How to Become a Certified Translator in Egypt?

Translation is a challenging profession that requires many skills, capabilities and qualifications. If you want to be a certified translator in a certified translation office, you shall follow the following advice, strive constantly, and search for all that is new in the translation field.

How to Become a Certified Translator in Egypt?

The profession of the translator is of great importance across various fields. The translator is the point of contact by converting written texts, in different disciplines, from one language to another. A professional translator conveys the message and ideas in the text from the source language to the target one accurately while preserving the meaning. Types of translation include general translation, medical translation, legal translation, technical translation, website translation, and government duty translation. A translator needs many qualifications in order to be able to work in a certified translation office, including language proficiency, experience, research ability, and other qualifications. Such qualifications a translator needs to become a certified translator differ from one country to another. This article helps you learn about the qualifications of a certified translator and how you can be a certified translator in a certified translation offices in Egypt.

Translator qualifications include having a degree in a field related to languages and translation, mastering two or more languages, reading a lot, etc. However, in order for the translator to become a certified one and a member of a certified translation office, he shall have a certificate of accreditation in translation from one of the recognized bodies in Egypt, such as the Egyptian Translators Association (EGTA), the American Translators Association (ATA), or the International Federation of Translators (FIT). Here’s how to get a certificate of accreditation in translation.

How do you get a certificate of accreditation in translation?

Accreditation criteria in translation differ between different disciplines and also from one country to another. Accreditation generally requires taking specific tests and having many capabilities that we will list later.

In order to become a certified translator in a certified translation office, you shall have a certificate of accreditation from one of the following bodies:

First: The Egyptian Translators Association

It is the first Egyptian association of a specialized professional nature concerned with the affairs of the translation industry and such related language services. The Egyptian Translators Association (“EGYTA” or the “Association”) requires a set of requirements for granting accreditation to translators in order to ensure that they have the necessary capabilities, whether they are related to academic study, practical practice, and experience in the fields of translation and language, including the following:

1. The translator has obtained an academic degree from a faculty of languages, such as the Faculty of Languages and Translation, the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Al-Alsun, and the Faculty of Arts and Education. Moreover, a translator shall master two or more languages.
2. The translator has obtained a translation diploma from the American University.
3. In other cases, EGYTA awards a certificate of accreditation to graduates of English/French law faculties or English/French commerce faculties to work as legal translators. The said certificate is awarded on the condition that an applicant shall pass a test, submit experience certificates in legal translation, or have a legal translation diploma from the Association.

Second: The American Translators Association

The certificate awarded by the American Translators Association (“ATA” or the “Association”) is one of the most important certificates for translators in the field. The Association grants an accredited translation certificate after the translator takes a test of about 3 hours. Such test includes questions for measuring the translator’s skills and his knowledge of the language pair and discipline. Among the language pairs available to perform the test: English into Arabic.

Third: The International Federation of Translators

The International Federation of Translators (“FIT” or the “Federation”) is a federation that includes all associations of translators, and its affiliated organizations that are spread across the five continents. Translation associations in any country can apply for federation membership, provided that they shall satisfy such requirements for application. Members of associations affiliated to the Federation become certified translators by association without the need to take tests.

Now that we have reviewed the bodies and methods of obtaining a certificate of accreditation in translation field. Alsun Translation Services provides a certified translation office in Maadi. 

We provide the most important qualifications to be a certified and professional translator.

The most important qualifications to be a professional certified translator:

Language Mastering

Mastering the mother tongue, the Arabic language, providing correct translation from the source language into the mother tongue and vice versa, is an indication of professionalism in the translation field. Such qualifications that will qualify you as a certified translator. Furthermore, mastering one or more foreign languages and being familiar with all their grammar in order to formulate the language properly will qualify you as well. A translator usually takes tests in the language pair in which the translator chooses to specialize therein in order to ensure his mastery of such languages, his knowledge of their grammar, and his ability to write properly.

Translation Training

There is no doubt that language mastering is a very important factor. However, if you are fluent in languages, you will still need to develop some translation skills as proper and accurate translation requires specialized.

training. Many faculties and universities provide specialized programs that can help prepare you for a translation career.

Gaining Work Experience

Having the title of a certified translator in a certified translation office requires relevant work experience. Providing translation services, either independently or by being affiliated with a certified translation center is one way to gain experience in the field of translation. Furthermore, another way to gain experience is voluntary translation. Many community organizations offer volunteer opportunities for translators. Moreover, some translation companies in Egypt offer paid internships, which is another option for gaining experience in the field of translation.

Choosing a Specific Discipline

There are many fields of translation, including legal translation, medical translation, and technical translation. Each field of translation has its own terminology. One of the most important steps of professionalism in the world of translation is choosing, training, and becoming familiar with the terminology of a specific discipline. For example, if you are interested in the legal field, you should study legal terminology and be familiar with laws to be a better and more professional translator.

Efficient Time management

The translation process takes quite some time and requires effort and focus. Therefore, a translator shall always plan his/ her translation project, prioritize his/ her work, and organize his/ her time to meet project deadlines with clients. Meeting deadlines is one of the most important capabilities that many clients look for, given the importance of the time factor in many translation project documentation.

Having Research Skills

are one of the most important skills a translator shall have. The ability to find the correct and accurate meanings, terms and necessary information helps in providing a high-quality translation. A translator shall have research skills to understand the context of the text and find suitable alternative terms. Furthermore, a professional translator shall be familiar with modern translation technologies such as translation memory programs, Trados, and other modern technologies, such technologies facilitate the translation process and help provide accurate translations.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that the translation profession is a difficult one. Whoever desires to work in the translation profession shall be constantly aware of everything new in his/ her field, as well as be familiar with all the terminology and programs that help a translator accomplish his/ her tasks. Here are the 6 top important basic skills that a professional translator shall acquire.

Translation from English into Arabic Step by step

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