In 2014 we have a charming and talented new addition to our team: our new language and translation intern, Hloni. You can find Hloni hard at work in the office lending her extensive South African languages expertise to a variety of language, translation and editing briefs. You can also follow Hloni’s exciting journey on the Bangula Blog. Her first steps into her journey are posted here:
I couldn’t stop pinching myself when I received an email from my only prospective boss at the time, Han, who told me that I had been appointed as an intern at Bangula Lingo Centre. I am grateful for this opportunity and will forever be.
In the month that I have been with Bangula, I have learnt that being a language practitioner takes much more than knowing two or more languages. I have been told this by my language practitioner lecturers, of course, and have read it in my textbooks. But experiencing it first-hand has been a total eye-opener. I now truly understand that if I want to be a good language practitioner I need a paradigm shift as far as ‘work’ is concerned.
I have always thrived under pressure, but the language industry’s pressure is unlike the pressure I experienced at university. At university I could always console myself with something along this line: ‘It’s fine if you don’t get an A, Hloni; as long as you pass’. Now, I need to work hard because the texts I work with are not for MY grades; they are texts which will be consumed by people out there. At Bangula, every translation undergoes thorough quality checking. My involvement in this process, in just a month, has taught and retaught me that learning is imperative in the language practice field. I am glad I have a knack for languages – reading, translating, writing and analysing – because these skills will help me a great deal.
I am a work in progress and my journey into becoming a language practitioner has only just began; I can’t wait to share more of my experiences as an intern in the language field on this blog.
xxx
Comment from Bangula: Not only has Hloni received As for the three degrees she’s obtained so far; she’s passed her first month as an intern at Bangula with distinction.