TRANSLATION MYTHS TRANSLATION MYTHS The world is full of preconceptions and the translation profession is not exempt from this inevitable fate. In fact, translators are always engaged in the never-ending battle of educating the customer. Today we want to try to debunk the most common translation myths. First and foremost we have: ‘Everyone who can speak two or more languages can be a translator’. If this was true, the world would be overflowing with translators. Luckily for the actual professionals, knowing two languages does not necessarily mean that a person can translate between those languages. There is so much more behind the mere knowledge of the language, despite the general skepticism of the public. The second fairly common misconception is that translating from one language to another is the same as translating in the reverse direction. In reality, translators should always translate into their own native language and not vice-versa, unless they are perfectly bilingual, which is rare. Third is the ‘translators can translate any subject matter’ belief. Unless they have an encyclopedic knowledge of everything due to extensive studies, translators tend to specialize in only a few key areas. In the same way that a cook or a painter probably wouldn’t be able to discuss the intricacies of engineering, a translator specialized in cuisine or art would unlikely be able to translate a technical engineering text. Another myth that is often the source of misunderstandings is the conviction that translators can deliver any translation within a very short turnaround time. Clients sending a translation request expecting the job done on the following day is a not unheard of. ...
SCIENTIFIC TEXTS Scientific texts are one of the most challenging materials when it comes to translation. A linguist has to consider a variety of aspects when dealing with them – the target text has to be more than just a literal translation. Besides the deep knowledge of specific terminology for particular scientific fields, this kind of translation involves quite a bit of localization: unless present in the source text, every ambiguity must be eliminated, measures correctly converted and comparisons often need to be adjusted. For instance, if a French text on glaciers compares the size of an ice field to the size of France, when translated into German, the comparison object may be changed to Germany to sound more familiar to the German audience. However, cross-cultural issues are by far not the only difficulty, nor the biggest difficulty in translating scientific sources. Modern sciences contain numerous fields and subfields; some of the studies deal with a range of highly specific material which may only be relevant for particular countries. For this reason many terms don’t have an existing equivalent in the target language. This is an especially problematic case for a translator, who then has to decide whether to leave the term in the source language and provide an explanation, or translate it and thus create a new scientific term in the target language. Both involve a high level of understanding the material. If the linguist chooses to translate the foreign term he/she has to be absolutely sure that he/she understood its meaning correctly and found a translation that conveys the sense of the word to 100% accuracy. To...
Handling a translation in Spanish? Follow our advice on different varieties of Spanish Translation in Spanish has always been tricky. Castilian Spanish (also known as neutral or universal Spanish) is the standard Spanish. However, it has to be distinguished from US Spanish and Latin American Spanish. The latter is also divided into subcategories such as Mexican Spanish, Bolivian Spanish and Amazon Spanish. There are also a few other dialects such as Catalan and Galician which can be found in Spain. This is why a good translation in Spanish requires more than just a theoretical mastery of the language. Of course, standard Spanish is understood by all, but linguistic differences shouldn’t be overlooked because the exact same word can have different meanings based on the region it is spoken in. Misunderstandings can be very damaging to your company’s reputation! It is interesting to note that Latin American Spanish resorts to many more English loanwords than neutral Spanish does. Do you know the translation in Spanish for the word computer? Well, it depends! In Latin America, a computer is commonly referred to as a computadora, while Spaniards would rather say ordenador. In a similar fashion, Latin Americans use the word email instead of correo electrónico, which is the standard term used in Spain. Here at LingoStar Language Services we offer a professional service for translation in Spanish. Do you have a translation in Spanish you need help with? LingoStar will be glad to provide you with quality services from beginning to end. We ensure that your translation is not only correct in terms of grammar, but it is also very culturally...
Medical Escort Interpreting Canada has 4.7 million residents who speak a language other than English or French at home. In a multilingual society misunderstandings regularly occur, and in many cases this is understandable and acceptable, but absolutely not in the case of medical care. Miscommunication between a doctor and patient can result in tragedy, that is why medical escort interpreting is a very important field which requires much accuracy and expertise. In January 1980, 18-year-old Willie Ramirez was rushed to a South Florida hospital in a comatose state. During the two days following his hospitalization he was treated for a drug overdose however the treatment showed no results. A routine neurological test ordered by doctors on the second day revealed an intracranial hemorrhage, the result of a burst artery which had been defective since birth – the true cause of the young man’s condition. Ramirez was then given emergency surgery to remove the blood clot. He survived the operation but was left quadriplegic, as the treatment came too late. At the heart of the misdiagnosis lay the language barrier – none of Ramirez’ Hispanic relatives spoke understandable English and the hospital was unable to provide an interpreter. The only clue to the young man’s condition was the Spanish word “intoxicado”, used by his girlfriend’s mother as she tried to convey the cause of Ramirez’ collapse to the paramedics. In Spanish, this word usually refers to food poisoning; the young man’s family believed he was sick because he had eaten an undercooked hamburger at a fast food restaurant earlier that day. Since the paramedics spoke no Spanish and no interpreter...
Editing, Proofreading, and Post-Insertion Review These three revision processes differ slightly from each other. Editing Editing involves reviewing the content, overall structure, clarity and style of a document. It is the first step following the translation. It consists of rewriting the translation while taking into account the meaning, tone and style of the original text, as well as keeping the target audience in mind during the rewriting process. The translation should read fluently and not sound like a translation. It is important that it sounds natural to a native speaker. The editing process is time-consuming, and can sometimes take as long as the actual process of translating. The editing must be done by a different translator than the one that has done the translation. This is because the second translator will be more objective during their editing process. Proofreading Proofreading goes hand in hand with the editing process. The proofreading process is about checking the punctuation, grammar and spelling of the document. It implies making smaller changes in the translation, for example, making sure that the tenses used are consistent, or that the formatting of the translated text matches the original. A spell check or grammar check function is used to catch any inconsistencies. Post-Insertion Review The post insertion review process involves reviewing the translation after the desktop publishing (DTP) process. In order to do this, the translator must compare the original source text, translation and design file with the translation inserted into a graphic format (i.e. brochure). The translator has to make sure that the translation has been copied to the right place on the page and that...
Translation in Vancouver Schools It is evident that there are an increasing number of children in schools in Vancouver that don’t speak English. Over the years, non-native English speakers have increased in numbers throughout the school boards, and are having a tough time coping with the lack of translation services available in their schooling. The District Panel Advisory Committee has been asked for help numerous times by parents as the population of minority groups has grown at a rapid pace. Recent studies have shown that in some schools in Vancouver as many as 40% of the students need ESL support! Some of the more common languages spoken by the children like Mandarin and Cantonese receive a decent amount of help; however, the rarer languages with obscure dialects are often neglected and the child is essentially helpless. The School Board is recommending that parents contact their principal in order to arrange for third party services to offer translation in Vancouver schools offered at the expense of the administration. This would not only solve the issue at hand, but would also help more foreign students reach their full potential via their schooling and education. Procuring the services of a professional language services agency would definitely be a step in the right direction to ensure that all students are receiving the help they need in their education. Here at LingoStar, we have countless qualified native speakers and interpreters located all across Canada for any type of job, and we can provide language services in over 100 languages as well as English. Call us today or send us an email for a free...
Professional translators. As the years have progressed we have experienced an influx of people residing in other countries and continents travelling to settle down and live in Canada for the duration of their lives. With our bountiful resources and employment opportunities it is a great place to live, and as a result, has attracted settlers from all over the globe. Consequently, many areas in Canada are becoming more diverse and multi-cultural, with more languages than just English and French being spoken on a regular basis. Those of Asian descent now comprise a large portion of the Canadian population, and it is evident that there is a communication barrier between some of them and the English native speakers. It is highly advised that corporations start looking for professional translation services and professional translators to begin translating advertisements to Chinese, Korean, Japanese, etc. to appeal to this large market that many times is completely left untapped. It is evident that some companies have already started adopting these marketing strategies, and it has proven advantageous for them by allowing their message to reach a more widespread audience. Things like having professional translators to provide menus for Punjabi restaurants, translating websites into Simplified/Traditional Chinese, or even having bilingual tutors available at schools are just a few examples of services that could be taken advantage of in specific situations to optimally provide services to the non-native English speakers that comprise large portions of Canada’s diverse cities. Here at LingoStar, we have countless qualified native speakers located all across Canada for any type of job, and we can provide language services in over 100 languages...
Translation Services The last thing you want to happen with your documents is that the message written gets lost in translation. Enlisting the expertise of a professional Canadian Document Translation Services agency can ensure that your written documents are translated into their appropriate language, in a tone and manner that is most relevant to your specific target market. The foundation of every quality translation is the translator. But how can you tell what makes a good translator? It’s almost always recommended for you to turn to an agency, rather than an independent contractor. The reason for this is that with an agency such as LingoStar you can check their credentials, previous job history, references, testimonials, etc. You can develop an educated assessment of their quality based upon their previous work, and you can have confidence when you proceed with them during each of your translation projects. A reputable Canadian Document Translation Services agency will work only with language professionals that are native speakers of your desired language pair. This gives the translator an in-depth knowledge of a language beyond what can be learned in classrooms and books, and will prevent you from getting a translator who may be able to speak the language fluently, but isn’t qualified to provide an extremely high quality translation by any means. High quality document translators are specialists, and a Canadian document translator will ensure that your document conveys exactly what you are trying to write in your desired target language. These days, working with a Canadian document translation services agency is easier than ever. Whether you’re in Alberta, Newfoundland, or even France or Germany, you have the same...
Language Services In the modern world globalized by the internet many things can be reached by just a click of a mouse. In the field of business the competition is fierce, and an aspect just as important as service quality is its reachability. A company offering highly demanded services or goods on a market limited by country borders prevents itself from economic growth, since such a strategy only makes sense for firms selling very specific goods which only sell well in a particular region. If your company is not among them it is highly advisable to make your services globally available. To do so, you may want to start with translating your website into the language of the country where you would like to start offering your services. Global availability cannot be reached within a short period; it is established step by step. For instance, if your company is located in Germany, you might translate your website into French to expand your business, or have your software localized for French audience. With the expansion grows your client database, new clients inform others about your services, and the chain reaction starts to bring you profit. After a while you will have enough financial means to start expanding into the next country. Another thing worth considering is the fact that cross-cultural meetings can sometimes lead to misunderstandings, disappointments or awkward situations if the participants are not somewhat familiar with their partner’s cultural rituals, beliefs, languages or psychological features rooted in them. This can become an obstacle on your way to successful business development. Therefore, before expanding into a new country, you...
Good translator. Many people tend to think that a person who knows foreign languages is a good translator. However, that’s not necessarily true, as levels of knowledge of a language can vary. What are the qualities that characterize a good translator? Passion. A translator should be passionate about their translation job. They should use all their means and efforts to deliver every project in excellent shape, as if it was their baby. Translation Skills. A good translator must have a specific linguistic education. They should master not only the foreign language they work with, but also the skills of translation. Curiosity. A translator must be curious and motivated to keep on learning new words and expression. The learning process of a translator should be never-ending. Rich Vocabulary. A good translator must have a wide lexicon, not only in the foreign language but also in their mother tongue. This will make the translation process easier and the quality of the translation higher. It is also convenient for translators to acquire technical terms in specific fields, such as business, law, sciences, engineering, etc… Clarity. A good translator’s goal is to express the idea of the source text as clearly as possible, without ambiguity. They should avoid difficult structures when they can use simple ones. Translation Quality. A good translator should be obsessed with quality. Resources. In order to achieve the aforementioned quality, a good translator should use all available resources at their disposal. Accuracy. A good translator should provide an exact transfer of information. Despite it being tempting sometimes, the translator should not correct the source text, trying to maintain its...
