Translation - Common Thoughts About Translation Service

Many people feel that translation is a task that is easy, straight-forward and free. If you just need to translate an email or a few line of text, free translation tools are usually enough. But if you are dealing with business documents or any marketing materials that need to be printed, you need a professional translation service.

In this article, let us discuss some common thoughts people have about translation service. Through these thoughts, you can then decide whether or not you need a professional translation service for your work.

1. Anyone can be a translator as long as he or she knows a foreign language. Personally, I feel that this is the most common misconceptions about translation. Knowing a foreign language does not make one a professional translator. First of all, a translator needs to have a deep understanding in at least 2 languages: a mother tongue language and a foreign language. Next, he or she needs to write well. Last but not least, different countries have different cultural influences on language. If you want your documents or work to connect well with the people in a foreign country, you need to translate the text according to their culture.

2. Translation is free. With the Internet, you can find tons of free translation tools online. However, these tools do not understand the language culture. Therefore, the text translated may not be as accurate as you think it is.

3. Translation is easy. This is another misconception that I will like to address in this article. Translation is not easy. Period. It can be a daunting and complex task if you do not have a great deal of experience, concentration and patience. It is also a very tiring task because a translator needs to continuously move between 2 languages and mind frames. He or she will need to read and digest the information before writing them in the target language.

4. A professional translation service is not necessary. Yes to some extent. It really depends on the work that needs to be done. As I have mentioned earlier on, if you just need to translate a simple email, free translation tool can do the job. However, if you need to translate business documents and marketing materials for your company, you need a professional translation service to produce work with standard and accuracy.

After all, it is your choice. To sum up everything, the bottom line is this: if you need a professional, accurate and decent translation work, then hire a professional and reputable translation agency or translator.

For translation service, visit actc.com.sg now.

Cheow Yu Yuan is the co-founder of OOm, an online marketing agency specializing in Search Engine Marketing

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3 Most Common Wrong Opinions about Translators

#1 There is such profession as "translator"

Translators are those who ... yes, translate. Books for kids and contracts, poetry and program interfaces, politicians' speeches and love stories, scientific articles, sermons, Web content, as well as much, much more completely different texts. That is why there is no such thing as "just translator" anymore -- almost all translators work in their own niches, translating types of texts they are familiar with in the fields they have at least basic knowledge.

Such an approach helps translators ensure the highest quality and save time, both clients' and their own. That is why a translator, who works with texts on IT or medicine, will refuse to take, say, an article on theoretical physics or a book of nursery rhymes (let's presume he has such an option).

#2 The only thing a good translator needs is to know some foreign language well.

Knowing a language won't automatically make anybody a good translator -- just like being able to write won't make any person a good writer.

Nobody says that knowing a foreign language is not important. It is. But there are other things which we usually take for granted. Just one example: it is extremely important for a translator to know his NATIVE language well. Puzzled? You probably assumed that if some language is somebody's mother tongue, he knows it well. What about people who, to put it mildly, have poor vocabulary and lack speaking or writing skills? People who can't express their thoughts well enough in their native language will make mediocre translators.

Any professional translator is expected to be a good writer. If he isn't... you probably have seen texts and guessed at once that they had been translated -- because of their "wooden style". Difficult-to-read manuals, Web pages, where visitors don't stay long, books turned into something boring and tiresome -- they probably were OK before such a "translation".

#3 ALL good interpreters and translators can do each other's work WELL.

Unlike translators, interpreters deal with oral speech. In fact, translating and interpreting require completely different skills. Of course, there are people who can combine all these qualities and do both jobs equally well, but don't expect brilliance in both translating and interpreting from all of them.

An interpreter should be able to make decisions quickly, often in extreme conditions. Sharp mind, excellent memory, resourcefulness, and stamina -- that's what any interpreter needs every day. No dictionaries at hand. No time to think how to express the thought in the best possible way. Only memory to rely for. The only aid available is maybe a couple of quick notes -- to remember some particularly long utterance.

Simultaneous interpreters' work in even more severe: they are "processing" the constant flow of speech. During a work session a simultaneous interpreter, hearing some word-combination or sentence through headphones in one language has to give it out in the other at once -- while listening and memorizing other sentences piling up. A couple of seconds' delay is unaffordable luxury. To forget something means to fail. Nobody can work like this for a long time, so simultaneous interpreters as a rule work in pairs, for about 20 minutes each.

For a translator making quick decisions is not so important. A shy bookworm with a stage fright can, in spite of all that, make an excellent translator, but he will never be a good interpreter. So what? Not every interpreter can become a good translator, either. Accuracy, exactness, huge vocabulary -- that's what a translator needs much more than resilience and quickness. Plus the sense of style, which an interpreter may lack.

Translators are usually more time-rich, and they can afford -- and, in fact, must -- bring the translated text to perfection. Tight schedule doesn't justify poor work: inaccuracy, sloppy sentences, useless repetitions, not to mention mistakes and typos.

Here are only three points of view about translators, which are most common, but incorrect. There are more; some of them are completely wrong, others are just questionable. It's impossible to describe them all in one article, that is why the article is...

to be continued...

Alexandra Gamanenko is a senior translator and editor of the Literary Translation Department, which is a part of a Web design studio. It offers localization and translation of websites into Russian and Ukrainian, as well as lots of other useful services.

Learn more -- visit the website http://www.clever-crayon.com

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Common Translation Industry Terminology

As with many specialist industries, translation professionals and agencies often use unique language and terminology that may be unfamiliar to anyone outside the profession. In order to reduce any barriers to understanding, we have compiled some of the most commonly used industry terms:

Translation: The process of reproducing the context and meaning of the written word from one language into another. Translation can be performed by both humans and machines with greatly differing results.

Interpreting: The process of reproducing the context and meaning of the spoken word from one language into another. Types of interpreting include Consecutive and Simultaneous (see below).

Language pair: The source language and target language of a translation or interpreting project (see definitions below). Also a term used to describe a linguist's working language combinations.

Source language: The original language of a document, file or website requiring translation.

Target language: The final language a document, file or website will be translated into.

Source text: The original text requiring translation into a different language.

Target text: The end translation. This is the output of the translation process.

Native language/mother tongue: A linguist's first language, which is typically the main language of their home country. Professional translators should only ever translate into their native language.

Word count: The number of words in the source text. Translations pricing is usually calculated on the number of words to be translated.

Proofreading: The process of reviewing a translation to ensure it is accurate and stylistically appropriate. This can be performed by the initial translator or by a second appropriately skilled translator.

Consecutive interpreting: Interpreting of the spoken word into another language relayed to the listeners during pauses or breaks in speech. This type of interpreting is most common for small events and group situations.

Simultaneous interpreting: Interpreting of the spoken word into another language as the speaker is talking - usually whilst sat in a soundproof booth. This type of interpreting is common at large events and conferences.

Machine translation (MT): A translation carried out by computer software (e.g. Google Translate/Babel Fish) rather than by a human translator. Translation agencies do not use machine translation tools as they cannot accurately render the contextual meaning, complexities and subtleties of a language, unlike a human can.

Translation memory (TM): A database that stores previously translated text, often used in conjunction with Computer Aided Translation tool (see definition below). Translation memories have numerous client benefits, such as cost savings and faster turnaround of projects.

Computer aided translation (CAT): A software tool, used by professional translators and agencies to improve translation consistency, increase efficiency and reduce expenditure.

Language service provider (LSP): A company that provides language services through in-house and/or freelance translators and interpreters.

Freelance translator: A self-employed translator who provides his/her services to a number of clients/agencies and often specialises in particular fields, such as medical, financial and legal translation.

Sure Languages is a UK-based commercial translation and interpreting company. Providing its services in over 100 languages, Sure Languages takes the headache out of global communication. Website

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