Translation Resources
The translator’s job, different as many people think, is not only translating a text automatically, but it involves an entire process. And there are many difficulties faced by the professionals. Like words with no equivalence from the source language to the target language; expressions used in one language can describe the culture of one place completely different from the other. Those are some reasons the translator has to use all the resources available to make the work as great as possible. The professional has to be aware of his/her choices and has to be able to justify them.
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One of those resources is something simple, and it has been in people’s lives for so long that sometimes we forget that it exists, the dictionary is an important source of vocabulary. It is significant because of the vast amount of information, it is possible to find the use of the words, synonyms, and spelling (to mention some possibilities). And there are also specific types of dictionaries, that are very helpful, for example in English, there are Phrasal Verbs dictionaries and Idioms dictionaries.
Another possibility is the use of Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) tools, which, with the use of technology that people have nowadays, are impressive and easy to use. The translator can get a job in a specific area, that is complicated to find the expressions, the CAT tools will help in the matter, so the professional can find the words and their uses in different contexts.
In addition, the translator can create glossaries about the field he/she has been working on. The glossaries are important to gather information, and to search in different jobs about the subject/terminology used before, this way the translator knows where to find the specific word that is causing some issues.
The professionals that work in the translation field have many possibilities to help them in their work, it is necessary to understand how to use those possibilities, it is easy to say: “this one and that one exists”, but the translator and the proofreader have to, actually, use them and not trust only on his/her instincts. The person has to justify their choices and show interest in testing and looking for all the ways possible to guarantee the quality of the text.
