Sometimes our familiarity with a language does not extend to all topics we come across. For example, if you speak conversational Spanish, you might not feel quite comfortable writing an application for a leadership role to a company in Spain. AI can be used to successfully guide your writing, so that you are understood, and to develop your own professional use of the language.
It happens often that words and phrases in one language do not directly translate to another. AI is helpful for translating texts because it employs different strategies for code-switching in translation, including literal translation, substitution, and omission to handle vocabulary gaps and structural differences between languages (Alzain, 2024).
Tips for Using AI as a Translation Tool:
- Start with what you know
You are probably more capable than you think. Think about what you would like to write in your application, CV, etc. Try to begin writing; whether or not it’s correct, this will give you a jumping-off point. You can also write the application in a language you are more comfortable with (e.g., English or Norwegian) and copy this text into an AI tool. - Explain to the AI tool what you are looking for
Here is an example for an application: “Hi [you can include the name of the person if you know who you are emailing specifically],
My name is [your name]. I am a recent MSc graduate in [e.g., biology] from [e.g., NTNU]. I am looking for job opportunities where I can positively impact [e.g., marine conservation]. I am interested in the work [name of company] does with [e.g., blue forests/seagrasses]. If there is anyone I can reach out to about potentially joining this project or any other related projects, please let me know. I am attaching my CV.
Thank you for your time. I hope to hear from you.
Kind regards,
[your name/email signature]” - Keep the introduction short and to the point
Remember, it is not an interview – it’s just an inquiry. If you have a couple of short questions about the work the company does or about a specific project, you can include them in the email by stating that you had a couple of questions about [xyz].
There are also websites and tools that include AI translation as part of their services, such as Grammarly (Translation for Effortless Global Communication | Grammarly) and ChatGPT, which can provide translation assistance and refinement for professional writing across languages.
References:
Alzain, M. (2024). Code-Switching in Translation: Linguistic Analysis of Multilingual Texts and their
Translations. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation, 7(10), 119-134.
