Translation School, Graduate School, or Work?

Graduate School
1

<p>I am a rising sophomore in college who aspires to be a Japanese and Korean translator; specifically, I want to subtitle television shows, movies, dramas, music, and the like. I am currently taking Japanese classes at my university and studying Korean on my own. The only graduate school that offers translation degrees in Japanese and Korean is the Monterey Institute of International Studies; to keep my options open, however, should I apply for Masters programs in Japanese and Korean in addition to the Monterey Institute and media companies during my senior year? </p>

<p>Extra Info: I am planning to spend a semester each in both Japan and Korea (don't think it's possible to spend a year in each but I haven't talked to a Study Abroad Advisor yet). However, my mom is terrified of the thought, but I have to convince her before I begin the application process in the fall. This summer, I plan on reviewing/studying the languages through children's books, textbooks, and watching television dramas.</p>

<p>Any advice is greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Bump. Anyone?</p>

3

<p>Its admirable that you want to do that but from the translators I know especially in Korean they have special translator schools in the country. A masters in the language will not prepare you for that, what would be better is you get a masters degree in one of the countries and a translator certification there and then come back to the states and get a translating degree.</p>

4

<p>Being a translator requires a level of language competence well beyond that which most people attain just from college courses and self-study. You will probably need to decide between Japanese and Korean to reach the level of fluency you will need to be a translator (you can learn both languages, but the needed level of proficiency will be difficult enough to achieve in just one). I would imagine a semester of immersion via Study Abroad in either language would be insufficient to give you the familiarity with the idioms of the language you would need; a year would be a more realistic minimum, with most people having spent significantly more time than that in country.</p>

<p>If you should choose to focus on Japanese, another program focused on translation is the summer program at Western Michigan:
[Summer</a> Translation Institute | Foreign Languages | Western Michigan University](<a href=“http://www.wmich.edu/languages/summertranslation/]Summer”>http://www.wmich.edu/languages/summertranslation/)</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>