You may think of translators as being either hermits holed up in a remote cave churning out pages and pages of literature or as international jet-setters helping diplomats navigate delicate situations. While some of us may be on the front lines of translation in high-pressure diplomatic arenas, most of us are regular multilingual people working away in our offices. Or so we want you to think. Let’s bust a few translation myths and find out a little more about who we are!
Myth One: If you’re bilingual, you can be a translator.
We wish it was that easy. Being a translator requires far more than the ability to speak multiple languages. To translate both the technical and cultural aspects of a text accurately requires having a deep understanding of both languages. You need to have developed an extensive vocabulary and knowledge of the concepts and specifics you are translating in both your and the target language. This takes many years of training and dedication before you’re able to seamlessly translate documents and be considered a translator.
Myth Two: Translators can work in all areas of expertise.
While this would be useful, it is not the case. Translation of legal, medical, or technological documents require knowing more than just two languages. You need to have a narrow expertise in the specific field in order to provide high quality translations. Without understanding the concepts in your own language, it would be difficult to put them into another. This is why at Dray Translations, we use lawyers to translate your legal documents. Our translators are highly proficient in legal matters and have extensive experience translating high-level legal documents.
Myth Three: Google Translate provides quality translations.
If you consider robotic, stunted, and context-less translation that is difficult to read as good quality, then Google Translate is for you! While machine translation is able to directly translate words, it is not a replacement for human translation. Excellent translation requires more than just switching out words in a different language. Tone, nuance, and context all need to be taken into consideration when creating an accurate translation. Machine translation just isn’t at that stage yet. We are though!
Myth Four: It’s easy to translate in both directions.
Despite speaking more than one language fluently, most translators are only able to translate in one direction! Unless you were raised perfectly bilingual, most people have a preferred language. This is because you are more likely to have a wider vocabulary and deeper cultural understanding of your first language than your second. When you’re translating from your first language to second, you lack the flexibility and ingenuity you’ve inherently developed in your native language. Thus, it is far easier translating from your second language into your first.
Myth Five: Translation is easy.
Translation is not simply sitting with a dictionary and swapping out words. It requires translating not only the literal but also the figurative meaning of a text. You need to deconstruct the various layers of meaning and reconstruct them so that it conveys the exact same feelings but in a way that fits the new language whilst remaining true to the original text. It’s hard work but that’s why you have us!
As you can see, there is a lot of hard work that goes behind the glamor of multilingualism. Not quite sure that you’re up to being a translator anymore? Don’t worry – we’re here to help you. We’ve invested in years of education and service so that you can get excellent and accurate translations.
