The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Interpreter’s Profession”

Some violinist once said: “A good interpreter can take a piece of bad music and make it sound pretty decent”. To my mind, being an interpreter means being an artist. The same as the painter thoroughly selects colours for his masterpieces, the interpreter chooses the most suitable words and expressions in his speech but only in his case this time-consuming process is completed on the spot. As many other artistic professions, interpreting also has two sides of the coin which are advantages and disadvantages. But before that, what qualities apply to this profession? The interpreter is a person of great enterprise. He has got a craving for widening his scope, learning by experience and, thus, perfecting his skills. Of course, he needs to be competent, self-confident, and motivated and be ready to face up to immense responsibilities and think on his feet in case of any misunderstandings in this challenging and tough profession. Besides, it’s vitally essential for him to keep track of everything: historical events, places of interest, latest news and of course keep up with the changes in the language. Although one cannot know absolutely everything, the interpreter is an extremely curious person who takes special attention to updating his knowledge by any means and as long as he lives. Therefore, we’ve come to the greatest advantage of interpreting: it’s the opportunity to travel. If you asked me, I’d give my right arm for being an explorer of different cultures, minds and opinions. I’m very much into travelling and in several years to come I cannot imagine myself just sitting behind a desk and doing some clerical work, which is so tedious and routine that it bores me to death. I have every intention of getting acquainted with people from faraway lands, their habits, customs and ways of behavior. I find it so amazing to try to look at things from a different angle. I suppose such enjoyable experiences make a good influence on your all-round development and help