If you have to hire an interpreter for your next project, you would like to get a high-quality professional translation, but you are unable to do it yourself. This is a wise decision. The pie maker should bake the pies and the cobbler should shoemake the boots.
The decision to invite a professional is the right one:
How to choose the right interpreter?
How can I be sure of the quality of translation received?
The answers to these questions are important because if you need to translate a legal act, a commercial contract, a technical document … which is a text for which the slightest misinterpretation or replacement of words with inaccurate synonyms can have disastrous consequences. So you need a thorough translation of the source text into the target language, which requires experience, education, knowledge of the technical nuances and subtleties of the language.
TRANSLATION IS A DEMANDING EXERCISE
Translation is a demanding job that requires knowledge and experience. This is especially true for specialized translations – technical, medical, scientific, financial and legal. Because for this work, the translator must know the exact terminology and professional slang, as well as have a fairly in-depth knowledge of the relevant area of expertise. And all this he needs to assimilate in two languages and two cultures. Take the example of legal translations: the texts must comply with the laws of the respective countries, that is, they must be “equivalents” and not just “interpreters.
Before hiring a translator, you should determine the structure of the assignment, providing the translator with everything that will familiarize them with the document to be translated, the cost of their work and the format in which you would like to see the results.
THE WORK OF TRANSLATORS REQUIRES CERTAIN QUALITIES
Translating special texts requires a certain level of skill. Therefore, before entrusting your translation project to a particular specialist, it is useful for you to know the basic criteria for evaluating a translator’s quality. Also: just like a craftsman, a teacher or a surgeon, a translator has tools with which he must be able to handle professionally, this very possession is a guarantee of the quality of the work done.
A good interpreter
translates in his native language and is fluent in foreign languages
in addition to his fluency, he is familiar with the subtleties and characteristics of the language, knows the nuances, idioms, proverbs, winged words …
he/she may have a professional education (not only a language diploma) in the field in which he/she works. This applies, for example, to legal or financial translations, where special vocabulary is used. some professional translators with a “sworn” translator’s license have the right to certify their translations in the field of law.
He has a meticulous, pedantic and sharp pen… he knows how to adapt to the style of presentation required by a particular document.
CHOOSING A TRANSLATOR: ADVANTAGES OF A TRANSLATION COMPANY
All of the above qualities are inherent to good professional translators. But in fact, there are a lot of translators on the market. But many have very specific training. For example, technical translators often have a second degree that allows them to work in a specific field (economics, science, medicine, law, etc.).
HOW DO YOU CHECK THE QUALITY OF THE TRANSLATION?
You are sure that you have hired a good translator, but you would like to do more than that: you want to make sure that the translation you receive corresponds to the source text. And understandably, textual consistency is paramount.
If you work with a professional translation agency, you can be sure that an experienced translator has worked on your prose, but you would still like to check the quality of the text. Such third-party verification is an important element of control.
In addition to a team of carefully selected translators, a professional translation company offers proofreading as a standard part of quality control. It is an important process. So before you place your order, find out how the translation company you have selected ensures quality.
Of course you can use online translation tools such as the famous Google Translate (there are even automatic proofreaders for professionals), but spelling and grammar are not the only elements of a text that should be checked. It is more important to check its content: the correctness of expressions, technical terms, turns of phrase, etc. In short, the subtleties that determine the difference between the source text and the target text are important.