The ever-increasing economy, culture, and political communications between countries make the requirement of professional translators more and more urgent. But what is Professional Translator? A professional translator should at least, from my point of view, possess the following qualities:

1) Extensive knowledge

A translator, actually, has to involve in various fields, including economy, culture, and politics. Translators have to keep pace with social development to update themselves with the latest knowledge. They need to be familiar with the Historical Background and General Knowledge of the related countries as well as the glossary terms.

They will deal with files from all fields during the translation processing. If they lack of such kind of knowledge, it will be hard for them to move forward. Additionally, as a professional translator, he or she should be ready to learn anytime anywhere.

2) Quick wit and Mastering Translating Tips in all Fields

Translators, both written and oral, will inevitably face some unexpected situations which requires translating tips so as to act according to the circumstances. Otherwise, you may be in a mess when trapped by the challenges.

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3) Solid Bilingual Foundation and the Ability to Translate Faithfully to the source or Original Languages

Most translators, especially those without professional training, are likely to add in their personal viewpoints. However, a professional translator should be able to translate faithfully to the source languages so as to communicate the intended meaning of the author to the audience. Even if the translator’s interest is involved, he or she should state the author’s intention without his or her personal perspective.

4) Be Persistent and Tough

No pain no gain. To be a qualified translator he or she has to keep learning and practicing all the time. What’s more, translation, especially the written translation, is a monotonous job, he or she has to be patient enough to tolerate the tedium. When you first take translation as your job you may find it to be difficult and want to give up as the knowledge you got from your school was so limited, you have to make self-learning to enlarge your scope. This will cost you time and great effort.