The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2023 - 25

BUSINESS PRACTICES By Danielle Maxson
Among the things they
told me:
y Most of the respondents
can touch-type, as touchtyping
is traditionally
defined: using a keyboard
without looking at the
keys. We can further
assume that most touchtypists
use all 10 fingers to
type, rather than hunting
and pecking or favoring a
few fingers.
y Most of those who learned
touch-typing studied
it in middle school or
high school, often on a
typewriter instead of a
computer keyboard.
In Praise of Touch-Typing
The following was originally published on Next Level: The ATA Business Practices Blog. This initiative
by ATA's Business Practices Education Committee provides information for both freelancers and
company owners to use in all aspects of their careers, from improving their privacy protections to
planning for retirement.
T
he summer before I
entered fourth grade,
I was invited to join a
special summer program at
a local community college.
I had the opportunity to
choose two classes from
a range of offerings and,
for reasons I no longer
remember, chose drama and
touch-typing. The drama
class never did me much
good; I learned mainly that
I find singing and dancing
in front of strangers
excruciating. But the touchtyping
class was worth
its weight in gold. I can't
imagine how many hours it
saved me during my school
years as I wrote paper after
paper for teacher after
teacher. When I started
translating, I found the
limiting factor in my early
career was the speed of my
thought process, not the
speed of my fingers. Twelve
years later, I can think
faster than I can type, but
not by much.
Typing technique
may seem like a pretty
basic skill-too basic for
established professionals. At
least, that's what I thought
when I asked ATA's Business
Practices (BP) discussion
list how many members
knew how to touch-type.
How wrong I was: interest,
opinions, and stories flooded
my inbox in the best way.
Over 35 people weighed
in-an astonishing number
compared to everyday traffic
on the list-to give me an
unscientific picture of what
touch-typing means to
translators and interpreters.
y They generally agreed that
their touch-typing class
was one of the most useful
classes they ever took.
y Those who can touch-type
can't imagine working in
any other way.
y Respondents seemed to
show a bit of an age gap:
most of the touch-typists
were in their 40s or older,
while those who don't
touch-type tended to skew
younger. There was some
speculation that the advent
of smartphones and typing
on a small screen with two
thumbs has contributed to
the decline of touch-typing
among younger individuals.
A few of us mentioned
our children, who are
expected to use computers
extensively in school but
demonstrate idiosyncratic
typing methods, with little
to no standard touchtyping
skill.
" Business Practices " will alternate in this space with " The Entrepreneurial Linguist. " This column is not intended to constitute legal,
financial, or other business advice. Each individual or company should make its own independent business decisions and consult its own
legal, financial, or other advisors as appropriate. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of ATA or its Board of Directors.
www.ata-chronicle.online
American Translators Association 25

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The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2023

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