Translation

Translation FAQs

• How important is it to hire professional translators?

  If your business targets customers who speak other languages, it’s a must to find quality professional translation services to work with. Hiring professional translators is the only way to ensure that people who read your business information in one language understand the sentiment and intention you want to convey. Avoid the temptation to just use an online translation tool. That’s because, when you just translate the words, you can lose the meaning, which is particularly important with marketing or promotional material

• What are a few points I should keep in mind before hiring a freelance translator?

  If you’re planning to hire a freelance translator, look for someone who is a native speaker of the target language you want to translate into. That will ensure that the audience you want to reach will understand your material. It’s also a good idea to find someone who specialises in the area you’re most interested in, like legal, medical, marketing and so on. As always, check your translator’s qualifications, and look for reviews and references that back up the translator’s expertise.

• Machine translation vs. human translation. What's best?

  While machine translation can help with translating basic, common words and phrases, human certified translation is much better. That’s because machines aren’t as good as humans at working out the writer’s intention. That means they won’t always select the appropriate translation for a particular word, phrase, or sentence. If you use machine translation alone, the overall translation won’t be of a good quality. A good middle ground can be to have a machine translation reviewed by a human certified translator.

• Can I do anything to help the translation process?

  You can help the translation process by providing clear, easy to understand source material for translation. It’s also a good idea to inform your translator about the audience for the document being translated so the translator can be sure to use the appropriate style and tone. That aside, most translators will let you know if there are any special requirements. It’s wise to check that your translator specialises in the area you need before making the final decision.

• Do I need a separate proofreading service?

  When you hire a translator, you don’t always need a separate proofreading service. Many translators include proofreading as part of the translation service.They’ll check to make sure that the final translation reads well, makes sense, and is faithful to the original document. However, you can’t always guarantee that your translator is an expert proofreader. If you want to make sure, consider hiring a professional proofreader to make a final check of your document before you use or publish it.

• How can I trust that translations are accurate and culturally relevant?

  The best way to get accurate, culturally relevant translations is to hire a professional translator who is a native speaker of the language you are translating into. That expertise will help the translator accurately convey any nuances or special meanings from your original text by using the appropriate words and phrases in the final document. If you’re unsure, consider getting another native speaker to proofread the translation so you can be sure it meets your needs.