Tuesday, 16 August 2011

Four Language Translation Alternatives, and Why You Should Hire a Professional


If your company sometimes needs documents to be interpreted from one language to another, then you may have a few options for getting your documents translated. One option is to use a software solution in which you type or paste in your source document and then let the software do the translation. Another strategy is a web-based service where your original text is entered into a texbox, which the web site translates. Beyond automation, it is always possible to have a person who speaks the target language perform the translation. Finally, you can hire a professional translation firm, which will employ professional translators to do the translation.

One popular software example is Babylon. Babylon is software you install locally, but that works with your Web browser to translate words. For example, when the software is running, you can click on a word or passage and the program will show you the translated version. This easy activation is very useful for someone who is not performing lengthy or complicated translations. The software can also provide related content from premium sources like Oxford and Britannica upon clicking on a word.

A well-know Web-only solution is Babel Fish, which is owned by Yahoo!. The primary advantages of Babel Fish are that is free and easy to use. You can type your text directly into a textbox on the Babel Fish screen, or it can translate entire web pages at once. There is a simple dropdown list that is used to select the "to" and "from" languages.

Letting a real, live person do your translation for you is a good, low cost way to have documents translated, and you may even get a more accurate translation than with a software-based approach.

Finally, you can hire a professional language translation firm to translate your documents manually. High level professional language translation firms often employ more than one translator on the same project and they use translators native to the target language. This is why professional language translations are more reliable.

Which option should you use? The answer depends on how important the document is.If the document is casual in nature, then either of the automated solutions, client-side or on-line software, will work just fine.But if it is an important document that will have a strong financial impact on your business, you must use a professional language translation firm that employs live, native translators.

The only problem may be the expense. Language translation is a difficult and demanding field. Generating an accurate translation requires a lot of time. Good translators are professionals who are paid well because of the importance of what they do. Ask yourself this: if your business is on the line, do you want your documents translated casually, so that they are 90% accurate, or do you want them to be 100% accurate? In business, a 10% discrepancy can mean money in your pocket.




Don't let your business reputation get ruined by a bad translation. Alboum & Associates is a top notch professional language translator [http://www.alboum.com] that uses two or more translators working in their native languages to provide translations that are 100% accurate. Check out [http://www.alboum.com] for a free quote.





This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.