Chirag Umakant Thakkar

Question and Answer

•  What is your name?
  • Chirag Umakant Thakkar
• Where do you live? 
  • India
• Years of experience as an interpreter or translator 
  • 28
• 2What made you decide to become a translator or interpreter?
  • I am interested in languages and books right from my childhood. I have taught languages in India and in UK. While teaching, I had to translate a lot for my students. So, for me, it was but natural to move towards translation, once I had certain economical security.
•  List one strength that you think sets you apart from your colleagues.
  • Basic technical knowledge of programming is handy for app localization projects.
• Name the one thing that you most enjoy in your translating or interpreting career.
  • When a translated book is printed with my name on the spine.
• We all have worked on those not-so-perfect assignments. Write about one such assignment that was not ideal and what you learned from it.
  • A book about alternative medicine was my not-so-perfect project. I learnt that my native language (Hindi and Gujarati) lacks many words of medical terminology.
• If you could go back in time to when you were just starting out as a translator or interpreter, what advice would you give to your younger self?
  • One can correct written pages, but not the blank pages, so the first draft is the most important one.
• Name one resource – such as a phone app, CAT tool, website, and so forth – that you find especially helpful in your translating or interpreting work.
  • www.Gujaratilexicon.com
• What’s the best book you’ve read this year?
  • Gandhi Ganga - compiled by Mahendra Meghani