Numerous languages are spoken and written in our planet and each of these further have many varieties or dialects. They add up to a truly mind-boggling number! Working as a language translator or establishing a language translation agency keeping all this in mind, can be a very challenging mission. Challenges would come in many forms, and one of them would be the misconceptions that translation buyers carry about the process of language translation. These beliefs can be a significant stumbling block in the progress of translators and translation agencies. It is important that everyone in the translation business should educate customers about the fallacy of prevailing myths. Some of the most popular and enduring myths are -
The superiority of native translators. The most enduring and widespread misconception and probably the most frustrating and damaging one. Many customers simply take it for granted that a native of a specific country would be the best translator for its language. But this is far from the truth. Being a native does not automatically bestow upon a person the ability to translate the language well. As an example, the entire population of China might be composed of native mandarin speakers, but how many of them would be qualified enough to carry out a linguistically correct translation? Native translators might have a good start, but quality in translation comes from disciplined practice and study.
The versatility of translators. This is another popular myth which refuses to die. A lot of language translation buyers believe that translators can work in all types of content that is written in the language of their expertise. The reality is that a good translator is generally a specialist in specific areas. Someone who can do an excellent translation of literary works cannot be expected to get quality results in the translation of scientific or business content. That's good because translation being a complex process, its helps that a translator works within well defined limits which helps them to remain updated. The corollary... beware of translators who claim to translate all kinds of content.
Translating from language A to language B is same as translating from language B to language A. Well, at the most, this statement can be partially true. There might be a few exceptional translators who would be able to do the above, but most translators can only give excellent results in their core language. For example, an English-German language translation expert, whose core language is German, cannot be expected to give quality results in German-English translations.
The best translators are usually associated with certified or professional organizations. The truth is that there are numerous excellent translators all over the world who might be working freelance, and not be associated with any certified or professional organizations. A better way of gauging a translator's efficiency is by checking out client testimonials, if they are provided.
Back Translation can help evaluate the accuracy of a language translation work. In other words, if you are not sure about the accuracy of the work done by your translator, then get the document translated into its source language by another translator. If the result is same as the original document, then your translation was spot on. This might seem logical but is actually completely erroneous. The reality is that since every language has a unique structure and vocabulary, a quality translation would never seem accurate when translated back to its source. However, a word for word translation which is actually bad translation would be perfectly rendered in back translation.
The above are just some of the most popular myths that plague the translation business. You can add your own insights and educate your customers for the betterment of everyone in the industry. Having worked in the field of translation for more than a decade, I have realized that online services offer the most satisfying alternatives. One online language translation service I recently found that offers a very innovative mix of benefits is - http://www.tomedes.com
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