Recent U.S. involvement in the Middle East has created a growing
demand for translators to interpret documents for the government,
which could lead to job opportunities for UCLA students proficient
in Middle Eastern languages.
The National Virtual Translation Center, an agency providing
various branches of the federal government with translation
services, recently hired 400 linguists with expertise in Middle
Eastern and Far Eastern languages to help fill critically needed
translating positions.
Translators proficient in reading and writing as well as
dialects and idioms are needed to interpret documents that could
contain information regarding terrorist and security threats, said
Ed Cogswell, spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Michael Fishbein, an Arabic professor and undergraduate adviser
for the UCLA Near Eastern languages department, said the job market
for academic positions in languages is rocky because of the budget
crisis, but “given the U.S. involvement in the Middle East,
the market is solid for Arabic translation jobs.”
Enrollment and interest in Near Eastern language classes is
rising, but most students are not taking the courses in hopes of
becoming translators.
Arabic Professor Michael Cooperson said most undergraduates are
taking the Near Eastern languages to satisfy the foreign language
requirement or for personal fulfillment.
Cooperson added that students majoring in languages such as
Arabic usually double major in another field and do not depend on a
translation job after college.
Graduate student Natalie Michaylova said she is studying to
become an Arabic professor and she has no interest in a translation
job.
Most graduate students in the Near Eastern Languages department
are studying in fields such as education and research. Fishbein
said the graduate program at UCLA prepares students for academic
jobs rather than jobs as translators.
“In order to be a translator, you need to be good at two
languages. Your English has to be excellent. There’s no
guarantee that someone who does a Ph.D. will be a good
translator,” Fishbein said.
“Students who want to become translators should major in
the language and then go on to live in the country for more
practical training,” Fishbein added.
Liladhar Pendse, a fourth-year history student with a minor in
Arabic, said he noticed his elementary Arabic classes getting
fuller after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but enrollment in higher
level classes remained about the same.
Pendse, who is studying to become a librarian, said he would not
rule out taking a translation job if the opportunity arose.
“If the time and situation is right, I would not pass up
an opportunity to keep my country safe,” Pendse said.