Document translation is a complex process that requires an expert touch to be effective. As technology continues to advance, not only are people more connected, but more and more people need to reach across language barriers. A common solution seems to be to seek services provided by machine based translation services. Though this seems like an easy fix, it is only one of many challenges clients face in finding accurate document translation services.
Idioms and Expressions
Idioms are phrases with an assumed culturally specific understanding. Their meaning doesn’t translate from one location to the next with a shared language much less from one language to another. A similar problem can be found with common colloquial expressions and even slang terms. The only solution to this is to have language and cultural experts who understand the people and culture of both the language of origin and the target language. Accurate translation is only possible when idioms and expressions can be understood in the proper cultural context and transferred into a phrase or message the audience can understand.
Language Structure
All languages have an agreed upon set of rules for their framework. This can be thought of as the order of words in a sentence. In English, the order is subject, verb, object like, “He eats tacos.” In Farsi, the verb comes after the subject and object, and in Arabic the verb itself can take on the subject pronoun. Language structure is complex, indeed! The solution to this problem is a language expert who understands the nuances of each language and can accurately transfer the message from one language to the other.
Verb Phrases
Some translations are not as black and white as it seems. The structure of language is very complex. The structure of sentences and documents is even more so. In English, verb phrases are the combination of verbs with a preposition, an adverb, or both. Phrasal verbs are less formal and used in conversational English. Translating them requires the transfer of multiple words into a single verb to communicate the same meaning but often at a different register or in a different tone. Keeping the authentic voice of the text is often a challenge. Languages other than English face similar challenges in the transfer of syntaxes and semantic units. Again, the solution here is professionals who are such experts in their fields that they understand the meaning of the original text and can transfer the same tone and register of formality into the new text.
Multiple meanings in translation
Any child who has opened a dictionary understands the struggle of multiple meanings for any given word! Such is the case for translation from the language of origin. How do we know which meaning of the word is the correct meaning to apply to find the correct word to translate for the new document? The job of a document translation service provider is to understand the entire meaning and message of a document so that it can be translated accurately. An expert who understands which definition best fits any word in any sentence and has the skillset to find the best word to maintain the meaning and intent of the original author can handle this type of translation with ease.
Cultural, economic, political understandings
We live in a world with endless cultural, economic, and political complexities. What makes sense to one audience given political circumstances may not make sense elsewhere. An illustration in text to explain a complex point may make sense in one culture where it falls flat in another. An economic problem mentioned in one text may be worlds away from what people in a different society understand. Document translation experts must also be cultural experts with a deep understanding of both societies that a document will touch. The audience’s perception of a text is based on the ability of a translator to create a new document that is as culturally, economically, and politically relevant to its new audience as to its old.
Document translation is certainly not as simple as pulling out a dual language dictionary and rewriting a piece of text! The nuances of language and writing are what make it such a gift, but a deeply complex one that requires understanding of language, context, and culture. Did you see a common thread through the solutions to each of these potential problems? The solution is an understanding that only expert professional translators can provide!