I'm interested in applying for a postgraduate course in conference interpretation. My native language is Croatian and I speak English, Italian and French fluently. Croatian would be my A language, but I'm not sure which one of the above should be my B and my C language. I'm most fluent in English (I've been using it every day for 4 years since my partner is a native English speaker), I would say it's on a C1/C2 level (based on a 2 year old IELTS test score, my English is on a C1 level, however it has improved greatly since then). My Italian is also somewhere in the C1/C2 range, I hold a BA degree in Italian and I've lived in Italy for 2 years; I just need more practice. My French is not as good. I've studied in France for a year and achieved a B2 level of fluency. While I am able to completely understand written French, I have problems comprehending the language when it is spoken (especially because there are so many dialects and some are really hard to understand). What would your advice be? What should be my B and C language? Also, I was wondering if one could add to their list of languages later on. I was thinking of avoiding French all-together, as I don't feel too confident with the language. At a later point, and provided my French improves with time and practice, would I be able to have it officially recognized as one of my C languages or is one essentially "stuck" with languages which have been declared initially. Thanks! |
If any of your not-A languages is up to B level, it obviously should be the one you master the best, i.e. English. CZ A, EN B, IT C is a good start. Charles University Prague should be offering your language combination. Considering the description you give of your French level, it's not a C language. But you can work on that, either now or later. If you end up working for the EU as a freelancer or staff, you'll be given the opportunity to take additional exams to officially add new languages to your combination. Also, you can apply for tests with languages that you didn't work with during your studies. Studies merely teach you the interpreting technique, not the languages. I for instance had an ACC combination in school, English & German -> French. But I applied and passed with English & Hungarian -> French. Thanks a lot for your reply. But just to correct you, my native language isn't Czech, it's Croatian (HRV), so I can't study my combinations in Prague. But I'm really happy to hear that it's possible to add other languages (once I improve them) to the list.
(29 Apr '13, 11:12)
coonskie
1
Sorry, sorry, sorry! I've read too fast. Here's the 'school finder' page, very useful: http://aiic.net/directories/schools/ There might be some other schools too, but not yet referenced on the website. Usually, there is at least one school offering conference interpreting courses per country / language region.
(29 Apr '13, 11:24)
Gaspar ♦♦
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