How to become a translator in Canada
So, you want to become a professional translator, but don’t know where to start? Well, you’re in luck because I’m a translator and I’ll walk you through the three different paths to become one, including the benefits and drawbacks of each. But first, I need to explain two things about the translation industry.
The two ironclad rules in the industry
Although the translation industry has no barrier of entry, you should know two ironclad rules obeyed by all professional translators: language direction and certification.
First, of Canada’s two official languages, French and English, most translators exclusively translate from one language into the other, never both ways, save for a few translators raised perfectly bilingual.
Second, the law requires that official documents be translated by certified translators from professional orders, typically members of the Ordre des traducteurs terminologues et interprètes agréés du Québec (OTTIAQ) or Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO).
There are other rules outlined in their professional codes; however, these are the most basic and important ones for aspiring translators to know in order to protect themselves from committing blunders. Now, with that out of the way, let me walk you through the three paths to becoming a translator.
Getting a translation degree
The most straightforward path to gain skills and credibility as a translator is to enroll in an undergraduate translation program, much like I did.
In a translation program, your path is outlined for you: you start by perfecting your grammar and comprehension in English and French courses and then take linguistic and translation theory courses to understand the theoretical aspects of translation. Afterwards, you enrol in basic translation classes where you apply those theories, followed by advanced courses on specialized translation practices in literary, legal, financial, and marketing fields. Finally, at the end of your program, you take courses on copyediting and computer-assisted translation.
These courses build up your essential skills as a translator: comprehension (French/English), transference (translation), and quality assurance (editing).
However, from my experience in such programs, these courses tend to be quite demanding since professors are notoriously passionate about translation and thus extremely pedantic in their evaluations; they expect nothing less than perfection from their students, which, although taxing, benefits students in the end by refining their skills.
If you are interested in taking the undergraduate path to becoming a translator, keep in mind that many students crumbled under the pressure and subsequently quit, but it can be extremely rewarding since reputable companies will only hire translators with degrees.
Of translation programs, I am aware of five: the BA, Specialization in translation (my alma mater) offered at Concordia University; the Honours BA in translation offered at the University of Ottawa; the Baccalauréat en traduction offered at Université de Montréal; the Baccalauréat en traduction professionnelle offered at Université de Sherbrooke; and the Baccalauréat en traduction offered at Université Laval.
Springboarding off a related degree
If you don’t have the time or money to pursue a translation degree, which is often the case in older aspirants, not all hope is lost; you can springboard into the profession using a related degree so long as you develop an advanced understanding of your weaker language and the transference between them.
In the past, from what senior translators have told me, before translation programs existed, translators were drawn from related degrees in literature or communications, which afforded them a partial understanding of the translation process, e.g. literature degrees provide a mastery over English or French, not transference between them.
As an aspiring translator, you could follow in their footsteps; however, you would still need to perfect your comprehension of your source language, your second language from which you will translate, and the transference process between them. I will assume that, if you have a related degree, you’ve already mastered your first language.
To master comprehension, you should enroll in language courses until you’ve reached the C1 or C2 Advanced language levels — your comprehension essentially needs to be advanced enough to participate in literary classes. Earning a language certificate from university would also help build up your credibility.
To master transference, you should enroll in translation certificates. Although I believe these would provide insufficient knowledge alone, combined with your degree and language courses, you should obtain sufficient knowledge to start translating professionally.
With regards to translation certificates, I know of two: the Certificate in Translation offered by McGill and the Certificat de traduction offered by the Université de Saint-Boniface.
Teaching yourself through trial and error
If your local universities do not offer translation degrees or certificates, which is often the case in unilingual provinces, your only other option is to learn translation through trial and error unless you’re willing to uproot your life and move to Quebec, which I doubt.
In this case, you’re restricted to teaching yourself through experimentation and self-study, which I believe possible, but it is easier if you have a related degree to build on.
Before I explain how to teach yourself to be a translator, I would like to discourage you from practising the profession until a senior translator — a professor or a mentor — approves your skills, mainly because your inexperience and naiveté can put yourself and others at risk, e.g. a mistake in a technical manual can cause an injury, an improperly translated resume can lead to a candidate’s rejection, etc.
With that being said, first, I encourage you to take local language classes in your second language as previously mentioned — translation degrees are scarce but language classes are abundant across Canada.
If your first language needs work, which is often the case for people without degrees who haven’t been working with language, take writing classes as well, so that you can understand the intricacies of grammar and structure of writing.
Then, once you’ve attained a high level of language proficiency, you should look at the course requirements for degrees at some of the mentioned universities and order the associated books and course packs. If you can’t obtain them through their university bookstores, which is often the case with course packs, network with former translation students on LinkedIn to see if they are willing to sell you their old course materials. Many translation students decide to pursue other related professions, so they might be willing to part with them.
Those textbooks will provide you with theoretical information, so you can understand the transference process and mistakes to avoid, while the course packs will allow you to build on what you learned.
However, you will encounter an obstacle to your development: course pack exercises are typically corrected by professors, so how can you understand what mistakes you’ve made? Simple.
Go to the Government of Canada website and download publicly available documents to practice translating. These documents are always available in both official languages, so you can translate from one language into the other and then compare your interpretation with their translation, noting areas that differ and mistakes you make in comparison with the proper translation. Just don’t post that publicly and only use their documents for personal practice.
Once you have your self-learning system down, you should contact an experienced translator and pay them to correct and provide feedback on your exercises, so you can grow further, until you’re competent enough to sell your services on the market.
To get you started, here are some of the books I studied during my degree and links to purchase them:
· Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications by Jeremy Munday
· Editing Canadian English: A Guide for Editors, Writers, and Everyone Who Works with Words by Editors Canada
· La traduction raisonée by Jean Delisle
· The Canadian Style: A Guide to Writing and Editing by Public Works and Government Services Canada Translation Bureau
· Introduction à la traductologie : penser la traduction : hier, aujourd’hui, demain by Mathieu Guidère
· A Practical Guide to Bilingual Revision by Paul A. Horguelin.
Which path will you take?
Becoming a translator is a daunting but rewarding path to walk, I walked it and love working in this profession and, if you’re reading this, I believe you have the potential to walk this path, too.
The first path, going to university, is the simplest and most straightforward, and I recommend it above all the others because it taught me everything I needed to know to become a translator.
However, I know we all have come from different places, both in circumstance, and it may not be a prudent choice. For those people who cannot enroll in another degree, taking language courses and translation certificates are the next best thing.
And for those who have no access to higher education, you will have the most difficult path to walk, but believe me, it’s possible for you to become a translator through sheer grit, and if you do, I will respect you more than any of my colleagues because did it on your own.
To any aspiring translators reading this, I believe in you, and let me know which path you will take.
To my fellow colleagues, what do you think about these three paths to becoming a translator?
Please share your thoughts and experiences and if you liked this article, please like, share, and subscribe, so I can know if should write similar posts in the future.
