An opening gambit at a social or business gathering is for the person next to you to ask what you do. When the person finds out your profession the inevitable response is, ‘Oh so you’re a translator – that’s interesting’ and, before you have chance to say anything, the next rejoinder is, ‘I suppose you translate things like books and letters into foreign languages, do you?’. Without giving you a chance to utter a further word you are hit by the fatal catch-all, ‘Still, computers will be taking over soon, won’t they?’. When faced with such a verbal attack you hardly have the inclination to respond. The skills clusters that the translator needs at his fingertips are shown below.

Regrettably, an overwhelming number of people – and these include clients – harbour many misconceptions of what is required to be a skilled translator. Such misconceptions include:

• As a translator you can translate all subjects

• If you speak a foreign language ipso facto you can automatically translate into it

• If you can hold a conversation in a foreign language then you are bilingual

• Translators are mind-readers and can produce a perfect translation without having to consult the author of the original text, irrespective of whether it is ambiguous, vague or badly written

• No matter how many versions of the original were made before final copy was approved or how long the process took, the translator needs only one stab at the task, and very little time, since he gets it right first time without the need for checking or proof-reading. After all, the computer does all that for you.