The importance of a good translation

Let’s be honest. When in need of a translation, many people do not look for translators. Some ask teachers, native speakers, or sometimes just someone who can speak the language. If you are thinking of this, stop for a minute and let me explain to you why you should not do such a thing.

Teachers, native speakers, and people who know a foreign language are just that, teachers, native speakers and, well, you get the point. Teachers are indeed professionals; however, their training is focused on teaching a language. A Spanish native speaker may have tons of knowledge about Spanish, but that does not imply that they are necessarily able to express this knowledge in another language correctly. Same applies to the third category. Translators and interpreters are trained to translate accurately. Our job is not just to translate word by word, we express your ideas. All this taking into account several other factors, such as cultural context, intention of the speaker, who is our audience, etc.

Now, some of you may be thinking that non-professionals charge less. This may be true, but let me ask you, have you ever bought the “alternative” version of a product because it was cheaper, just to see it failing little time after? I believe we all have fallen into this, and that we understand the feeling of disappointment with the low quality of the product. If you hire a non-professional, your product is likely to be of low quality, and therefore, a disappointment. We won’t let this happen to you.

Also, there are times when you cannot risk your product/message to be misinterpreted. I will explain myself with an example. You received a manual for medical software. The manual, which seems to have simple vocabulary, is translated wrong. As a consequence, four people died. This happened in real life, in March of 2012 in a hospital of Lorena, France. Mistakes can be dangerous in other areas too; they may be not “life or death” errors, but they can sure cost the sealing of a deal for a diplomatic or a business man.

So, next time you need a translation, remember this questions:

Am I willing to risk my product/message to be of low quality? Or will I go straight to the people who can assure good results and fewer headaches?

We look forward to working with you.

By Daniela Cid