Translation activity is one of the most popular spheres of activity in modern society. The process of globalization plays a huge role in its development, and modern specialists in any field must know at least one foreign language.
Basic types of translation
Translation can be divided into two large groups: written and oral. They, in turn, are divided into three more subtypes.
Written translation is the most ancient type of translation, developing by leaps and bounds a way of interpreting a text from one language to another. Written translation can be called a stressful activity only when the translator needs to complete a large amount of work in a short time.
The true aces of translation are those who translate classical literature and literary texts. These types of materials have the widest range of vocabulary used, the interpretation of which requires not only excellent knowledge of a foreign language, but also of your native language.
It is worth noting that in Russia the concept of "translator" has a completely unambiguous meaning, while for English-speaking people the classic "translator" means a translator, and "interpreter" means an oral one.
Transcribing audio or video recordings can also be called a very difficult type of written translation: often transcribing recordings of poor quality from a foreign language can take a very long time. However, specialists in this field can count on a higher income than conventional translators.
Interpretation types
Oral translation, in contrast to written translation, is a translation that requires not only exceptional knowledge of the language, but also the emotional and psychological qualities corresponding to the given profession.
There are two main types of this translation: sequential and simultaneous.
Consecutive translation
With this type of translation, the interpretation of a listened passage of speech or text is carried out in the interval between this passage and the next. Business conversations and conferences are often translated in this way, where every detail is important.
Consecutive translation, in turn, has two subtypes: one-sided (translation from one language to another, that is, only in one direction) and two-sided (translation "back and forth", that is, translation of a conversation between people).
Simultaneous translation
This type of translation is recognized as the most stressful activity of a translator. Simultaneous interpreters with work experience earn from $ 200- $ 500 per hour. Simultaneous translation is carried out using special equipment that allows you to clearly hear the voices of the speakers, but not hear your own voice, and also allows you to adjust the sound volume, timbre, and sometimes the rate of speech (if the device has a recording mechanism).
Simultaneous interpreters must have nerves of steel and endurance. Although these interpreters work in shifts at large conferences, the level of tension is at its peak. The main difficulty for a simultaneous interpreter is the interpretation of various unfamiliar dialects or the speech of people who pronounce words with a strong accent. In addition, a simultaneous interpreter must be able to select the main information from the entire flow of speech, since it is literally physically impossible to translate the entire speech.
Thus, out of all the information received, the simultaneous interpreter is able to translate adequately at best 70% -75% of the speech.
Translation genres
It is also possible to single out the types of translations by genre and stylistic grounds. In principle, the classification of such translations is a completely accurate classification of functional styles in the Russian language.
Literary translation
This type of translation is characterized by stylistic imagery, frequent use of tropes and elements of author's evaluativeness (subjectivity). Literary translation can be called one of the most difficult types of translation, because the author's imagery often implies the use of dialectal elements and colloquial expressions, which are sometimes difficult to interpret in another language.
Scientific and technical translation
We can say that this type of translation is the opposite of artistic translation: when it is carried out, the translator does not try to convey the subjectivity and imagery of the author, because they simply do not exist in scientific texts. On the other hand, sometimes the transfer of the meaning of certain scientific terms and phenomena requires great accuracy, not every scientific phenomenon or concept has its equivalent in every language. Therefore, when translating technical terms and details, you should always avoid literalism, and be able to at least find an equivalent in the target language (as is the case with proverbs and sayings). Scientific translation requires not only knowledge of the language, but also at least mediocre knowledge in a particular area with which translation is associated.
Socio-political translation
To successfully carry out this type of translation, you need to have an appropriate vocabulary on a given topic and, moreover, be able to navigate the same topic using the language into which the translation is carried out. So, this type of translation should be characterized by imagery, the ability to appeal to the reader (listener), but, at the same time, political correctness.
Military translation
In addition to the ability to accurately state this or that detail, for the successful implementation of a military translation, a huge vocabulary on military-political topics is required.
Legal translation
This translation can be called the most difficult type of translation, which is often identified with technical translation. Legal translation is divided into translation of laws and bills, translation of contracts, translation of notarized documents, translation of constituent documents, translation of apostilles and notarial certificates.
The main difficulty of legal translation is that it must be carried out in accordance with the cultural and linguistic characteristics of the society, which may not correspond to the conventions of translation. Moreover, legal translation is always carried out based on the realities of a certain legal system and the corresponding terminology: a certain legal concept in English may not have a 100% correct equivalent in Russian, which leads to the need to interpret it with maximum accuracy.
