In the blog article, “Making Sure Attorneys Understand the Value of a Professional Interpreter,” we took a look at the legal industry environment and industry standards for interpretation services. Today we’re going to look at industry standards for translators and how people benefit from professional translation services.
When you need documents translated, you have a few options: having someone you know translate them, using machine translation (with Google Translate and similar services), or using a professional language agency to complete your project.
Using a translation from someone you know is unsound and usually yields unprofessional results. Speaking a foreign language – even formal education in a foreign language – is not adequate to guarantee the quality of work necessary to appropriately represent your company due to the variety of dialects, writing styles, and technical expertise often required. Translation agencies have translations proofread by another language professional to ensure consistency in terminology; proofreading is often just a part of the service no matter what method is used.
Machine translation is an exciting and evolving field that continues to make progress, but professionals know the technology just isn’t there yet and can’t produce professional results. It will take many years for machine translation to reach the proficiency of human translators, if it ever can. Language is not black and white with exact counterparts and machine translation is simply not able to encompass the knowledge of meaning, stylistic conventions, and specialization demanded for professional language translation.
So what indicates professional language translation?
- Native fluency in both the source and target languages
- Cultural awareness of the target country
- Field-specific terminology and in-depth understanding of a specific industry, such as the legal or medical industry
- Professional education and experience
Professional translators uphold industry standards of quality with the work they produce and specialize in a specific industry. Reputable translation agencies verify their translators’ credentials and guarantee expertise in the industries where services are required. Having non-professionals translate documents is irresponsible and yields unprofessional results. People need to be familiar with the services professional translators provide and be reassured, knowing their documents will be professionally translated and will read as if they were originally written in that language, and for that specific country and dialect.
Do you have any other thoughts about what people should know about professional translators and language services? Let us know in the comments below!
