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Interpreters and Translators

Interpret oral or sign language, or translate written text from one language into another.

Key skills

Follow ethical codes that protect the confidentiality of information.
Translate messages simultaneously or consecutively into specified languages, orally or by using hand signs, maintaining message content, context, and style as much as possible.
Listen to speakers' statements to determine meanings and to prepare translations, using electronic listening systems as necessary.
Compile terminology and information to be used in translations, including technical terms such as those for legal or medical material.
Refer to reference materials, such as dictionaries, lexicons, encyclopedias, and computerized terminology banks, as needed to ensure translation accuracy.
Check translations of technical terms and terminology to ensure that they are accurate and remain consistent throughout translation revisions.
Identify and resolve conflicts related to the meanings of words, concepts, practices, or behaviors.
Compile information on content and context of information to be translated and on intended audience.
Adapt translations to students' cognitive and grade levels, collaborating with educational team members as necessary.
Check original texts or confer with authors to ensure that translations retain the content, meaning, and feeling of the original material.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.