Hi, I’m Nozomi Okuma, Marketing Manager at Conyac. My native language is Japanese and I’ve been studying English as a second language for almost half of my life. I don’t have much problem with speaking two languages but when it comes to translating, I realize that the ability that I need for speaking and translating is completely different.
The reason why I started to translate is because I wanted to use my bilingual skill and open up a career as a translator. I didn’t have any education in translation and it is obviously difficult for an inexperienced translator like me to get a job. But Conyac offers newcomers a chance to translate and to practice their translation.
我会开始翻译是因为我希望能使用我的双语能力来开拓我作为翻译人员的生涯。但是因为我并没有任何与翻译相关的教育背景,所以当然要像我一样的一个没有翻译经验的人找到一份翻译工作是非常困难的。可是,Conyac在此提供了一个给新人翻译以及练习他们的翻译技能的机会。
我开始做翻译的原因是我很希望运用我的双语能力去开拓自己作为翻译员的事业。我没有接受过翻译的训练,加上又没有从事翻译工作的经验,找翻译的工作很明显是相当困难的。但Conyac 可以提供一个机会让没有经验者去练习他们的翻译技巧。
The most difficult part about translation is that many words in one language don’t have an equivalent word in another. Even if they did, using the equivalent word may not fit into the context or the style of the language you are translating into. I needed to gain more vocabulary and know more about grammar and the style of both languages thoroughly.
I practice my skills with every translation. I learn new words and find proper ways to express statements in different languages. Now I am becoming more confident about my translations and am also able to earn more money.
There is a variety of documents to translate at Conyac but in my observation the top three types of documents are business related e-mails, articles and reviews. I’ve seen some scenarios and stories being requested for translation as well.
Most texts are usually very short and quite simple. For those who love the languages and communication as much as I do, translating for Conyac comes as a fun side job that requires just a few minutes of our daily time and rewards our efforts with just enough money to treat ourselves with a nice gift to celebrate the well done job.
If you would also like to become a translator, sign up at Conyac.