier. 

Those patients sometimes need to read essential information, such as announcements for upcoming appointments, instructions for their prescriptions, or articles about an illness they may have and how to deal with it. However, patients aren’t the only ones who benefit from the translated information. 

Doctors, heads of hospitals, medical researchers, scientists, and other members of the hospital staff also need translation to inform the population, and post new discoveries or treatments.

Since medical translation is related to a patient’s health, accuracy is indispensable.There are different medical specialties for you to keep in mind before choosing this path: pediatrics, cardiology, nutrition, dermatology, anesthesiology, and the list goes on. Each one of them is full of terminology that you must know before you start translating.

What you need to have to be a medical translator:

• C2 level of the source and target language
• Knowledge of medical terminology
• Accuracy to translate critical and personal information 
• Knowledge of common prescribed medications
• Confidentiality to translate patient’s records

Medical translators could also need an international certification or at least one year of experience in translating medical documents because there is no room for errors when it comes to health. 

Legal Translation

Laws and legislative documents can be quite complex and intimidating if you’re new to the field. Legal translators usually work with attorneys and notaries, along with the documents they draft. Also, they work with documents that the plaintiff and the respondent could use during a lawsuit in a courtroom.

A legal translator must be careful with the different terms and numbers they work on. By being a legal translator, you shouldn’t take any important legal document for granted because each country has its own laws and legal procedures that you must know. You can’t  conclude that a translation of a legal document in Mexico will have the same terms in Colombia. 

One tip for newbies is to learn about the laws and regulations in your native country. That way, you won’t rumble too much when you encounter legal forms, documents, or contracts. Most of the time, legal translation’s purpose isn’t to inform but to keep the same legal effects and consequences in the target language.

Types of legal documents:

• Witness transcripts
• Contracts
• Birth certificates
• Legal disclaimers
• Licenses 
• Policies

Receiving appropriate training will help you understand legal parlance and know how to deal with documents from different countries. Just as with any other type of translation, if a document is improperly translated, it can have legal consequences.

Literary Translation

When was the last time you read a book that was originally written in a foreign language? If you pay close attention, you’ll realize that some books, that belong to world literature, have been translated into your native language. With literary translation, books are available in multiple language. 

Literary translation is the translation of fictional and nonfictional texts: books, tales, poems, biographies, novels, etc. It covers the simplest form of a creative text, such as recipes or instructions, to other books that contain hundreds of pages, like the Bible, In Search of Lost Time, and Venmurasu.

One aspect for you to keep in mind during translation is keeping the author’s voice and style without adding or omitting words or phrases despite the complex vocabulary that the writer had to use. This can be challenging because the literary translator has to get all the nuances and insinuations the author used in the original text.

One recommendation for literary translators is to read the whole book and underline the phrases or words that the author repeats throughout the book as those will be your hints when it comes to style and voice. In simple words, get to know the author. Keeping the translation loyal to the original work will evoke the same feelings as the original work.

Commercial Translation

It is said that money makes the world go round. International and domestic companies are always aiming at reaching new clients or consumers. However, one language isn’t enough to make connections.

For any company, it’s essential to reach new places to export products. In order for this to happen, the company, clients, providers, partners, and organizations need to communicate. Those companies that  reach more clients abroad will undoubtedly succeed.

Types of documents a commercial translator focuses on: 

• Emails 
• Letters
• Briefing
• Marketing materials
• Websites
• Products descriptions
• Blogs

As you can see, a commercial translator also has to work with the marketing team to ensure accuracy. With commercial translation, the message, tone, and audience must be as similar as the one in the source language. This is a similar process that literary translation also follows.

Tourist Translation

When it comes to traveling, translation is mandatory. Travel agencies, inns, guest houses, and chain hotels offer their services all over the world. Additionally, museums, restaurants, and airline companies aim at reaching overseas clients. 

Tourists get to know them through different documents and sources: newspapers, magazines, emails, handouts, websites, marketing campaigns, blogs, press releases, etc. Therefore, companies invest in translators to reach international clients. 

Apart from obtaining clients, tourist translation also contributes to attracting loyalty, increasing sales, and convincing new or undecided tourists.

Tourist Translation Includes: 

• Passionate about visiting new places
• Must know some words used by locals in the target language
• Willing to travel from time to time to get more knowledge about the tourist destination 
• Must work with travel guides or interpreters 

Tourism is an industry that’s growing rapidly. According to statista.com, the travel and tourism market is likely to project up to $716.80 BN this 2022. Something that undoubtedly will increase the spots to hire more translators.

Takeaway

Despite the field you choose to start with as a translator, you always need to keep in mind that focusing on one field and mastering it is better than trying to cover all of them. Starting a new year with new skills will make your profile stand out from the rest and as a translator. You can transform your life and a company’s course that they had before.