zachandhobbes Wrote:Let's all be cynical and mean to the OP instead of being productive

Sometimes the truth hurts.

The most practical thing to do at a low Japanese level like N2/3 is to do proofreading of translations by non-natives. It is mind-numbingly boring though.

I don't think giving the OP unrealistic hopes is the right thing to do.

It's not possible, move on.

zachandhobbes Wrote:Let's all be cynical and mean to the OP instead of being productive, because that's what's in style and makes people like you more on the internet -_-.

This board has a bad case of "anything's possible" -- if someone is looking for a career, it doesn't help him out to give him unrealistic expectations. Why does it have to be done in 6 months anyway?

yudantaiteki Wrote:

zachandhobbes Wrote:Let's all be cynical and mean to the OP instead of being productive, because that's what's in style and makes people like you more on the internet -_-.

This board has a bad case of "anything's possible" -- if someone is looking for a career, it doesn't help him out to give him unrealistic expectations. Why does it have to be done in 6 months anyway?

Then again, when did he say this is even a situation he is exactly in? I'll take it as a hypothetical until he says it's actually something that's happening to him, and I still think it's possible because I've seen people who are barely functional walk out fluent after a visit to Japan of 6-12 months.

zachandhobbes Wrote:Then again, when did he say this is even a situation he is exactly in? I'll take it as a hypothetical until he says it's actually something that's happening to him, and I still think it's possible because I've seen people who are barely functional walk out fluent after a visit to Japan of 6-12 months.

Your definition of fluent must be really low then.

*for some values of fluent

I went into Japan with "this is a pen" level of Japanese (but pretty good pronunciation) and walked out with JLPT2 and pretty good conversational skill after 10 months. I was still nowhere near fluent or good enough to be a translator though (both in Japanese skill and translation skill). I did it without Heisig or SRS so it could probably be cut down a few months, but six months is still nowhere near enough time to get the JP and xlation skill.

If you're serious about being a translator, take a course. I took a two year translation certification program alongside my degree (in classical JP literature).

Maybe (big maybe) a really talented person whose native language is Korean or Chinese could become a translator with two to three years of full-time hyper-intensive study in Japan.

kitakitsune Wrote:Maybe (big maybe) a really talented person whose native language is Korean or Chinese could become a translator with two to three years of full-time hyper-intensive study in Japan.

Definitely doable. I started JP study in 2006 (not counting halfass study a bit in 2005) and have been a pro translator since 2009.

kitakitsune Wrote:

zachandhobbes Wrote:Then again, when did he say this is even a situation he is exactly in? I'll take it as a hypothetical until he says it's actually something that's happening to him, and I still think it's possible because I've seen people who are barely functional walk out fluent after a visit to Japan of 6-12 months.

Your definition of fluent must be really low then.

*shrug* one of them (the one who helps me with subs) passed JLPT N1 practice tests while I was studying for it and asked them to try. I think he only did the reading part though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers

First you say it's impossible. Then I say it's possible, and you tell me it's difficult.

No shit! The sky is blue!

I think you need to calm down.

Trolls best friend, "stop being so mad."

As if your original comment on this thread contributed anything worthwhile... *eyeroll*

I guess I'll stop replying to this before it gets bad. Clearly if no one on this forum has been able to do something, it is not worth trying.


clever, but language practice and learning and hours of exposure by living in a country and passive intake is not the same as trying to get into the NHL with extremely limited spots and tons of competition that all have practiced for decades to refine their physical stamina and finesse. grow up.

I want to play in the NFL.

NFL in 6 months? Impossible.

But Vince Papale did it!

This thread needs to turn into a manzai act. Who here is good at ツッコミ?

kitakitsune Wrote:I want to play in the NFL.

playing football is pretty easy.

first what you wanna do is you want to get yourself up to par in terms of strength. a lot of people are deficient in strength and even in high school, college, and the pro-level, there isn't a lot of smart strength and conditioning work. get a copy of Starting Strength and work off of that. 3x a week will do you a lot of good. also, eat a LOT. it's how you gain strength. if you can afford to, look for established s&c coaches in the field.

next you want to work on technique. i'm not sure because i haven't really done this, but you want to do is pick a position and see what skills are required. find a coach. learn the proper technique and hone it. naturally, conditioning will come.

once you feel fairly good at both, look for a league to join and carry on from there.

whether you can do it in 6 months is probably not going to happen, unless you have a lot of athletic experience from prior sports.

You don't really need a football coach to become a pro football player (study translation), just do lots of pushups to get big muscles (study Japanese).

that analogy was terrible and extremely dumbed down and both of us know it.

"because one thing is really hard, this thing must be AS hard"
and you guys were trying to use the argument against me that "one thing is possible the other must be".

i shouldnt even be writing this, i said i would leave. I'll try as hard as I can to not reply to these straw man arguments

Does that make RTK steroids?

Or is Anki steroids?

kitakitsune Wrote:Does that make RTK steroids?

Or is Anki steroids?

RTK is like strength and conditoning.
It warms you up for the real workout (football game/reading Japanese) but it isn't a substitute for it.
It also makes you feel good because you think you can do a lot of (weight/kanji) but unless you can directly translate those skills into (football/Japanese) then it's not helpful at all.

Anki is like linear programmed strength and conditioning. You take what you learned from the last session and add a little more.





---
anyway, quick question.

what *is* a professional translator?
as part of my job i sometimes have to review owner's manuals of motorcycles. and let's just say the chinese owner's manuals are really, really terrible.

The translator was whoever made that manual. If they are terrible then the person had insufficient language and translation ability for the task. In other words, someone like the OP. The only difference is that the insufficient language was the target and not the source, but it makes little difference.

Proofing an existing translation is a relatively lower position. The proofers at my company are all haken staff that make very little money even though they are always super busy :/

@Jarvik7:

mygengo is cool!!! i never realised there were sites like that online (well, i never thought about it, but...)

it wouldn't be so bad a job if you can do it whenever you feel like it... (i wouldn't particularly want to do full time, but...)

anyway, i took the introductory test, and failed because i guessed the reading of the names lol. i'll check them online next time 1st...

if i really wanted to do it for real though, i'd probably want to work through some grammar books 1st as well. So it'd have to be worth doing...

So, can you tell me a bit more about this site? Do they regularly have jobs available? Can you really choose which jobs you want? And... well, obviously how much you earn depends on how quickly you can translate, but generally, are those rates decent, or a waste of time (for someone with no qualifications)?

This topic has waddled off topic a few times.. hmm
I'll throw a question in that's kind of on topic.

Is being an interpreter, more difficult to do, or more or less the same (with it being speaking and understanding quickly as opposed to writing) or do they require the same skill sets? Looking into idea's for doing a Masters once I graduate.. haven't decided what I want to do yet.