► How to enter the translation market as a fresher?

If you are a fresher with no experience you should possess an excellent knowledge of the language and get certified. Attending certain courses or seminars on translation studies could give you a translator’s certification. This is not compulsory, yet it empowers you to better establish your professional identity as a translator.
This type of certification should be issued by a certifying agency developed by the government.
Unfortunately, this is not always as easy as in some countries there is no agency of this kind. Among those countries, there is India as well. By the way, the Indian Translators Association (ITAINDIA) offers workshops and empowers translators with the opportunity to get certified as language professionals. Further, Modlingua, the translation agency founded by language entrepreneur Mr Ravi Kumar, provides mentoring to newcomers offering them an insight into the translation industry through an internship program focused on professional development aspects.
As stressed by Mr Ravi Kumar, one more way for beginners to gain value as language professionals is to undergo training under supervision in order to get feedback from more experienced translators. Feedback is essential as a way to learn from your mistakes. This will lead to an increase in the quality of your work.
Quality is indispensable to create a network of clients. Therefore, it has to be the main priority of a translator and, as stated by Ms Ioanna Daskalopoulou, it should never be sacrificed in order to deliver a project in time. Having a delay and getting more time to edit and proofread a project can make the difference between an excellent quality work and a project that doesn’t meet the requirements of your client. To comply with quality standards leads you to establish your identity as a trustworthy and reliable professional.

► What are CAT Tools?
Some clients may ask you to use a specific CAT Tool such as SDL Trados or memoQ. Some companies have developed their own platforms and created their own translation memories.  However, according to Ms Ioanna Daskalopoulou, CAT Tools are not always necessary to get a project. It always depends on the clients and their requests.
Still, the knowledge of technology can be a powerful tool adding value to your identity as a language professional in the translation industry.
 
Connect with us
a) YouTube Channel of Modlingua at https://www.youtube.com/c/Modlinguatr... (Do click on the BELL button to get latest updates)
b) Join our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrlingua (Approx. 14K Members)
c) Follow Modlingua on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/modlingua
d) Follow Modlingua on Twitter: https://twitter.com/modlingua
e) LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/3219081
f) Telegram channel: https://t.me/modlingua
g) Whatsapp Broadcast: http://www.modlingua.com/whatsapp-bro...
h) Join My Network on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravikumarin/
i) Personal Profile: http://www.modlingua.com/director/281...
j) Do Google about Modlingua and our Summer Internship
 

Creative Summary by Vidisha Shah

We are very happy to announce that this year for our Summer Internship at Modlingua, 2018 we have around 150 interns from all over the world and many of them from outside India. Our Internship program has gained huge momentum and we are very excited to bring to your certain research papers and published works. Ever since our online internship started, 15 days ago, all our interns have worked very hard. This byproduct of our hard work will be launched and showcased today at 8 pm in the form of a Rubric created by us.

This rubric will have enabled certain Principles and philosophies with regards to several different aspects of Translation such as identification of errors, find out different types of errors, how many errors are there in a word document etc. This Rubric which will be launched today includes a total of 10 parameters concerning the various different aspects of Translation made in a small notice of 15 days by our hardworking and disciplined interns.
 
From a total of 150 interns, around 85 of them worked on past samples of their own work where they were asked to work on samples, identify the errors made by them. These errors include spelling mistakes, article errors, not following instructions, spacing etc. Keeping all these small but important errors into consideration, we have made a rubric which can be easily applied in any translation document or used by those working in this professional background.
With the help of this Rubric, all punctuation and grammatical errors can be easily and quickly resolved and the efficiency of the work can be increased by 2-3 times.
 
The introduction and use of the Rubric method can be used as a breakthrough discovery for the language industry. In the Conference that is going to be helping tonight at 8 pm, I am going to be showing you how to control the errors and how we can use this rubric to save time and increase our efficiency as Translators.
Normally, it takes around 1000 minutes for the content to be ready to be uploaded and translated. Once done, to maintain the desired quality, a team is put to task to check the content before giving it for publication. This QC step is very important and necessary in order to have a good reputation and brand image.
I’m also requesting you to please share the video if you like it, and use the Rubric method if it helps you. There is also a PPT available on the same subject and if you find any areas of improvement or would like to give any suggestions, it is more than welcome.
 
I would also like to thank my friends and the community members that have been there even at the Conception stages of Modlingua, thanks a lot for your confidence in us and thank you for listening to me. On our YouTube Channel, our Education Hub, you can explore as there are around 60 videos and I assure you that there is no wrong advice in any of them since I have more than 20 years of professional experience in this field.
 
To participate in the launch, I request you to please express your interest in the comment section and I will send you the link for participation as we have only a few empty seats. Please not, that this is on first cum first serve basis only and we have only 200 seats. Once again, I would like to extend my thanks to my old friends who are still supporting us, along with our 150 interns who are ready for this launch and we hope you continue supporting us.

By Swastika Saha and Deepasri Bhattacharya

Executive summary of the speech by Mr Mrinal Kanti Das, former DGP, Manipur

The speech was delivered by Mr Mrinal Kanti Das by highlighting the importance of translation and overcoming language barriers in the country. While working in the Indian Police Services, he was posted to several difficult regions in the country where conditions were extremely hard, not only in terms of terrain but also languages. He mentions in his speech that India is a diverse country with a plethora of languages, religion, cultures and there are people both in India and abroad who are trying their best to maintain the unity in the nation.

He had been posted to North-East of India where he found nationalism in a very relevant form and also had been appointed for special duties in Jammu and Kashmir. He mentions that communication is a big challenge in these areas and the operational needs are very different than what is spoken. While being called to perform certain national duties in the context of nation-building, he has been misunderstood and misinterpreted on several occasions. He explains the obstacles in communication by taking the example of Tripura. It has international borders and is in the course of its historical development, it has craved to emerge as an independent nation. In spite of turbulent times and hardships, it later agreed to stay a part of India.

Mr Mrinal Das encountered linguistic problems while his duties in Tripura, which subsequently coaxed him to learn a new language. According to him, communication can be made effective only when both parties try to understand each other’s perspectives. This is where language plays an important role. He undertook his job with full preparation and training and played his role with utmost dedication and caution. He was successful in his mission and now Tripura has come over the ground and joined the movement of nation-building.

Mr Mrinal Das in his speech goes on emphasising the need for learning a language while stating it to be ever-changing. He points out that words in a  language change their meaning and usage with time and place, in short, according to where it is being used and spoken. Thus efforts have been made to rationalise language and help in communication so that it leads to a more disciplined way of behaviour. Mr Mrinal Kanti sites some figures regarding the population profile of 2020. According to that by 2020, there will be nearly 400 million Indians who will be below the age of 35 which will result in bringing about a community structure laden with concepts such as generation gap and changing technological milieu.

There will be a progress and something needs to be done to attain a balance in that situation. Law enforcing bodies will play a key role in battling security-related problems, whether it is the distribution of a particular ‘Pataa’ like certain benefits which would be accrued to them either through the initiatives taken by the ministry of agriculture or any other ministry who’s help would prove effective.   As an example, Mr Kanti mentions lots of deaths taking place in far-flung areas where arable land is not present. Nearly 329 million hectares of land area are available which are not yet populated not in terms of manpower but in terms of agricultural produce. If one would understand the language of that area then probably a developmental action could be taken to mitigate the situation.  He says that there are certain sensitive and difficult areas in India where the Indian Flag would not fly. When asked, a local man said that they were independent earlier and they have become a part of India only recently. So he makes a comment that why should they not be allowed to hold their flag up beside the Indian flag. The security forces would bring down their flag as soon as they would put it up. Mr Kanti makes an effort to respect their belief and sentiment and brings forth this point at the highest forum so that these people can one realize by themselves and not try to mitigate the situation.

Thus language and communication play a crucial role in bridging cultural differences and ushering in a more tolerant and cooperative social structure.

Executive summary of the speech by Late Joginder Singh, former CBI Chief

By Smita Shenoy and Anjali 

Communication is key and the translation is the path to proper communication: this was the gist of the speech given by Mr. Joginder Singh on 16 December 2010. By sharing hilarious anecdotes and narrating his life-changing experiences, the former CBI Chief asserted the importance of translation in today’s world. He began by confessing that he had initially been reluctant to accept Mr Ravi Kumar’s invitation to address guests at the Translators’ Association as he was not a technical person. However, Ravi ji’s persuasion made Mr. Singh reflect on the topic and he realized that translation plays a vital role in every aspect of life — be it religion, education, politics, or asking for a cup of tea.

We all make mistakes. And mistakes are more prominent when we learn a foreign language or try to communicate in one. However, do people in high bureaucratic positions also come across language barriers which unknowingly may turn out to be humorously rewarding for language learners. In this video, Shri Joginder Singh Ex-CBI Chief recalls one such incident when he led a delegation to Indonesia.

Like every Indian Mr Singh enjoys his cup of tea with milk, but it so happened that in Indonesia a hotelier brought him a cup of black tea. When Mr. Singh instead order a tea with milk in English the poor hotelier didn’t understand the language till an Englishman who happened to speak Indonesian conveyed him the order in the local language.

Now the intention of describing this incidence in detail is not to embarrass Mr. Singh but to acknowledge the generosity he has shown by recalling his own humorous moments in order to encourage translators and to appreciate the role of languages. Another motive to elaborate on this incidence is to bring the attention of the readers on the role of specific cultural associations. In Indonesia milk, is describes as susu, whereas in Hindi susu means urine. So when an Indian who speaks Hindi says in Indonesian that he wants tea with susu, the associations he has with the word will be completely different to that of a local person speaking the same language, although they both understand that the object being referred to here is milk. This small experience makes us realise that   translation is not merely a process of rendering one word to another language but we have to keep in mind the association with a words carries with it because in some cases if we fail to convey the meaning beyond the semantic level we are depriving the readers of the target language with what a word feels like in the original sense.

Mr. Singh noted that countries like the UK and the USA with a predominantly single-language culture may not appreciate the hurdles that have to be overcome in India, where a multitude of languages is spoken. He said that English was one of the unifying factors in a country with such rich diversity. Recalling his visit to Iran in 1973 with former Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr Gundu Rao, he said that the then Iranian minister had been surprised to see the two Indians converse in English instead of their mother tongue. Mr. Singh had explained that as their mother tongues were different, English was the common language. 

Mr. Singh realized the importance of communication right from the time he was posted as a young IPS officer in Karnataka (then Mysore). As his work made him mingle with the locals, he had to work hard at overcoming the linguistic and cultural barriers. It made him appreciate the value of translation.

This life lesson was further strengthened through spirituality. After years of trying and failing to understand the Gita and the Guru Granth Sahib in their original versions, Mr. Singh acknowledged that he imbibed the essence of these books only when he read their translated versions.

Even the amusing anecdotes he narrated contained the underlying message that translation is key to communication. Be it his Parsi professor who learnt to say ‘same to you’ to the students who used abusive language against him, or the Englishman in Indonesia who helpfully told a tea vendor that Mr. Singh wanted his tea with susu (milk) — translation was the hero that saved the day.

His newspaper columns garnered appreciation in certain parts of India and ridicule in others — all because his articles, originally written in English, probably got diluted or modified when translated into Hindi, and were received differently in different regions.

After having the audience in splits, he deftly shifted the focus from personal to global by reiterating that even the United Nations would not probably exist in its current form if there were no translators. He concluded by saying that translation is vital for meaningful communication.      

Through platforms like Modlingua’s youtube channel, this becomes possible as young interns are exposed to guest lectures by reputed persons from different fields, which motivates them to keep learning further. The conceptual understanding of the specific phenomenon in translation, for example, the role of culture is not only shaped by articles available on Modlingua website but also given a parallel dimension by lectures like these. To further supplement the understanding of the role played by culture in translation I would like to recommend the article Translating Culture Vs Cultural Translation written by our director Mr. Ravi Kumar. Please click the link http://www.modlingua.com/research/1070-translating-culture-vs-cultural-translation.html to access it. 

By Cristina Colella

We all noticed that the use of social media has become an important part of professional life and an essential tool for personal branding and effective promotion of business. And this applies to the translation market as well. For interpreters and translators, it has become very important to develop not only linguistic abilities but also entrepreneurial skills to achieve professional success in the translation industry. 

Social networks could be powerful tools for launching your professional career, therefore you need to implement a careful strategy to promote your brand, which means learning to use them in a serious way, as professional tools and not as spaces for chatting. Thus, they can be integrated in many fields of professional life such as project management, office management, sales management and teamwork.

The management team of Modlingua effectively uses social media platforms not just to communicate but also to manage a whole business. Social media platforms are very important for Modlingua, as they empower their team to manage hundreds of interns from all around the world in spite of distance and time difference, encouraging us to solve problems through collaboration and teamwork.

Effective cooperation among all the interns is the main goal of the internship program and to make us work as a team we have been provided with a wide range of useful tools:

• Whatsapp Broadcast group: this broadcast group has been specifically designed to directly address the management when problems arise and a solution is needed;
• Facebook Intern group: this is a closed Facebook group, created for the Modlingua interns in 2018 to encourage interaction as well as cooperation as a way to solve the problems;
• MODLINGUA website: this is not only meant as a tool to share business information but it is also an interesting platform for those who are very passionate about languages and translation. It is useful for learners as a research tool and as a resource for blog articles, videos, vacancies and platforms for job seekers and for interns to submit their work;
• Youtube Channel of Modlingua: another useful resource for learners, as it contains videos dealing with topics related to the internship as well as additional material related to business;
• Modlingua Translators and Interpreters Community on Facebook: this is a community with more than 14,000 members. It is a very important tool  empowering interaction with more experienced members so that interns can get useful advice on how to start a career in the world of language services;
• LinkedIn group: this group gives interns an access to a more formal professional community, in order to get deeper into the translation business; 
• Twitter: this blogging platform is used by Modlingua to create a buzz among followers;
• Telegram Channel: Modlingua uses this platform as a channel to share quick messages, containing news on languages and culture.

Modlingua internship introduces newbies and learners to personal branding and teamwork empowered by social media platforms. Although, you need to take into account that for an effective promotion of business a professional approach to the use of social network is necessary, therefore the help of more experienced professionals is necessary. And our Program Director Mr Ravi Kumar with more than 20 years' experience in the translation industry as a translator, interpreter, researcher, professor and entrepreneur has a lot of expertise in the use of social media as tools to constructively coordinate interns' activities.

To sum up, the internship at Modlingua gives us the opportunity to earn valuable experience and to develop those entrepreneurial skills that allow newbies to start and to promote their career in the language service industry.