蒙特雷学院:一个翻译家的故事
The purpose of this post is to help you answer the question: Is it worth it for me to get a degree in translation? By degree, 我是说正式的, one- or two-year academic program that teaches the theory and practice of translation. Clearly, the answer to the question will depend on the individual and their circumstances. 来帮助你做出决定, I will describe my experiences at the two-year master’s degree program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in California (MIIS), 早在80年代末.
这篇文章有两个警告. 首先也是最重要的, 就像我刚才说的, 我在侏罗纪时期就参加了这个研究所, 当时它还被称为蒙特雷研究所. I’m sure the school has changed its curriculum and its entire program to some degree. Yet I still think it will be valid for me to talk about the teaching methods, 节目的组织, 以及我从上学中得到的好处.
The second caveat is that you should not assume I believe that a specialized degree in translation is the only way to go. A fair number of us have arrived at the destination of professional translation through many a winding turn and side road. I am certain that plenty of excellent translators out there never attended such a program. 然而,对我来说,这段经历证明是必不可少的.
我在蒙特利研究所的时候, the translation and interpretation program was divided into two years of two semesters each. Candidates had to pass a screening process that included demonstrating fluency in at least one other language, 他们的第二语言. Your A language is your native language (not necessarily English), 第三种语言是C语言, and so on.
The first year was devoted to honing English skills through exercises that taught us how to analyze a text, and introducing us to the various methods of interpretation: sight translation, 交替传译, 同声传译. 永利登录网址还了解到 how 翻译. Translators who learn on the job can certainly figure out an approach to their craft, but I am grateful that I had experts teaching me exactly how to read a text, 要经过多少关才能产生最终的翻译, 以及每一关应该由什么组成.
At the end of the first year, I opted for the translation-only track. Classes consisted of small groups of six or seven students; we would go around in a circle reading aloud one section of a translation we had prepared in advance as homework. One class was technical translation into and out of the foreign language; the other was general texts in the same two directions. “Technical” texts included anything from an article on local area networks to a description of the Chernobyl disaster. “General” texts tended toward international affairs and politics because many of the teachers worked for the European Union. 他们在练习翻译和口译, able to give us critical exposure to real-life skills and methods.
小组会议意味着每个人都必须参与, 每个人都能从专业人士那里得到反馈. Working into our B and C languages provided useful insights into why those languages use the styles they do, and how to go about molding them to fit the usage norms of our native languages. I think it would be difficult or impossible to reproduce these aspects of the program on your own.
蒙特利学院教导学生要成为多面手, on the theory that if you know how to research a topic and how 翻译, 当你建立自己的职业生涯时,你就会获得专业知识. This training contrasts with that of translators who have received degrees in a specialized field such as law or biology, 很可能是用他们的母语, 然后学习如何翻译. Ideally, 学生将接受两种类型的教育, in a much longer academic program combining undergraduate and graduate studies. 但生活很少是理想的. 大学教育需要大量的时间和金钱. My own view is that while a master’s degree in translation is not essential to becoming a translator, 学士学位当然是. Four years of undergraduate work provide the exposure to the wide breadth of basic knowledge that translators need to understand the texts they are translating.
Another benefit of the Monterey program is what I think of as the network effect. Because of the professional connections with the EU and Brussels, graduates often moved to Brussels with their degrees to begin work. 当我和班上的一个朋友做了同样的事情, we had three instant contacts in the city to show us the ropes. 和任何大学课程一样, 你会认识一群人, 他们会成为潜在的工作人脉, 还有学校的校友.
研究生学位课程并不是对每个人都适用. I was fortunate to have attended the Monterey Institute; I learned lessons and gained experiences that I never would have otherwise. 永利登录网址都很幸运, a plethora of online and in-person training programs and courses also exists to help us perfect our craft.
图片来源: Pixabay
作者简介
从蒙特利学院毕业后, Diana Rhudick worked briefly in Brussels as a translator before returning to the States to teach and start her freelance career. Following a short stint as a translation agency project manager, 她开始了自己的翻译和编辑事业.
Currently, she divides her time between her freelance work and project management for a boutique translation company.
Great insight for newcomer to the field – would that we had this for every career opportunity!