Do you really need a professional translator?
Technology dominates every facet of modern life. At a time when artificial intelligence is entering the market, machine translation service is considered reliable and everyone claims to be “bilingual”, do you really need a professional translator?
Absolutely.
Professional translators are masters of language and use technology and cutting-edge tools to their advantage to make their work process more efficient. In the following article, you will learn why it’s imperative that a professional translator assist with all your critical communications.
Proven skills and extensive knowledge
A professional translator is not simply bilingual or multilingual, they have a complete translation education including a certificate, bachelor’s, and/or master’s degree. Through this education, they have acquired extensive knowledge and have had the opportunity to receive feedback from distinguished professors in the field. Did you know that translation is a science in itself? To be a successful translator, you must master your mother tongue and a target language, in addition to learning all the rules of this science.
A skilled translator knows how to recognize language pitfalls, spot faulty sentence structure, avoid clumsy word choices and repetitions and deliver a final product that accurately reflects the message of the original text and is free of syntactical, grammatical, or stylistic errors.
A final product aligned with your brand image
Google translate doesn’t look at your website and account for your tone, style, and values before translating the text. A professional translator however, does. Delivering a translation that fits effortlessly into your communication style is essential. For example, suppose you are a medical student who wants to translate a cover letter for a pediatric residency program. In this case, a colloquial tone would not be appropriate, and a machine translation service will not be able to detect this inconsistency.
In contrast, a translator conducts research beforehand to ensure that the tone and terminology are appropriate. When in doubt, they ask questions to the client to deliver a flawless final product. Context is essential when translating and machine translation or a bilingual person without the proper training would not consider it.
Personalized advice and support
A translator offers more than just a translation service; they can suggest improvements, fine-tune your source text, present terminology options, and ensure that all the communications translated for you are consistent and respect your brand’s tone and style. When they spot errors or inconsistencies in your original text, they point them out and provide solutions.
Their advice helps you improve the overall quality of your communications. You can refer to them for any questions related to the syntax, grammar, style, and tone of your writing. The translator is a versatile professional who does more than just translate.
A positive image of your company
With the barrage of advertisements, newsletters, and emails they are exposed to, potential customers pay close attention to the quality of the communications they receive. Providing quality, well-written, and well-translated content can give you a leg up on the competition.
Emails full of mistakes, poorly translated product descriptions, or instruction manuals can hurt your image. Consumers may associate the poor quality of your communications with the quality of your products and services. By hiring a professional translator, you can ensure that your texts are well-written and flawlessly translated, which will reflect positively on your company.
High-quality communications
If the terms borrowing, compensation, expansion, modulation, and transposition don’t mean anything to you, then translation is not your area of expertise! Trust a professional translator to deliver high-quality texts. Whether for a newsletter, a press release, a marketing email, or a white paper, the quality of the translations you distribute internally and externally must reflect the professionalism of your company.
It is beneficial to set aside a budget for the translation of all your business communications rather than handing the task to an intern or human resources employee who lacks important translation skills. You think you’re saving money, but you’re really damaging your company’s image.
As you can see, there are many advantages to using a professional translator, whether they work for an agency or are self-employed. Translators have editing and writing skills allowing you to offer them diverse assignments on an array of subjects. Furthermore, the importance of well-written and well-translated communications enhances your image and attracts potential clients.
