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In our last blog, we talked about Machine Translation and some of the options available in today’s market. In this article, we turn our attention to the more traditional way of translation – through a translator. The need and desire to bridge the gap between different languages and enhance international communication goes back a long time.
Wikipedia defines translation as follows: “Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh (ca. 2000 BCE) into Southwest Asian languages of the second millennium BCE.”
Multilingual communication dates back to 196 BC as evident by the Rosetta Stone. Wikipedia shares this: “The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek. Because it presents essentially the same text in all three scripts (with some minor differences between them), it provided the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs.”
From this first piece of evidence of human translation in three different languages, we surely have advanced over time. In today’s world, it is common for global organizations to have sales, marketing and product materials available in 60 or more languages. This is eminent, especially in the business-to-consumer (B2C) market. For instance, according to its website, Microsoft offers terminology, glossaries and localization style guides in over 90.
To date, the majority of translations have been completed by human translators. Nowadays, more than ever, younger generations are fascinated to speak other languages. While some learn other languages for leisure and travel, many learn other languages to pursue a career as a translator. While the translation and localization industry is still a niche market, the outsourced language services market is worth over $33billion dollars. That is a lot of translations around the globe.
One of the golden rules in translation is that a translation should be performed by a native speaker. This is especially important in the translation and localization industry. It simply means that the translator will always translate into her or his native language. People who speak four, five or even more languages will typically always translate out of a foreign language into their native language. This is a recommended best practice with the translation and localization industry.
At TrueLanguage, we are particular selective in choosing the translators we employ. In addition to having the necessary language services experience, we seek translators that are familiar with at least one computer-aided translation (CAT) tool. There are several tools out in the market such as SDL Trados, MemSource, Smartcat. CAT tools enable the storage of translations, which allows translations to be reused in other projects. The most important benefits of software like SDL Trados are: faster turn-around times, consistent translations, and reduction of the translation volume in the future for stored languages.
In order to achieve the best translation quality for our clients, we create translator teams. A team would consist of: a native speaker living in the respective country who would translate the material; and a reviewer (also a translator) who lives in the U.S. Both are linguists, most-times having a language degree, and are subject matter experts. This means they hold a degree in fields such as Engineering, Pharmacology, Medicine, Chemistry, or others that are relevant to the client’s business and industry. The team works together to work on the finer nuances of the source and target language before the translation is delivered to the client. In some cases the in-country reviewer from the client would be included in the conversation to achieve the best translation possible. When each translator and the client are happy and satisfied with the translation quality, it will be stored in the Translation Memory for later use.
This process helps to explain why human translation is worth more than just a penny. The widespread assumption that anyone speaking another language can translate is a myth. For proof, just visit this blog for funny translation mistakes in marketing and advertising. Not everybody who speaks another language qualifies for professional translations; they have to be a linguist, and/or an expert on the subject. Professional translators are experts and deserve to get paid as such.
In addition to the translators, you have project managers. Translation Project Managers are linguists and experts (at least TrueLanguage project managers are). It is also beneficial to work with a translation company that is located in the same country and even the same time zone. Yes, you can find cheaper options offshore or in other countries, but the quality of service and ability to communicate in a timely and effective manner will not be equivalent to an U.S.-based translation company.
