I've been working as a freelance translator since 2003, and I've had enough of ups and downs in my career. I learned some things the hard way, I successfully avoided some dreadful pitfalls, but still I'm just beginning to understand what it takes to be a good translator. I can't say I'm perfect, can't even say that I'm as good as I'd like to be, but I'm trying my best. And there are skills that I consider to be the most important, if not essential for a translator, so the earlier you get and start to develop them, the better it will be for you and your clients.

So, what are those skills?

1. Using of synonyms

There are scads of translators who'd use one and only translation for each word. Food is always food; girl is always a girl; a home is always a home. There are, however, many variants of most words in every language: some have slightly different shades of meanings or tone, some are plain rare and unused, some fit for special texts only. But the more synonyms you know, the better you can pick them, and rightly picked synonyms can become real pearls and diamonds sparkling in your text. And the earlier you start using them, the better you'll be at it.

So that's the first important skill every translator should develop: looking for synonyms and using them.

2. Researching

Once again, I've seen enough, even more than enough translators who don't even think of researching. They're quite sure that if they don't know how to translate a word or a phrase, and there's no such article in the dictionary, they can just skip it or write something they think to have the closest meaning.

However, one part of a translator's job is to fully understand what a foreign text is about; and sometimes even the best dictionary won't help you. A good translator must learn to google (both texts and images), use wikis and other sources of information. There will be times when you'll have to ask other people for help: they can be either native speakers or just specialists in the needed field. Luckily enough, it's quite easy now to ask a total stranger about something over the Internet - there are plenty of forums, Facebook groups and other communities for translators.

So learn to research in any way you can, and don't be shy or lazy. That's what translators are for: to let people know what people don't.

3. Thinking about the readers

There are times when the text you need to translate seems to be written by a machine. Heavy constructions, long abstruse sentences full of gobbledegook - it's hard even to read it, let alone translating. Many translators would just go easy on themselves. They'd say something like, 'Oh, I'm just a humble translator; the author decided to express himself like that, so I'll write the same gibberish, only in my own language. Meh'.

This might be the hardest choice a translator has to do: whether to follow the author's style or try and adapt your text to the realities of your Motherland. I'd say, a translator is meant to make people understand things; and if you produce a text which is hard to read and hard to understand, then you're not making your job right. Sometimes you'll have to translate not just from a foreign language to your own (or vise versa), but also from the language of bureaucratese into the human language.

So don't be afraid to alter things, to make the text easier and more conversational, especially if there's something common and universal (like electric kettles) described in it. Read the text carefully, try to understand it and then write as if you were explaining it to someone in your own words. Think of the people who are going to read your translation - you need to make them understand, not to confuse them even more with unnecessary heavy words. If time permits, it might be a good idea to leave the completed translation for a day or two and then check it over once again.

4. Using the dictionary

As obvious as it may seem, every translator should learn to use a dictionary, and use it whenever possible. I hope you've never met those people who insist that a good translator doesn't need any dictionaries at all... The truth is, the more dictionaries you have and the more often you use them, the better your translations will be.

I strongly recommend you use the dictionaries even for looking up words you seem to know. First of all, you might find some rarely used synonyms (see point 1), and sometimes you'll find quite a different meaning of a word, which is going to be much more suitable for the text you're writing.

So that's another skill to have and to develop: not imagining your work without a dictionary.

5. Reading, watching, listening, talking in a foreign language

Books, press, movies, TV, music, chats, talking to people - all those things will prove to be an immense help in your work. They're mostly relaxing, but they will increase your word stock, make you remember different figures of speech and situations they're used in; they will help you learn to express your thoughts better - so it's imperative for every translator to broaden his (or her) outlook. The things mentioned need time to show their effectiveness, so the earlier you start, the better.

Being a translator is not easy. There's always someone who 'knows better' or someone who'd 'translate it in the other way'. Still, you don't have to listen to each and every 'well-wisher' and those who think of themselves as critics. All you have to do is your job: to understand clearly and make others understand as well. Develop your translator skills and do your best at all times - and you should be fine.

Natalia Veselova: freelance article writer and a professional translator. http://nataliaveselova.weebly.com/