Making my Spanish reimbursement proposal : )

[caliber1]

At work, there is an older lady who is our best translator but I think she will be retiring fairly soon. After that there isn't really anyone who would be a tranlsator. I went and talked to our office manager and ran the idea by him of taking some Spanish classes and improving my Spanish to become fluent enough to translate. The answer back was to give him and the general manager a written proposal for them to review and then they would talked about it. I wan't to kind of give them a drawn out game plan of how I plan to do this.

So my question is, should I take some acredited classes through a college or should I look at a school that specializes in Spanish as a second language. I have both options near by. I don't think that my boss would care what I wrote down, this is more for my learning benefit.

Thoughts?

[chileno]

Get a school that specializes in Spanish as a Second Language and between that and here you'll be ready in a short time, depending on how seriously you take it. And by that, I don't mean exactly as the time you invest in it but your enthusiasm

[caliber1]

That's what I was thinking too Chileno. I am very enthusiastic. I haven't taken any schooling. Everything I know is from actual life experience. I know a bunch of weird funny things that no one would learn in school, but I don't have any of the actual understanding of why certain things are the way they are. I guess I'm looking at school to kind of "tune-up" my Spanish because the more I learn the more I love it. I'm a little nervous though. I don't mind talking to people I know in Spanish, but if I don't know them I can get a little embarassed. I can get over that quickly though because I know I will be in a speaking environment primarily.

PS I already have a texting group of native Spanish speaker set up. About 20 or so that I text in Spanish to get help and just practice.

[ROBINDESBOIS]

Bravo, así me gusta ese entusiamo.

[aleCcowaN]

Well, I would say that your constant participation in these fora itself vouches for your commitment

[Glen]

Was the older lady a translator (of the written word) or interpreter (of the spoken word)? Two very different undertakings, each with its own set of skills. Some people are better at one than the other, or prefer one over the other, but they really are separate tasks.
I always do a double take when someone in a public place asks me to translate (rather than interpret) what another is saying; if there is time afterwards I do try to point out the difference, if they're interested in knowing.
Anyway, Good Luck with the proposal!

[caliber1]

Originally Posted by Glen

Was the older lady a translator (of the written word) or interpreter (of the spoken word)? Two very different undertakings, each with its own set of skills. Some people are better at one than the other, or prefer one over the other, but they really are separate tasks.
I always do a double take when someone in a public place asks me to translate (rather than interpret) what another is saying; if there is time afterwards I do try to point out the difference, if they're interested in knowing.
Anyway, Good Luck with the proposal!

I think she was more of an interpreter, but she can do both. She was born in the US but was raised in a Spanish speaking home and she speaks perfectly in either. She says she can write in either language, but I have only heard her interpret however. I just see a good opportunity, and I wan't to make myself as useful as possible. Plus I'm getting an accounting degree so that mixed with being bilingual would make me pretty marketable out there.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Good luck, BJ! =)

[poli]

Also tranlating and interpreting can be considerably more simple is the field
you are in is narrow, and the subject matter you must interpret is of limited variety. I am often the middle man between and English-speaking physician and a Spanish-speaking patient. My fluent Spanish is far from perfect, but I am sucessful interpreting in the medical field. However, in other fields I am sure I would have less success unless I rehearsed ahead of time.

[Profesoradeespañol]

Hello,
I think that the best way is to learn yourself. A teacher can organise and guide you, it is of course a huge help. But it is you who have to spend hours learning.