The Field of Translation

- Essence of Translation

- How to be a successful translator

- Companies Perspective of Translation

Due to the constant developments made in the on-line community and the expanding usage of more languages in modern business practices and e-services trade and commerce has become more uniformed and internationally focused.

The Translation community and Translation industry is developing into many new business opportunities in this day and age, incorporating not only the traditional Latin Alphabet for services but also languages from all over the world. 

For companies and services to gain a broader demographic of clients and a growing customer base to deliver their message across to a wider audience they need to effectively translate their message across as many languages as possible. This is subsequently been an increase in demand and awareness of accurately translating, producing and analysing various material for the end user.

The continual growth and development of the translation community has led to a subsequent expansion in the industry towards the analysis of not only generic texts but also more technical and logistical sources of information e.g. (Medical / Legal)

In essence, translation is about the accurate interpretation and analysis of a given text from its original source language towards its subsequent intended target.

For most new translators, to understand the study of a language accurately and analyse texts accordingly, the majority of translators begin with general material to interpret before specialising towards more technical focused material.

As an industry the translation services are growing more by the day. From an industry perspective, the strength of translating services primarily derive from the ability to accurately analyse and interpret texts in a clear, expedient manner whilst retaining the original source material to the targeted text.

How to be Successful Translator?

1. As a pre-requirement to have the knowledge of a Second Language just as well as you know your first so that as a translator you can converse with those who speak the language natively.

2. To have the ability to write accurately is essential.

3. To have background experience studying translation or work experience, as this will be very important when looking for placements or jobs as a translator.

4. To be confident in your target language that is being translated and to have an understanding of the more technical elements of your targeted language. (For certain companies and industries this is an essential quality to hold)

5.  To have a familiarity with the subject matter of what is to translated before taking on projects.

6. To continually practice a Second or Third Language daily or participate in exchange programs to gain first hand experience in understanding a target language.

From a Companies Perspective what should they be aware of to make Translation Successful?

1. To check whether the translators which are to be used are qualified.

2. Make sure the translators have experience in the specific field they will be translating.

3. Know precisely where the translation is going to be used.

4. Ensure that enough time has been allocated for the translation process.

5. For a larger project, ensure that the translator creates a glossary of terms (in particular for more technical texts)

6. To calculate the method in which to charge the translator (i.e: whether pay per word translated or per page produced)

7. To ask if the project qualifies for repeat word discounts: as on average this can save (between 15 – 40% of translations costs) on a given project.

8. If the translator is new, ensure that there is an individual who speaks the targeted language as their native language to check spelling and grammar.

9. If the material that is to be translated is of a sensitive nature to make sure that there is an element of confidentiality in the translation process.

10. For on-going repeat translation services, it is recommended that a company set up a "project manager" as a contact person to ensure that the translation services have a degree of structure, control and most importantly meet the end expectations of the client.

Overall, the role of a translator in an age of growing international markets and international customer basis's, has dramatically increased. Although, translating is not an exact science between interpreting and analysing texts, one of the overall important aims of translation services is primarily to create a strong sense of fidelity and transparency between the source and targeted languages in question.