Poll: If you could switch to a new language pair overnight, would you?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Oct 25, 2019

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "If you could switch to a new language pair overnight, would you?".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 22:53
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other (Overnight? Are you kidding me?) Oct 25, 2019

I don’t believe this kind of thing is possible, as it took me many years to learn my working languages and I’m still learning every day (am I a slow learner?). Anyway, I wouldn’t switch but if I was younger I’d like to add a new language pair: DE-PT.

Ventnai
Mónica Algazi
Zibow Retailleau
Philip Lees
 
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 23:53
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
No Oct 25, 2019

Why should I?

In fact, I also know German and French, but do not use them professionally.
I have chosen not to, because I have enough work in my current language pair EN-DA and prefer to do that really well.

[Edited at 2019-10-25 11:20 GMT]


Sumaiya Nishat
Iwona Budzynska MCIL
Tom in London
neilmac
 
Noni Gilbert Riley
Noni Gilbert Riley
Spain
Local time: 23:53
Spanish to English
+ ...
Certainly not Oct 25, 2019

My language pair comes with a vast amount of cultural baggage which enables me to take on many of the projects that I do, and that cultural baggage is behind much of the "way I am". No thanks, there's obviously plenty of room for improvement, but I quite like myself this "way I am".

Tom in London
Alexandra Speirs
Kay Denney
Philip Lees
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:53
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Yes Oct 25, 2019

Aramaic to Japanese

 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 23:53
Spanish to English
+ ...
Yes Oct 25, 2019

Probably Russian to English, as my degree is in Russian but I never really get to use it, and I think there could be opportunities for a seasoned translator in that pair. Of course, I need a refresher in Russian first, and probably to spend some time in the country, which isn't really an option for me nowadays.

 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 23:53
French to English
. Oct 25, 2019

I'm going to take it that there would be a magical element in this, that I could go to sleep wishing I could translate in a different pair, and naming it, and waking up fluent in those languages.

So, yes, sure I would. I'd go for some exotic language with less competition than in my banal FR-EN. An Indian language maybe, I'm always fascinated by the way they natter on in Indian stores. I'd love to be able to speak Italian too, and while I'm at it I would love to magically brush up
... See more
I'm going to take it that there would be a magical element in this, that I could go to sleep wishing I could translate in a different pair, and naming it, and waking up fluent in those languages.

So, yes, sure I would. I'd go for some exotic language with less competition than in my banal FR-EN. An Indian language maybe, I'm always fascinated by the way they natter on in Indian stores. I'd love to be able to speak Italian too, and while I'm at it I would love to magically brush up on my smattering of German and Spanish.
Collapse


 
Kevin Fulton
Kevin Fulton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 18:53
German to English
Only to a language pair that paid a higher rate Oct 25, 2019

Otherwise it wouldn't be worth it at all.

Gulnara Krokhaleva
 
Edith van der Have
Edith van der Have
Netherlands
Local time: 23:53
Member (2016)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Useful mind game Oct 26, 2019

Teresa Borges wrote:

I don’t believe this kind of thing is possible, as it took me many years to learn my working languages and I’m still learning every day (am I a slow learner?). Anyway, I wouldn’t switch but if I was younger I’d like to add a new language pair: DE-PT.

It's just a mental game; these kind of questions can be quite revealing about what you want, find important, etc. and can help find goals to work toward - on a bit longer time scale


 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 15:53
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Not at this point in my career Oct 27, 2019

If I were a lot younger, I would build up my French, but at this point I'm more than happy with the pairs I have now.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 19:53
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Maybe, but hardly Oct 28, 2019

I think there are pairs with higher demand and better rates, such as Chinese-English. But I'm not really sure, and since my pair has an excellent demand, It would be pretty hard to change.

 
Annamaria Amik
Annamaria Amik  Identity Verified
Local time: 00:53
Romanian to English
+ ...
Depends on what switching means Oct 28, 2019

If switching means:
- learning a new language overnight at a native or at least near-native level and also
- acquiring expertise in the fields I'm interested in,
oh yesss, I would switch to at least ten different language pairs.


 


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Poll: If you could switch to a new language pair overnight, would you?






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