Which language would you study as an investment? Thread poster: aivars
|
|---|
aivars 
Argentina
Local time: 17:18
English to Spanish
+ ...
If anything, I came to the realization that I can learn a language rather fast and start living off it. (translation, teaching, etc.)
I know Spanish, English, German, some French and since long I ´ve been interested in Far East languages.
Which do you think will be more profitable to work with, Chinese or Japanese?
If Chinese, which \"version\"? What about the time it would take to learn it if you are a fast learner? Which might become \"the language of the future... See more If anything, I came to the realization that I can learn a language rather fast and start living off it. (translation, teaching, etc.)
I know Spanish, English, German, some French and since long I ´ve been interested in Far East languages.
Which do you think will be more profitable to work with, Chinese or Japanese?
If Chinese, which \"version\"? What about the time it would take to learn it if you are a fast learner? Which might become \"the language of the future\"? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Chinoise
Local time: 17:18
English to Chinese
+ ...
Believe me, (Simplified) Chinese is your best choice.
| | | | Jane Lamb-Ruiz (X)
French to English
+ ...
| Learning a language is not fast food consumption | Jul 23, 2002 |
Chinese. And if you have to ask which version, you\'re slightly off-track. Do you mean which dialect? Did you know that all Chinese dialects are written using the same characters? And I would go there because to learn it properly it will take you at least 10 years.
Good luck in your investment endeavors. 
| | | | Chinoise
Local time: 17:18
English to Chinese
+ ...
Quote:And I would go there because to learn it properly it will take you at least 10 years
I agree with Jane. However, if you are a fast learner, it won\'t take you so many years. Moreover, upon getting a good command of Chinese, you will find it much easier for you to learn other Asian languages. The reason can be found right in the Chinese forum.
And, Jane, we are right there waiting for ... See more Quote:And I would go there because to learn it properly it will take you at least 10 years
I agree with Jane. However, if you are a fast learner, it won\'t take you so many years. Moreover, upon getting a good command of Chinese, you will find it much easier for you to learn other Asian languages. The reason can be found right in the Chinese forum.
And, Jane, we are right there waiting for you!
Regards,
Betty=BBW
[ This Message was edited by: on 2002-07-23 21:28 ] ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
williamson (X)
Local time: 22:18
Dutch to English
+ ...
| Russki yzik, Nihongo or Chuo Ko? | Jul 23, 2002 |
Depends on your goals: Translators with Hungarian, Estonian, Latvian, Lithouanian have always been and are going to be in demand in the tower of Babel (E.U.)-translation service. In that same tower there has been a shortage of translators/interpreters with Finnish eversince Finland joined the Union in 1995.
If you want to be a well earning specialized freelancer: Rates for Japanese have always been high. I took a Japanese course years ago, but decided to concentrate on English/Spanish,... See more Depends on your goals: Translators with Hungarian, Estonian, Latvian, Lithouanian have always been and are going to be in demand in the tower of Babel (E.U.)-translation service. In that same tower there has been a shortage of translators/interpreters with Finnish eversince Finland joined the Union in 1995.
If you want to be a well earning specialized freelancer: Rates for Japanese have always been high. I took a Japanese course years ago, but decided to concentrate on English/Spanish, so the Japanese course has been on my bookshelves for the past 18 years. Had the opportunity to visit both China (Beijing,Hong Kong, Taiwan) and Japan.
Difficult to choose. My acquiantance in Ukraine stresses the importance of Russian, my Chinese friend\'s wife (who lives in Beijing) stresses the importance of Chinese, but the interest for Japanese remains so that next time in Osaka, I can take the metro without getting lost. (Eigo-wakarimasen). To know the above-mentioned languages well enough you should go and live in either Russia, China or Japan.
▲ Collapse
| | | | Domenico Gio (X)
Spain
Local time: 22:18
Spanish to German
+ ...
| Why your´re going so far? | Jul 23, 2002 |
Shouldn´t we try to command our own languages as good as possible before we go that far.
| | | | Parrot
Spain
Local time: 22:18
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Japanese is feasible, | Jul 23, 2002 |
pays well, trades well (no collection problems), and satisfies certain intellectual needs (I haven\'t tried Chinese, of course, but having to learn all over four times how to write my name is too much for me). Still, I have a rather low-demand Far Eastern language already, and I observe that almost everytime something comes up in it, I\'m already up to my neck in work.
| | | | aivars
Argentina
Local time: 17:18
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | great answers , tough choice still | Jul 24, 2002 |
Cecilia, you almost convinced with your down-to-earth approach (which sort of originated the discussion). Further, my search also has to do with some intellectual need (some find satisfaction in learning complex tasks e.g. play the violin)
Dogi, to improve one’s mother tongue or second language, is another valid option. Still, it might be more profitable to be proficient in an \"exotic\" language rather than be a master , let’s say in Spanish. Perfection, is seldom requi... See more Cecilia, you almost convinced with your down-to-earth approach (which sort of originated the discussion). Further, my search also has to do with some intellectual need (some find satisfaction in learning complex tasks e.g. play the violin)
Dogi, to improve one’s mother tongue or second language, is another valid option. Still, it might be more profitable to be proficient in an \"exotic\" language rather than be a master , let’s say in Spanish. Perfection, is seldom required.
And there is the issue of attraction to remoteness, which I have.
Jane , pardon my ignorance, which I try not to conceal; I thought that there were 2 big Chinese \"languages or dialects\" , Mandarin and Cantonese, one sounding sweeter than the other. I will look into the matter after your comment.
Williamson, never could I have thought that Latvian (my blood) was a demanded language.
BWB, I am more interested in the Japanese culture but some say that the Chinese might be the next big players in the world. And everybody would like to be in good terms with the big players as is the case with English now
▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
| Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese | Jul 24, 2002 |
Currently, there are mainly two versions of Chinese: Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. Simplified Chniese is used in China and Singapore, Traditional Chinese is used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Simplified Chinese is the result of reducing some strokes from the traditional characters to make it simpler to remember and write.
for more information, you can visit my Chinese... See more Currently, there are mainly two versions of Chinese: Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. Simplified Chniese is used in China and Singapore, Traditional Chinese is used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Simplified Chinese is the result of reducing some strokes from the traditional characters to make it simpler to remember and write.
for more information, you can visit my Chinese FAQ page at http://www.asiana.com/faqs.html where I answer some questions frequestly asked by Chinese learners outside China.
▲ Collapse
| | | | PaulaMac (X)
French to English
+ ...
| Perfection is seldom required?? | Jul 24, 2002 |
Re Aviars response:
\"Dogi, to improve one’s mother tongue or second language, is another valid option. Still, it might be more profitable to be proficient in an \"exotic\" language rather than be a master , let’s say in Spanish. Perfection, is seldom required.\"
Well, I guess you could settle for profitability, aim for mediocrity and open a business called Approximate Translations. A professional translator masters a language, and although perfecti... See more Re Aviars response:
\"Dogi, to improve one’s mother tongue or second language, is another valid option. Still, it might be more profitable to be proficient in an \"exotic\" language rather than be a master , let’s say in Spanish. Perfection, is seldom required.\"
Well, I guess you could settle for profitability, aim for mediocrity and open a business called Approximate Translations. A professional translator masters a language, and although perfection is impossible, strives for the highest possible quality. Anything less is a disservice to the client. ▲ Collapse
| | | | williamson (X)
Local time: 22:18
Dutch to English
+ ...
All employees working at an airline are entitled to airline-discount and some employees don\'t have to pay for their flights. When the latter is the case, far becomes near: going on a weekend from Europe to Japan and back and pratical exercise of the language during the weekend becomes feasible.
Latvian: Have an announcement of an \"Open Competition PE/...\" for the European Parliament. In the European Institutions every country is entitled to the use of its own language. Latvia is no... See more All employees working at an airline are entitled to airline-discount and some employees don\'t have to pay for their flights. When the latter is the case, far becomes near: going on a weekend from Europe to Japan and back and pratical exercise of the language during the weekend becomes feasible.
Latvian: Have an announcement of an \"Open Competition PE/...\" for the European Parliament. In the European Institutions every country is entitled to the use of its own language. Latvia is not a member yet, but as an optional language (marks are only added if you pass the test on the other (three first obligatory languages) as such open competition, you can choose Latvian, Lithouanian, Hungarian, Polish...
Preparation for extension on under way. From Ireland to the Russian border (with a Russian enclave: Kaliningrad) and from Gibraltar to Narvik. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | More info about Latvian? | Jul 24, 2002 |
Hi Willamson,
Could you post more info about the Latvian competition?
Thanks,
Daina
| | |
|
|
|
Parrot
Spain
Local time: 22:18
Spanish to English
+ ...
| The conquest of the EU | Jul 24, 2002 |
is a lifelong campaign that should be started young. It is admittedly the biggest, most active internal translation/interpretation market (as against monolingual areas), but official selection criteria in a welfare-oriented environment leave much to be desired. Remember that they will retire judges \"just when\" they reach the \"age of Solomonic wisdom\", and the same tends to apply to just about every other profession. Right now, for instance, those with the best chances of making it are native... See more is a lifelong campaign that should be started young. It is admittedly the biggest, most active internal translation/interpretation market (as against monolingual areas), but official selection criteria in a welfare-oriented environment leave much to be desired. Remember that they will retire judges \"just when\" they reach the \"age of Solomonic wisdom\", and the same tends to apply to just about every other profession. Right now, for instance, those with the best chances of making it are native Turkish, Polish, Latvian, Lithuanian, etc. speakers of around 24, who stand a good chance of being subsidised until they\'re on top (the cut-off age limit is 35). The problem is, how many people have discovered their talents and true vocation at 24? And even when they have the language skills, do they have the ideal specialisation? And if you\'re not a citizen of the areas concerned, how do you get around the \"positive discrimination\"?
A Gaelic-speaking Irish colleague once aired his interest in learning something like Swahili. I imagine, if he could stabilise a mainstay market (I believe he already had German as a source with English and Gaelic as targets) he could virtually come to control the Swahili>Gaelic combination. Its hard to bargain with someone who doesn\'t need the job and yet seems to be the only one in a position to solve something as exotic. A Dutch colleague of mine, for instance, has Japanese apart from the usual English/Spanish/French/German as a source, and he doesn\'t blink at asking 18 cents for general information texts.
Just thoughts. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Francis Fine
United States
Local time: 13:18
Chinese to English
+ ...
| two approaches to any attempt to answer this question. | Jul 24, 2002 |
These two approaches are: 1)job opportunities first and interest second. 2) the other way around.
To learn a foreign language, both are important. But in choosing your next target language, one should see different emphasis and priorities.
If job opportunities are more important, I would think one should learn languages closer to your mother tongue, so that progress comes more easily. Chinese (esp. in written form) is so fundamentally different from languages... See more These two approaches are: 1)job opportunities first and interest second. 2) the other way around.
To learn a foreign language, both are important. But in choosing your next target language, one should see different emphasis and priorities.
If job opportunities are more important, I would think one should learn languages closer to your mother tongue, so that progress comes more easily. Chinese (esp. in written form) is so fundamentally different from languages based on alphabet, that the beginning stages are rather slow. I know and know of many excellent Chinese-speaking Westerners (US Ambassador S. Leighton to China in the mid-1940s, for example) but have yet to meet a Westerner who can write a good personal letter in Chinese.
The second approach -- putting interest above profit -- is different. Then, I would say: \"Every little bit counts.\" And every little bit is enjoyed and made into a new success towards your goal, towards your love. With modern tools, esp. with specialist translation (instead of translation of literary works) one could still do translation in a language other than your mother tongue. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Parrot
Spain
Local time: 22:18
Spanish to English
+ ...
| To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Which language would you study as an investment? | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
| | Protemos translation business management system | Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!
The system lets you keep client/vendor database, with contacts and rates, manage projects and assign jobs to vendors, issue invoices, track payments, store and manage project files, generate business reports on turnover profit per client/manager etc.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
