English/French Personal Statement Example

"If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a somewhat different world." This quote by Ludwig Wittgenstein reflects exactly how and why I feel so passionate about the many languages around the world. I believe that every language allows you to look upon the world through the eyes of that language. My fascination towards English, Turkish and French, in particular, is closely related to this. I believe that every language, besides helping us communicate, helps us understand the people of that language. I also believe that there are some hidden perspectives behind communication thus making you observe a completely different world. This is why I want to become a translator and/or interpreter. So I can unearth this hidden perspective that the spoken or written language is concealing from us. I am bilingual speaker of both English and Turkish thus I have experienced life through the eyes of both cultures. I believe that knowing more than one language help you see different things that

speakers of other languages may not see. Ever since I could talk I was translating and interpreting for my mother, who can only speak Turkish. With this I have found that I have fun interpreting for others and I understood that I would enjoy doing this as a job therefore I decided to pick interpreting and translating as a profession. My main inspiration for wanting to study translation and interpretation is connected to the beauty of the languages. English, Turkish and French has always intrigued me like no other language has. I also see languages as the building blocks of communication and interaction between civilisations and that the more you know the more you can communicate with others. English, Turkish and French literatures have also inspired me to learn the language as well as motivating me for the future. I believe it's better to read a book in its original language. English, Turkish and French all three of these languages are so rich in their vocabulary that I have always been interested in exploring different meanings of the same word. I have always enjoyed being able to express the same feeling or thought in numerous other ways. Life is a challenge in itself but I always like to have that bit of more challenge in life to keep my motivation and hard work in order to succeed. To me especially interpreting is a challenge. I have always been amazed at people who do simultaneous interpretation and I wish to become one myself. Over the past years I have been working in multiple places doing translation from English to Turkish and Turkish to English. This has not only made me more interested with Translation but it has also helped me improve my linguistic ability both in English and Turkish. I want to continue my studies in the UK for many reasons. Not only is it a good opportunity, but also with the UK being so close to France it will provide me with the opportunity to travel to France on regular occasions to practise my French. I have lived in the UK before therefore I will not have any problems with adapting and making new friends. Studying translation and interpretation in university will not only allow me to practice translating and interpreting as a job but in the future if I wish I could also become a teacher or branch out to other aspects of work which require the use of multiple languages. With the many opportunities that come with knowing a new language, one can do many things. Knowing both English and Turkish has truly made life easier in many aspects and I believe that knowing another language such as French, which is now one of the most spoken languages in the world, will open many more doors. The world is becoming one big village and the need for translators and interpreters increase every day. Given the opportunity I wish to be part of this village helping people to better communicate.