Translation and English

by Arpita
(Bangladesh)

Translation services interests me. English is an international language but it's also the primary language for trade and commerce. That motivates me to improve how I speak and write English. I would like to do translations in the future.

I have been with a firm for the last year, which deals with lots of international clients. Communicating with them requires a solid language base because all assignments are in English. It would be difficult to work for them if we (the staff) couldn't understand their task descriptions. So, knowing English is must for all the employees here, especially their English comprehension skills. Actually, this is a prerequisite for my firm.

When I joined the company, I admit that my English not as good as it is now. I understand English clearly but I didn't have a smooth fluency in it yet. I feel lucky that from the very beginning of my job I was assigned a foreign client. After continuous communication in English with that client I see a big improvement in myself.

But I know this is not enough. There is still a long way to go before I could do translation services. Even now, I feel that I stumble many times when I am trying to communicate my thoughts. It has happened several times that I couldn't write what I really wantd to say. I have become quite serious about improving my language skills.

I need to know the words first. For the last two months I am learning 5 words per day with its synonyms and antonyms. This exercise will expand my vocabulary. I practice my grammar by keeping a daily journal. I write 1 or 2 pages about what happened or what I did each day. This will help my written fluency. As I get better, my knowledge of English will open up job opportunities in many countries in the world.

Besides English I can understand Hindi. There are lots of Hindi television channels broadcasted here in Bangladesh through cable. But I can't write in Hindi and I can't speak it very well.

In the future when I have more free time I would definitely like to learn French. French is a sweet language and it fascinates me. I have heard about several famous books, films and music. I'd love to read, watch or listen to them.

I can realize the importance of English now. That is what motivates me to keep learning English and perhaps do translations some day.