By bridging the linguistic and cultural boundaries between the source and target languages, translation transcends the simple word-to-word conversion of language. Metaphors, figurative language, and colloquial expressions—all of which are essential to effective communication.
They cannot usually be accurately conveyed by machine translation programs since these tools normally function on a literal, word-for-word basis. The issue is that unskilled translators are frequently unprepared to handle these linguistic nuances as well.
Below are some excellent suggestions to aid in your search for an experienced linguist.
Identify Your Translation Requirements
Whenever you have a translation job, you must choose whether to hire a full-time employee, a freelance translator, or a translation agency. When making this choice, it’s important to take into account the project’s kind, the language’s availability of translators, the project’s complexity level, the volume of work, and the turnaround time.
There are many capable freelance translators who can take on the assignment if it includes translating a legal document from English into a language that is commonly used, like Spanish or French, and there is some flexibility with the completion date.
However, if the task requires the completion of a 500-page paper within a short period of time, you are probably better off hiring a business because the task will be divided among several translators.
Determine the Translator’s Credentials
Checking the qualifications of the translator who will work on your project is essential, whether you want to engage a freelance translator or a translation agency. Unfortunately, there is a wide range of translating ability levels, so you must be aware of what to check when selecting a translator.
The distinction between being bilingual and being a trained translator must be made clear because it is one of the most misunderstood parts of the translation. A person who is bilingual is one who can speak two languages well.
A linguist who is bilingual or trilingual—who is knowledgeable in the target languages and the intricate linguistic and cultural differences between them—is considered a qualified translator.
Check the Translation Agency’s Experience and Background
There are various crucial elements to take into account if you decide to engage a translation agency. You should enquire about the credentials of the organization in addition to the qualifications of the translator or translators who will be allocated to your assignment.
You should confirm that the business and the translator are both certified. The completion of a defined set of documented actions to maintain a required level of quality control is ensured by certification of the translation service provider, which does not guarantee the quality of the translation.
Negotiate a Charge Reduction for Redundant Tasks
Legal contracts and technical instructions frequently have repetitive language, which means the translator has less work to do. You should request a discount from your translation service provider if the language in your project is redundant.
To figure out how many exact and close matches there are in the source text, you or the translator will need to look over the manuscript. Working with a translation agency makes this especially simple because certain software packages contain analysis functions that calculate the precise proportion of matches.
You may bargain a reasonable price for your translation project once you are aware of this percentage.
Conclusion
It is important to remember that translating is a complex process and needs to be done by a professional who is both highly skilled and experienced in the language and the subject matter.
It is also important to ensure that the translator is able to accurately capture the tone of the message, as this is a key part of ensuring the message is effectively communicated.
Dar Ibn Khaldun for Translation provides high-quality Arabic translation services, which include certified translations for immigration paperwork in various languages and many other translation jobs. Contact us today to learn more.
