Certified body governance has the potential to change the delivery of translation and/or interpretation services. Becoming a certified translator and/or interpreter is something you can do as a linguist to enhance your ability to get hired as a freelance linguist, especially as more and more translation and/or interpreting organizations around the world are focusing on translation and/or interpretation certifications to keep this industry organized.
A lot of unorganized linguists and linguist agencies will add value to their services being provided after such accreditation and this will help this industry to become more organized and deliver quality services. Ad hoc management and frauds by linguists is especially prevalent in case of linguists without a track record in the business for which the accreditation governance should come in real fast. This will force unorganized agencies and individuals to close their shutters.
Before I talk about some common process being followed with becoming a certified translator and/or interpreter, I feel the need to address a question that should be popping up in your mind. That question is whether or not you should go through these steps to be certified by an accredited body in your country or abroad as this requires a significant amount of time, as well as money. As a part of the translation and/or interpretation agency I would give a priority to the translators who are recognized and certified by accredited bodies and forums as this will help us to provide quality assurance to the clients and will give credibility to us.
The accreditation body and forums are responsible for setting and monitoring the standards for translating and interpreting profession. They mostly certify the linguist, if the linguist:
Pass an accreditation test
Successfully complete a course in translation and/or interpreting with a reputed university or body
Provide evidence of a specialized qualification in translation and/or interpreting obtained from a recognized educational institution
Is a member of a recognized international linguist portal like PROZ, Translator Cafe etc?
Provide references
Freelance translators and/or interpreters who deals with translation and/or interpretation agencies should set for a major shakeout with country’s accreditation authorities or any recognized body to get themselves certified. You can choose amongst a lot of accredited bodies to take certifications. For example, In the United States, there is an agency called the American Translators Association, which accredits translators in various language pairs. The National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters Ltd (trading as NAATI) is the national standards and accreditation body for translators and interpreters in Australia. Similarly, there would be in your country or you may take accreditation’s from the bodies more popular than your country. Also, there are other benefits of being associated with an accredited body ; finding glossary, arrival of new translation CAT tools, translation related terms, latest news of translation industry, list of black listed companies, individual scammers etc.