BY SHAISTA PERWEEN

1.    The job of a language professional is not an easy one. There are so many things to remember as a language professional. As we know that there are two types of a translator:-

• Freelancer
• Inhouse translator

An in-house translator is a dependent translator but Freelancer is an independent translator. The world is running so fast and everyone here is talented and intelligent mostly. We will have to be very different and smart to achieve our goal in the earth. To be a successful translator and interpreter, we must connect ourselves to the industry. Sandeep Nulkar, chairman and managing director of a Pune-based company, says "Any company which wants to grow its business, needs to be local. Offering your company's website in multiple languages is as important today as it was having a visiting card back in the 90s". There are so many private translation and interpretation industries. They are doing a great job. Translation plays a major role to connect two different cultures in a society. Cultures are backbone of a society. Culture shows our identity; who we are, what is our identity.
 In the field of a language translator, one must know two languages very well. For e.g. we have to translate a Spanish text in English, we must know Spanish and English well. We should command over L1 (original language) and L2(target language) both. It shows that to be a better translator we should know both languages (L1&L2). The communication skill is very important to be good freelancer and in-house translator.
       There are some important points we should remember as a freelancer: - We have to find our speciality in the field of translation. We have to create our personal identity and entrepreneurial mindset.
Specialization is also an important part for a language professional. In translation there are so many fields, as literary translation, business translation, certified translation, juridical translation, legal translation, financial translation, scientific and technical translation etc. if we want to be better language professional we must decide our speciality. In which field we can do a better work that is very important fact. There are also so many languages in the world, we can speak many languages at a time but we can’t get command over all the languages. So we should decide our dexterity in two or three or may be four languages. For e.g. English ⇆ Spanish,   English ⇆Hindi, English  ⇆ French, English ⇆ Portuguese.
There are some important points as a language professional we achieve considerable visibility in society as well as in the business field:-

• Communication -Communication is a latin word “communicare” which means “to share”. The communication skill is very important to be a freelancer. We share our ideas, thoughts in translation. For e.g. when we translate the word “sindoor” or “bindi” we must be careful about its significance in our Indian culture. At the time of translation, culture also plays a major role. We just can’t translate as “red colour powder” .When we translate we should know all the aspects of the text, economic, cultural, societal etc.
• Professional experience of a freelancer –As a freelancer or In-house translator, the educational qualification in the field of translation or interpretation is also important.  The freelancer should have degree in the field of translation.
• Social media – This is an era of globalization and digitalization. This is an internet age. People is using youtube, facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn a lot. It connects to all the section of the society. It connects to the entire world. Social media is now a informative and educative site to gather any information. With the help of social media, we achieve considerable visibility in society as well as in the business field. Nowadays social media websites are popular on mobile devices such as smartphones. The Teenagers are learning about current events from social media sites such as Facebook, Myspace, YouTube and Blogs. We can promote MODLINGUA in social media sites with #modlingua.
• Market yourself as a professional translator- we should connect ourselves to the industry.
• Knowledgeable Personality- We should vast knowledge of all the fields. Reading literature, newspapers are also important factor to be language professional.
• Build  own website
• Start blogging
• Update  personal brand regularly

The job of a translation requires experience, hardwork and patience. Translator must have vast knowledge of all the fields. The job of a translator requires experience. It takes a lot of time to achieve at   the zenith. Becoming a successful freelance is not an easy task. They must think about building of their “personal brand”. Identify the goals and achieve to its target is also very important factor. You have to make yourself visible, find your harbour and market your services, work hard to create  a professional image for yourself.
 
References

1. https://youtu.be/kitwvcIAgZg 
2. https://youtu.be/CMIVwT7Jlo8 
3.  https://youtu.be/vW9MB5SrkC0
4. https://youtu.be/kitwvcIAgZg   
5. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Giant-leap-after-modest-start-for-translation-industry/articleshow/23276119.cms
6. http://culturesconnection.com/different-types-of-translation-services/
7. http://successfulfreelancetranslator.com/personal-brand-for-freelance-translator/
8. https://wordswonderland.wordpress.com/blog-in-english/starting-out-as-a-freelance-translator-business-marketing-and-personal-branding/