The Basic Criteria of a Good Translator

Abstract：Nowadays， more and more people become translators. It is believed a good translator should possess some essential criteria. And they should meet the following criteria from four aspects --ethic， competence， diligence， achievement. In this essay， the other criteria besides the bilingual and bicultural ability that a good translator should possess will be discussed.

Key words：translator;basic;criteria;possess

1. Introduction

At present， a translator is one kind of profession job which a great number of people strive to change into. It is not an easy job， it requires some necessary norms. In my opinion， to be a good translator， it is a must to be bilingual and bicultural. In addition， he ought to possess other criteria. In this following part， the other criteria will be illustrated from four aspects --ethic， competence， diligence， achievement

2. My Standpoint about Basic Criteria of a Good Translator

It is observed that the study about the criteria of a good translator is very detailed， but fragmentary and messy， not very explicit and systematic. I absolutely agree with this kind of idea. It is assured that being bilingual or even multilingual and bicultural or even multicultural are the crucial and basic ability for a good translator. They are the desirable requirements. And some criteria should be set for the translators. In my opinion， these criteria will be illustrated respectively from four aspects as follows：

2.1 Ethic Aspect

In the moral dimension， a good translator should have the basic philosophy of such as good and evil， right and wrong， virtue and vice， justice and crime， etc . In the Translators Charter of the International Federation of Translators which was approved by the Congress at Dubrovnik in 1963. Firstly， faithful to the original is the key obligation for a good translator， that is to say， he cant change and distort the meaning of the original text objectively， not adding some personal prejudices about something.

2.2 Competence Aspect

As we know， the job of translation is a specialized one .In the routine practice for the translator， a large amount of translating work involves legal， commercial （including news， media， etc.）， technical and sometimes literary etc. In my opinion， the competence aspect of the criteria of a translator must possess can be classified into two types— physical fitness， professional competence .

2.2.1 Physical Fitness

Physical fitness comprises two related concepts： general fitness （a state of health and well-being）， and specific fitness （a task-oriented definition based on the ability to perform specific aspects of sports or occupations）.  As a result， being a good translator should attaches importance to the physical fitness. ‘Physical fitness is generally achieved through correct nutrition， exercise， and enough rest.”He ought to have good diet and do more exercises and has a good rest.

2.2.2 Professional Competence

According to Gouadec Daniel， it is clear that specialized translator apparently requires good knowledge of the field or subject domain involved. Translator is often called a profession， he is often an expert in one field or even more. Based on the profession， for instance， literary translators will be illustrated as follows：

In the literary translation， the careful reading， re-reading and doing research of source text and other work by the author are the fundamental preparation. And in the process of translation， the most typical characteristic of the literary translator is that he should have high writing skills， he should always be able of moving from one style to another in the language when translating different works， and sometimes he may create a new pattern in a different language， according to personal readings， research and creativity.

2.3 Diligence Aspect

A good translator should be very industrious and meticulous in his working. This is one kind of the ethics for the translators. From the scene above， we can imagine the translators thirst for knowledge very much. Through the study and experience， a good translator can accumulate more experience about the translation. So as a modern person， a modern translator， we should pay more attention to and absorb the new information， which alters rapidly every passing day.

2.4 Achievement Aspect

On the achievement aspect of the criteria of a good translator ， to my way of thinking it can be shown as follows：

3.4.1 From Translators Perspective

On one hand， the translator can making a living through the translation works， on the other hand， the translation work is the fruit of thousands of decisions， large and small， and of creative activity. A majority of translators feel successful through his hard-working product --translation work.

3. Conclusion

As the translators， it is assured that our translation work is the fruit of great creative effort. But in today's rapid economic world， it emerges periodically a new set of criteria for the translators. As a good translator， we should learn from this philosophy and his words are worth our deep thinking about the task we should do. Finally， taking everything into account， I think we ought to endeavor to possess the criteria which being a translator should have， we should feel the heavy responsibilities upon our shoulders. We should spare no effort to fulfill the permanent mission—‘assist in the spreading of culture throughout the world， as which is in article 6 of FIT bylaw proclaims.

English References

[1] Baker， Mona. Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. London， New York： Routledge， 1998 . Print.

[2] Delisle Jean， Judith Woodsworth. Translators Through History. B.V. ，The Netherlands：   John Benjamins Publishing Company， 2010. Print.

[3] Gibaldi， Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Paper（Fifth Edition ）.New York：The Modern Language Association of America， 2001. Print.

作者簡介：林晓玲（1980～），女，广东汕尾人，硕士，广东汕尾职业技术学院外语系英语教育讲师，研究方向：英语教育、英语翻译、英语文学等方面