International Women’s Day is a day dedicated to celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world. This year’s campaign theme is to Inspire Inclusion. To find out more about International Women’s Day and the 2024 campaign, take a look at there website here. This year, we wanted to find out more from our linguists about how their journey in the translation industry started.
We have asked several of our female translators the below three questions:
- Could you please tell us a bit about yourself? What inspired you to join the translation industry?
- What has been your biggest success so far?
- If you could give one piece of advice to younger girls and women, what would it be?
In this blog, we’ll share their responses to the final question, but if you want to read their responses to the first 2, you can read this blog here. It’s been lovely to see how the range of women all have their own successes and we think their advice is inspirational.
Thank you to all of the linguists that have contributed to our International Women’s Day blogs!
Ulrike – German
If you could give one piece of advice to younger girls and women, what would it be?
My advice to younger girls and women is to spend as much time as you can in the countries where your working languages are spoken. It will really push your language skills to the next level and help you along the way.
Secondly, work on your confidence! I think that women and girls are still conditioned to make themselves “smaller” than they really are. Stand proud, be your own most severe critic, but also your best friend. Always try to learn from your mistakes and don’t forget to pat yourself on the back when you’ve done a good job.
Most importantly, never, EVER overestimate the competition!
Katrin – Swedish
If you could give one piece of advice to younger girls and women, what would it be?
For aspiring young women considering a career in translation, I impart the wisdom gleaned from my own experience: cultivate a voracious appetite for literature and linguistic exploration. Reading in both native and source languages does not just hone language skill, but also gives a deeper appreciation for the nuances of cultural expression – a quintessential asset for translating.
As for life in general, I’m an advocate for the transformative power of travel. Venturing beyond the confines of familiarity not only broadens horizons, but also fosters empathy, understanding, and a thirst for knowledge. This is an invaluable investment in personal growth and enlightenment.
Ulgen – Turkish
If you could give one piece of advice to younger girls and women, what would it be?
One of my favourite Turkish idioms is ‘to have a golden bracelet on the arm’. This means ‘to have a skill or an occupation that would allow one to live her life without being financially dependent on others’. Why a golden bracelet? Because in Turkish culture, a golden bracelet is a traditional present given to a bride by family members and relatives. The golden bracelets collected on her wedding day can be later easily converted into cash. These are a woman’s security in her new life and for the future.
My native language, the language I learned at school and the ones I learned for pleasure are all my golden bracelets which have allowed me to create a rewarding professional life as a translator and an instructor.
Also, no matter how interrelated or irrelevant the accumulated skills collected (deliberately or not) are, they can be combined to build a purposeful and prosperous career aligned with your interests, passions and personality. To make a long story short, believe in the liberating power of golden bracelets and start collecting as many of them as possible.
Yinli – Mandarin
If you could give one piece of advice to younger girls and women, what would it be?
Personally, I’m always asking myself, “Do I really understand what I’m going to say, write and type? Do I really know what I have said, written and typed?”
Cassandra – Danish
If you could give one piece of advice to younger girls and women, what would it be?
My one piece of advice to younger girls and women ties in to what I consider my biggest success as a freelancer so far – don’t give up in the face of criticism and mistakes, and remember that starting a business is a massive venture and learning process. You will (likely) make mistakes, but no freelancer that has reached success hasn’t – it’s all about learning from them and navigating the challenges that arise. Have confidence in your abilities, and if you discover gaps in them, work to improve them rather than giving up.
Laura – Italian
If you could give one piece of advice to younger girls and women, what would it be?
Be flexible, adaptable and keep learning: you will always come across unexpected barriers in life and work, and the worst thing you can do is create barriers for yourself.
Ingrid – French
If you could give one piece of advice to younger girls and women, what would it be?
Work, work and work 🙂
And also, it is easy to think that what is important in this job is the source language… of course it is. But to me, what needs to be constantly improved is the target language. In my case, I’ve really improved the way I speak and write French since becoming a translator.
We hope you’ve loved finding about some of our female linguists and their successes in honour of International Women’s Day. If you have any questions for our linguists or some of your own advice, please just get in touch with us here.
22 March 2024 11:42