Global Journal of Human Social Science, G: Linguistics and Education, Volume 23 Issue 8

be recommended by three full members and vetted by the vetting committee. Members in this category shall not hold office. (2017, p.2) In a similar vein, Gouadec says that good translators should share the following qualities and competencies: 1. Absolutely perfect mastery of the languages used, and especially the target language; 2. Multi-cultural competence, either by upbringing or by education – 'culture' being meant here to include culture in its widest sense, but also technical culture, business culture, corporate culture, etc. 3. Perfect familiarity with the domains they specialise in (either through their initial education and training, or – more probably – through self-tuition; 4. An absolute knowledge of what translation means, what it requires, and what it implies; 5. No interest in proving that they are better translators than the next person: they are simply interested in doing their job as professionally as possible. (p. 150). Indeed, a competent translator must have a good command of his or her working languages and should be familiar with several cultures. Translation is not only a lexical transfer but it is also a cultural transfer. The knowledge of the cultural realities of the target language is critically important. A translator who does not know the cultural realities of the target language is not likely to do an accurate job. Of course, this is a functionalist approach to translation. An example of cultural realities in translation was given by Kpogue (2021) in her MA Dissertation entitled: ETUDE DES POSSIBILITIES DE TRADUCTION DES TERMES ET LEXIES TIRES DES ACTES DE L'ETAT CIVIL ET DES DIPLOMES. In this dissertation, she describes the plight of a translator who was requested by two students to translate into English a degree called Baccalauréat. One of the students was traveling to Ghana to further his studies while the other one was going to attend a tertiary education programme in South Africa. The translator used the term A'Levels as an equivalent of Baccalauréat in both cases. This was a mistake because the National Senior Certificate seems to be the best equivalent of Baccalauréat in the South African educational system, while the West African Senior Secondary Certificate of Examination (WASSCE) seems to be the best equivalent of Baccalauréat in Ghana (Kpoguè 2020, p.41). As we all know, A' Levels are a college or sixth form leaving qualification offered in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. As a result, the terms used in the various countries are different and the translator should be aware of these. Therefore, there is a need for translators to have multicultural competence. The question of specialisation is equally important in translation. Quite often, freelance translators move from one conference to another though the issues discussed in these conferences are different and technical. Given that most conferences are attended by experts who make presentations on scientific and technical topics and issues, it is necessary for translators to specialise and/or read widely on these issues to understand the technical terms and concepts. Having said that, it is important to note that in the African context, a translator who sticks to his or her area of specialisation may not earn enough money. Given that the industries are not developed in most African countries, they are unlikely to provide enough opportunities to translators who decide to work exclusively in these industries. Should translators work alone or in a team whether they specialise or not? Working alone or in a team A translator working alone receives the document, carries out research on key terms, concepts, and phraseology, translates, and revises it. This situation is prevalent in many small companies in Africa where there is only one translator who translates from and into two languages. The translator is both a reviser and a self-reviser. This means that s/he revises translations done by independent translators and revises his or her own translations. It is not an ideal situation because errors may find their way in the translations but the translator may not see them. Translation is teamwork. Gouadec notes that ''Teamwork is now gradually becoming the norm in translation companies and is also becoming more widespread among freelance translator networks.'' (Ibid, p. 106) The author uses the term 'Assembly-line translation' to refer to a situation where various tasks and functions are allotted to different specialist operators including someone who is in charge of preparing the document (separating text from code, extracting the terminology, extracting the graphics, etc.), a terminologist and phraseologist, a translator, an information supplier (who supplies the scientific and technical language-specific information), a keyboard operator, proof-readers and quality controllers, testers and someone who is in charge of readying the document for delivery or publication. Another issue of importance is what it takes to set up shop as a freelance translator. Setting up shop as a freelance translator The materials and equipment listed by Gouadec to start freelance translators off include a comfortable or ergonomic seat, phone, scanner, computer, dedicated hard disc for backup, sound equipment, software that reads PDF files, software for word counts and invoicing, search engines, backup Internet access providers, spreadsheets, http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1. html highly recommended to create and share online glossaries, a database management software, a firewall and anti-virus, a software for file zipping and unzipping, Opportunities and Challenges Facing the Profession of Translator in Africa © 2023 Global Journals Volume XXIII Issue VIII Version I 105 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 G