Why is one who translates a translator but one who interprets an interpreter? i.e. when to use 'or' or 'er'

Answer 1

As someone suggested earlier, when a word ends a certain way, the rules deviate in pattern for example -
Translate, dictate, create, sense, subjugate, conquer, advise etc (which mostly seem to end in "e") ...
when the word functions change, and they go from a verb to a noun then the endings become "ors". (translators, dictators, creators, sensors, subjugator, conqueror)
With other words which seem to follow a pattern of no "e" at the end, they change in the following way when the verb is made into a noun-
deal - dealer
heal - healer
paint - painter
teach - teacher
note that this ending is the most common ending, you can add this suffix "er" to almost any verb to make it a noun.
i tried wikipedia to help look up reasons why certain words end this way, but i'm only left to my logical conclusions. one last thing, sometimes there is no logical pattern for a particular part of grammar, the basic rule of language is that it is arbitrary (made of random rules, made up is the key factor). Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Is this a serious question?

Here's the answer: In English, there are no rules. It's a free for all. We like it that way. Non-native speakers never get it right, and you can pick them out a mile away. Also, you can spot the people who have poor photographic memory or don't read much because they type things like "interpretor" or "translater".

Now, there are vague and complex relationships at work here, and someone who was a more apt student of linguistics could probably point out some interesting generalities. Perhaps the "or" suffix is from Greek and older words that came straight from Greek tend to have it. But there is no rule, we just memorize it all.

Answer 3

I'm not aware of any rule about this. This could be some spelling convention that isn't well-known. I think there might even be some words where both -er and -or are possible.

I like the answer right before mine; it seems to make sense.
I also kind of like Ebee's implication that it could be based on the roots of the words, but the assertion that Benjamin Franklin invented American English is false. Everyday people invent languages in their communities; they don't read about them in books. Benjamin Franklin was surely just writing down things that people were already saying.

Answer 4

The verbs, "to translate," and "to interpret have different endings. Therefore the 'ate' ending goes to 'ator' and the 'pret' changes to 'ter.' ie. using the same vowel endings with
-er verbs, and moving the ending of an -ar verb. Much like in Spanish, or most any other foreign language.

Of course, American English is derived from many ancient languages and European English...and was invented by Benjamin Franklin. He also put into publication the new nation's very first American Dictionary. Tell that one to your English Teacher...

Hope I was clear enough.

Answer 5

I think that a translator would deal with written language, and an interpreter would be able to 'translate' the spoken word live.

Answer 6

Our UK spelling is illogical.

Seemingly we have 1,100 different ways to spell 44 different sounds, more than any other language

http://www.say-it-in-english.com/SpellHome.html

Answer 7

duz it or doing it