What Do Translators’ Professional Ethics Include? Translation is more than just simply converting texts from one language to another. Specialists in any field have professional ethics to uphold, and translators are no exception. In their guide to obtaining credentials, NAATI, the national standards and accreditation body for translators and interpreters in Australia, list a number of general principles that every translator and interpreter should follow. For instance, these principles require professional translators to respect their clients’ right to privacy and confidentiality; disclose any real or perceived conflicts of interest; decline to undertake any work beyond their competence and level of accreditation; relay information accurately and impartially between parties, etc. Every organization of translators and interpreters has its own rules and regulations which members have to follow. For example, the Society of Translators and Interpreters of British Columbia (STIBC) has established principles for professionals in BC. These requirements say that members should not make misleading statements about their level of proficiency; they should respect all copyrights and other intellectual property rights. In addition, they cannot use their professional role to perform functions that lie beyond the scope of a language professional. Violation of these regulations can negatively affect not only the quality of their work, but also their future career. Furthermore, in today`s world of globalization, the concept of accountability is especially important in the career of a translator. Accountability means that translators and interpreters are responsible for the consequences of their behavior. Therefore, they need to think carefully about the decisions they make, both textual and non-textual. Finally, they also need to keep in mind that their choices can...
Translation of a Website and SEO: How Important Are They? Dear language friend, the holidays are here and the LingoStar team wishes you and yours all the best this holiday season! We hope that the upcoming celebrations bring joy, happiness, and love. We also hope that you enjoy this newsletter and find a lot of useful information regarding the translation of a website to help your business prosper in 2015. Have you ever wondered why certain websites immediately pop up in Google when you are searching for information, and others fall behind even though they contain more useful content? It is not just a random ranking. The way websites are ranked is a result of the work of web developers and language specialists. In today’s world of globalization, where websites play such an important role in business and communication, it is crucial to always improve your website, so that it meets the interests of the target audience. What makes websites successful and attractive for international communities is website translation. The company that invests in the translation of its website gains credibility and trust and draws clients’ attention. However, translation of a website isn’t as simple as it seems. To target a specific audience, companies should create a strategy for search engine optimization (SEO). This is a wonderful tool that helps websites become visible and more appealing to customers. Search engines like Google rank web pages, videos, and other content based on what it considers to be most relevant to users. When translating a website, it is not enough just to translate its content into other languages. To...
Funny Mistranslations When traveling, translation is important because it removes linguistic barriers and helps tourists get around. Quite often, people will notice funny mistranslations in their native language. Most of them are translations of signs in hotels, restaurants, and other public places where tourists spend time. Let’s laugh at a few examples! Note in the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery: “You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian and Soviet composers, artists, and writers are buried daily except Thursday”. Menu in a Swiss mountain inn: “Special today – No ice-cream”. Sign posted in Germany’s Black Forest: “It is strictly forbidden on our Black Forest camping site that people of different sex, for instance, men and women, live together in one tent unless they are married with each other for this purpose”. Some mistranslations have actually affected an entire country’s customs. For example, in Japan there is a beautiful Valentine’s Day tradition that started due to a mistranslation. In the fifties, chocolate companies began encouraging Japanese people to celebrate this day of love by giving their partner chocolates. However, a mistranslation stipulated that women should give chocolates to men. To this day, this is exactly what happens on February 14th! A single mistranslation created a whole new nice tradition which brings happiness to so many Japanese people. Men in particular! Just imagine how many wonderful mistranslations you can find not only travelling around the world, but also walking around your own neighbourhood. If you see some, or your country celebrates a custom because of a mistranslation, don`t hesitate to share them with...
Positive Message Translation to French, Spanish, German, Russian, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, and Japanese Christmas is getting closer and closer, and it is a perfect time to think about all the wonderful things and miracles that have happened in your life during the year. Yes, they were miracles indeed, not simple coincidences. Help LingoStar translate this beautiful message and share it with the world! Positive Message in English There are no coincidences, only miracles. Treat every day as your miracle and it will take you a step closer to happiness. French Translation of the Positive Message Il n’y a pas des coїncidences , seulement des miracles. Vis chaque jour comme ton miracle et il t’emmènera un pas plus près de la félicité. Czech Translation of the Positive Message Neexistují žádné náhody, jen zázraky. Považujte každý den za svůj zázrak a dostanete se o krůček blíže ke štěstí. Slovak Translation of the Positive Message Náhody neexistujú, každá náhoda je malý zázrak! Považujte každý deň za zázrak a dostanete sa o krôčik bližšie ku šťastiu. Russian Translation of the Positive Message Не бывает совпадений, есть лишь чудеса. Думайте о каждом дне как о чуде, и это на шаг приблизит вас к счастью. Japanese Translation of the Positive Message 偶然など存在しない。奇跡だけだ。毎日を奇跡としてとらえれば、幸せに一歩近づく。 German Translation of the Positive Message Es gibt keine Zufälle, es gibt nur Wunder. Halten Sie jeden Tag für ein Wunder, und es will Ihr Glück ein bisschen näher bringen. Spanish Translation of the Positive Message No existen las coincidencias, sólo los milagros. Trata todos los días como un milagro y te llevará un paso más cerca de la felicidad. Italian Translation of the...
Peculiarities of Game Localization Have you ever wondered why some foreign computer games are unpopular in your country, and others are hugely popular – and have even built up a cult following – so much so that people prefer playing the game to living their real life? Of course, some games are destined to be ‘international stars’ because of their high-quality content and graphic design. However this is often not enough: computer games also need to cross cultural boundaries and attract multiple target audiences like many books, films, TV shows, and websites do. Digital games are a global, multi-billion dollar industry, and many game producers and art directors, who are perfectly confident in local game releases, worry about foreign editions in non-native languages as it can influence the overall success of the product. For the game to achieve as much success abroad as it has achieved in the country of release, companies must employ localization, which is a complex process. Video game localization includes translation of text within the game (eg. characters’ dialogue, on-screen instructions, etc.), the game’s instruction manual, packaging, and promotional material. In addition, dialogue needs to be culturally adapted and voiced by native speakers of the target market in order to come across as authentic. However, many aspects of video game localization begin long before translation is actually needed. First, localizers need to decide where the game will be sold, and which languages it will be translated into. For example, localization might include a game developer’s decision not to invest in a Japanese localization as he or she can predict that the company will not benefit...
How Does a Text-Based Medium Work? The link between texts on the Internet is far more obvious than it is for printed text, especially considering that direct links are often embedded right into the text. As users of the Internet, we are conscious that the amount of text we could find on any one subject is virtually unlimited. This abundance and the fact that they appear and are replaced so fast, added to the anonymity of the Internet (we rarely know who the author is) make the information contained in the texts appear less trustworthy than if they were found in print. Therefore, building credibility on the Internet is a major concern for Web content writers. Also, a webpage is read in a different manner than a sheet of paper. The user does not always read the content, but often just scans it. It has been shown that very little of the text on a web page is actually read and that the eyes often follow the same F-shaped directional pattern. Therefore, it is important to locate keywords strategically on the page. To attract and keep the user’s attention as long as possible, it is also efficient to emphasize keywords, to use lists and paragraphs, to write short texts and to stick to a simplified, factual style. In the last couple of decades we have seen the emergence of new forms of art (especially literature) using features of the Web. While it is obvious that taking advantage of the web by incorporating it into your business model is almost a necessity in this day and age to prosper, if...
