Jesse
What majors do you recommend that I take with Japanese if I want to be a translator?
I am graduating high school very soon and will be entering college after this summer. At this point, I plan to become a Japanese to English (or vice versa) translator, and I know that there are several options as to what I might take with my Japanese major. I have considered a Chinese minor, English linguistics major, or a business minor. At most I would be willing to take two majors and a minor, maybe. #college #majors #translation #japanese
2 answers
Jaron Hightower-Mills
Jaron’s Answer
Dear Jesse,
Congratulations on your interest in translation! When I was a student at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, I was fortunate to meet a lot of talented people who were training to become translators and interpreters.
I would suggest that you do a second major in an area of interest. As a translator, it helps to have a deep knowledge of an area so that you can capture the nuances of the source text and advertise an area of expertise. Think about what other subjects, like medicine, business, law, etc., that interest you and pick that as your second major. If you have any space left for electives, you can round out your skills with linguistics courses.
Thank you!
Jesse
You are welcome. I am glad my response was helpful.
Jaron Hightower-Mills
Xavier Le Hericy
Xavier’s Answer
Jesse, great choice of career. I was a translator (French) at the beginning of my career and loved joining my interests in language and technology.
Translation is a very broad field, and most companies that need that type of services (from law firm to tech companies, etc.) will look for people with a solid knowledge of the field. So find out what you're interested in aside from Japanese, and study that field. Read related blogs in both Japanese, English and any other language of interest, read industry publications, get as familiar as you can with the terminology used today in your field of choice.
Best of luck!