Challenges Of Learning Foreign Language For Translation And Interpretation

For an adult, learning a foreign language takes a lot of effort. The purpose of learning a new language is communication. Learning a foreign language is a complex process. It goes beyond the technical translation; it is also about knowing the culture, traditions, history and beliefs of the people who speak that particular language. For becoming a foreign language translation expert, you require knowing the linguistic nuances while translating some work and there is no room for error. Something as simple as ‘Where are you going?’ in English, sounds difficult in French ‘où Allez-Vous’.

Here are some challenges you might face while learning a foreign language for translation and interpretation purpose

#1 The larger the vocabulary learned, the more difficult it is to remember 

This is one problem of technical translation which a lot of learners face usually. As your vocabulary increases, it becomes difficult to retain everything and you end up mixing words and its meaning. Practicing newly learned words daily and incorporating it into your everyday life will help you remember the words well.

#2 Mixing two or more similar sounding language 

If you’ve been working as a foreign language translator for one language and decide to learn another, which sounds very similar to the one you very well, there are chances you might end up mixing the two. For example, Spanish and French. The mind faces difficulty in formulating a clear thought process and in framing a clear sentence in a particular language. 

#3 Not understanding what the locals speak 

As a foreign language translator you might fluently speak the foreign language but when it comes to understanding what the locals are speaking, you might hardly understand it. What they would speak would be even more complex and contain even complex sentences than usually spoken and also, they speak very fast. 

#4 Coming across words with similar meaning 

When going for English language translation, you might come across words which have different meanings. For example, the word scale can be used in two ways –

 a) weigh yourself on the scale, 

b) the fish has a lot of scales. 

You will also come across words sound same but with different pronunciations. For example – there and their; these are the two words people get most confused with.

#5 Missing words 

A particular language might not have a name for the certain item. For example, bedroom in English is chambre in French and camera de letto in Italian. While the place or entity bedroom has a word designated in French, in Italian you need to make use of three words for it. This is one of the major challenges faced during English language translation of other languages. 

#6 Finding a language exchange partner 

Being in a daily practice of speaking the language, conversing in it with someone who knows the language well helps build a strong framework. When it comes to technical translation, only if you’re well acquainted with the emotions, highs, and lows of the language will you be able to become a good foreign language translator.