5 Important Thing To Bear In Mind When Doing Translation
Translation is necessary, especially if you are dealing with a person or country using another language. Many things can be translated. It can be a book, an article, a website, a brochure, or even a flyer. It depends on your requirements.
There are many reasons that more and more people are looking to translate their documents. For example, businesses with a website may prefer having two or more languages, especially for countries like Malaysia that have multiracial. Websites with one language may lose customers who only understand other languages. It helps business owners to enter a new market.
There are many factors to consider when you decide to translate any documents you need. In this article, we will discuss what you should know when you want to translate your document.
Important Things To Consider When Doing Translation
1. Don’t Ask Your Employees Who Are Bilingual To Do The Translation
In these modern days, many people are able to speak more than one language. But does it mean that they can do a good job in it? The answer is no. Translation is another job that needs experience, and the person who is doing it will need to understand the document or even the industry well to translate it into the correct meaning.
For example, a medical document will have many medical terms in it. The person who translates it will be required to have knowledge of it. Your employees may not have the related knowledge and may not be able to translate well.
You will need to look for translators who have experience. Individuals without experience won’t be able to translate the documents accurately. Professional translators are able to help you translate accurately and proofread the translation.
2. Different Documents Require Different Requirements
Different translators have different styles of writing. Marketing materials such as social media and websites may require translators to be more creative. While technical documents may require translators to write in a more formal format.
So, whether you are translating yourself or looking for someone to do the translation, ensure that the person is able to do the job. A person who translates websites or social media ads may not be suitable to translate technical documents.
Determine the style of the documents you need to translate. If you are looking for a translator, check with them if they have done any similar job before. Ask if they can provide any portfolio. You can determine their writing style from their previous job.
3. There Is No One Right Answer For Translation
It would be great if there were one right answer for translation for every piece of content, but that’s not going to be the case. Do expect a slight difference between the two translators translating the document. The translation won’t be exactly the same.
You may be asking why that is; one must be wrong. Well, the answer is very simple. Translation from both translators can be accurate. The difference is due to their writing style, grammatical structure, and terminology.
Translation is very subjective. Determine your preferred style and check if the translator’s writing style suits you. Don’t let the difference in how translators write affect your decision.
4. Understanding The Difference In Language And Cultural
When translating, it is important to understand the language and culture. Things like jokes will lose their meaning or don’t make sense in another language. Besides jokes, cliches are another one that can be tough to translate. It may sound weird or out of place.
You will also need to understand the meaning of the word. For example, certain Chinese words can have different meanings. You will need to understand what they want to express in the sentence they use before translating it, or you may translate it incorrectly.
You may think that is not a big issue as the word that was used was correct. But it can be a big issue if it means another meaning in the sentence. It will totally change the whole meaning of the document, which may lead to bigger issues.
5. Try Avoiding Machine Translation
As technology advances, many love to use free machine translation, such as Google Translate. It is definitely a good idea to use it, especially when you have a large number of documents to translate. It will save up some time, won’t it? But is it worth to use it?
Free machine translation, such as Google translation or Deepl, can be a great tool to use if you need to translate a single word or short sentence. They tend to be more accurate. But when it comes to paragraphs or longer documents, it may not be as accurate.
You will definitely need to proofread it as your document may lose its meaning. Most of the time, these machine translations translate word for word. There will be a high possibility of grammar issues. It may cause the reader to get confused with what you are trying to say.
Here are some things you need to consider when you need a translation. If you can’t do it yourself, remember to look for a translator to help you with it. They will definitely help you a lot with your documents.
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