3 Unexpected Benefits of Working With Translators

There are some things we do our clients tell us they did not necessarily expect from translators. Yet, when you think about them, it all makes sense. Translators do not just take words in one language and convert them into words in another language. When they do their job right and have the right kinds of experiences, skills and background, translators do so much more than that.

Here are a few examples:

1. Translator as the best editor and proofreader of your original document

Did you know that no one, that’s right, no one reads a document as thoroughly as a translator does? When translating, the original document is the sole source of information we have. We need to be absolutely clear about anything that would otherwise prompt interpretation or reading between the lines. We cannot guess. And so we will, if you are interested in such feedback, tell you that this sentence or that phrase sound ambiguous. We will also tell you there are misspellings in the document or that we found a place where a negative was missing so a “must not” became the exact opposite, or “must”. Think of the shift in meaning a mistake like this can produce in something like a contract.

2. Translator as a product-naming adviser

Have you ever heard of the Chevy Nova fiasco? “No va” in Spanish means “it won’t go”. A strange name for a car, isn’t it? The Czechs, living in a landlocked country, think of an Albatros as a cool bird that looks stunning in flight. They named their light trainer aircraft “Albatros”, not realizing that it means bad luck. If an Albatros lands on your ship it is bad omen and the ship may sink.

A translator reading about a new product or translating your marketing materials will spot if something does not sound quite right for the target audience. They will realize that a word, even if it is supposed to be neutral, has a negative connotation in the target language. Culturally inappropriate statements will also be identified and reported back to you.

3. Translator as a desktop publishing aide

Original documents frequently come to us in graphic design formats and processing them is no trouble. Our clients used to plan on having to go back to whoever designed the document for them and pay extra to have them place their target language version back into the graphic file. This created additional room for error. The graphic designer, usually not familiar with the target language, would not be able to tell if all characters display correctly, if all text is present and placed where it should be or which words should be underlined and/or bold based on the original. This is no longer an issue as we work with a variety of graphic files directly and our translators are the ones who do final quality assurance in the last version of the file. That way, when you go to print with your materials, you will have the peace of mind of knowing the last person to see the document was someone who understood and verified every word of it.

Do you have a question about how translation and translators can be useful to YOU, specifically? Do not hesitate to contact us anytime. We are here for you.

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