What Would Life be Like If There Were No Translators?

General Translation, Nonprofit Translation   •  
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As I was preparing to teach a session at the UPCI Multicultural Summit next week in St. Louis, I was thinking about how valuable translators are. Not just overseas on mission fields, but here in North America as our cities become more and more multicultural.

So I want to give a big shout out to all the translators I know… and those I don’t know yet. They provide such a precious service to our communities. Think about what life would be like if there were no translators:

  • You wouldn’t know how to assemble that nifty gadget you ordered from China.
  • You couldn’t read the ingredients on that box of delicious ethnic food you see at the grocery store.
  • The article you need to finish your research might not be available in your language.
  • You couldn’t purchase many of the things that interest you because the companies wouldn’t be able to market their products in English.
  • If nobody had translated the Bible out of Hebrew and Greek, you wouldn’t have access to it. (And some languages still don’t!)

Now, what happens if a nonprofit has no translators available?

  • Community organizations can only help one segment of the population.
  • Missionaries are crippled in their efforts to spread the Gospel and make disciples.
  • Ministries in North America are frustrated because people who speak English as a second language don’t fully grasp what they are trying to convey.
  • Valuable written resources are restricted to a privileged group.

Translators, you are important! Potential translators, you are needed! I am passionate about training translators so they can have an opportunity for income doing something they love, and also so they can serve nonprofits who desperately need their services.

GREAT NEWS! The “More Languages, More Income” translation course package for nonprofits is ready! In fact, you could purchase it right now at NonprofitTranslation.org, but I’m going to be launching it officially next week. And the “Second Language, Second Income” course package for freelance translators is in process for later this fall.

Have a great day!

Liane 🙂

www.LearnTranslation.com

www.NonprofitTranslation.org

About

Liane R. Grant is an OTTIAQ-certified translator (French/English) based in Quebec, Canada. She has a B.A. and M.A. in Translation from Concordia University, and a Ph.D. in Translation Studies from Université de Montréal. Liane is the Founder and Project Manager of The King's Translators, a nonprofit and mainly volunteer translation team. As a Translation Strategist, she offers training for translators and revisers, as well as consulting to help organizations establish an in-house translation team in order to produce quality translations even on a limited budget.