For those with no knowledge of the translation sector getting a translation can appear frought with risk with potentially all your investment and hard work riding on the translation to achieve success in a foriegn market.
By following these steps you will get an insight into the translation sector and how to benefit the most from it.
Send us your document info@exigotranslations.com UK 0845 300 9880 Int. 0044 845 300 9880
What language do your readers speak?
Spanish for Madrid or Mexico? Catalan or Castilian Spanish for Barcelona?
Cultural differences matter
Who is it for?
Translation software – (eg. Freetranslation.com) good for getting the gist of a text for your own use but not for outward – hire a qualified translator.
Typesetting glitches – from Printers and office staff, creating errors, ie: French has no space between word and colon, and uses << >> as quotation marks.
German uses a capital letter for the noun.
Spanish does not use capital letters for the month nor days of the week.
Cultural differences with figures.
In Spanish a point is used as a coma; eg: 27,000 is 27.000 in Spanish.
In American English a billion is a thousand million, already the norm in British finance. In Spain a billion is still a million million.
Maps, pictograms and diagrams can explain a lot more than words can and in some cases stand out and be noticed by internaional readers. Swamping the reader with text can be off-putting; sometimes simplicity is the key.
Qualified translators, (a reoccurring theme here) are professionals with their own unique skill sets; conveying the meaning and information from one language to another. The end product will read well in the target language.
Bilingual speakers who have not trained in translation do not necessarily have these skills and should not be used for 'outgoing translations'.
Finding a good translation provider
These days with all the great looking websites, sales pitches and advertising it can be daunting to know who to trust. You should always ask what qualifications and from what organizations their translators possess. There are a number of translation organizations that set exams for those wanting to become professional translators. If you are struggling with finding an organisation, send us your text using the form below or email us.
