21040059 - Hoàng Nguyệt Ánh - 21E3

REFLECTION - TRANSLATION TALK SHOW

“Expert talk: The future of the translation profession” was a talk show on Translation
held on November 4, 2023. It was conducted to let English language students, like me,
learn the realistic experiences of being a translator. Mrs. Ngo Ha Thu, an experienced
expert in the field, who used to teach Translating courses in our university was the
speaker of the day. During this talk show, she covered three main parts: translation
experiences, necessary competencies and translation career prospects.

It was indeed a productive morning, spending our time listening and participating in
her sharing. As a third-year student planning to pursue a Translation and Interpretation
major, I found the talk really insightful as it allowed me to dig deeper into some
interesting corners of this job, and there were many things that I learnt on the day. I
discovered that translating involves two main areas: books’ translation and projects’
translation, which was contradictory to my previous thought that it only involves
books and stories’ translation. I also learnt about the necessary competencies on the
way to become a professional translator, among which the most important to me is
integrity. One of the lessons lingering in my mind is that before receiving a translating
project, translators must have an objective and accurate self-assessment of what they
possess and what they can bring to their clients in order to produce high-quality
translations and thus build a credible personal brand.

Overall, I found the talk really insightful as it enabled me to have further

understanding about different perspectives and practical experiences of being a
translator, as well as how to upgrade myself as a Translation-majoring student so as to
have better competitive advantages and meet the demands of the translating market.