By Meghan McCallum
Earlier this year, I was delighted to receive the news that I had passed the ATA French to English certification exam. I now have an official Certified Translator seal and the designation of “ATA-certified French to English translator” in my credentials. And, of course, I’m looking forward to sporting the “Certified” ribbon on my badge at ATA59 in October!
“You either have it or you don’t.” That’s what a lot of language professionals think about our profession. It’s what I thought when I was a university student studying abroad in France and I would listen to other American students speaking French, trying to determine if I was as good as they were. Ten years later, I decided for myself that I had a gift for languages—without anyone ever telling me so—and I decided to give freelance translation a try while living in Quebec City, Canada. It was only recently when I obtained the title of Certified Translator from the Corporation of Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters of New Brunswick (CTINB), however, that I felt that my opinion of myself was justified. While the road to certification was a bumpy one for me, it has turned out to be a positive and fulfilling experience that I would recommend to all translators, regardless of where you live.