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Translation Services

Translation Services and the need for good translations continues to grow in today's globally expanding world. Many businesses are now seeking translation services so they can expand their customer base across borders. Even individuals are realizing an increasing need as careers require international moves and more work is done by international teams.

Various kinds of translation services handle the translation of written documents. Very often, language schools or colleges with translation programs may be able to put someone in touch with alumni who have become translators, or they may even have language professors or instructors who like to do freelance translating on the side. Of course, many, many translation agencies coordinate translation projects and have both in house translators and a stable of freelance translators to meet their needs.

If you have some facility with a language, you may be able to handle your own translations with the aid of translation software programs. Finally, contacting professional translation organizations, such as the American Translators Association, or your state's association will yield a list of qualified translators in the language pair you need.

Remember that a translation service is only as good as the translators it hires. If you are getting an extremely low rate on translations, you may be taking a chance that the translator is not very experienced, is not familiar with the subject matter of the translation, or is not a native or near native speaker of the target language. Needless to say, these kinds of unqualified translators are willing to accept the lowest rates, either because they have no choice or because they are seeking to gain experience. Nevertheless, this lack of skills and/or experience will definitely be reflected in your final document. Trying to save on costs in this way may end up costing you a great deal more in the long run.

Specialty areas of translation services including technical, medical, legal, and certain financial documents are at an especially high risk for incorrect translation. The technical and medical fields can have dangerous outcomes and the legal and financial fields can have expensive ones if documents are translated incorrectly. In these fields, it is important to not only have an experienced translator who is fluent in both the source and the target languages, but is also very familiar in the topic of the translation. Many translation agencies have specialists who work in these fields and have engineering, medical or legal degrees.

If you have decided to work with a freelance translator, it is very important to make sure that you request references. In addition, make sure you receive some samples of prior translations so that you can make sure their grasp of the subject matter is sufficient to your translation. Using a freelance translator may be a less expensive option than an agency, since you are eliminating the agency's fees, but you must also realize that you will have to do the vetting process that the translation agency routinely does for its translators. Remember, that just because you speak with a translator on the phone and his or her English sounds perfect, that is no guarantee that person is a good writer and will be able to convey the meaning of your document perfectly. In addition, you may want some documentation to prove that the translator is an expert in the field your translation is in. For example a financial translator may have a business degree or a computer technical translator may have a computer degree. Except for literary translators, most translators have a degree in translation and one in a specialty field.

Another low cost alternative to obtaining translation services is to use the services of a university or a language school. Universities that have a translation program can usually accommodate your needs, and they will be sure to present your document in the Modern Language Association format, which may be required for scholarly documents or documents for submission for professional reviews.

Translation instructors spend the better part of each day correcting the translation of other people, mainly their students, so they are already experts in both the field of translation and in the field of translation editing. As a rule, translators do not make a lot of money, so many turn to education for their livelihood and are thus able to pursue their true love, the love of translating. Because of this, you may be able to get superior translation results at a price that is much lower than many agencies charge. But do beware. There is the old adage that "Those who can, do, those who can't teach." Just because a professor is good at correcting the translations of others doesn't mean that he is a good translator himself. Ask for references.

Translation services that you can obtain via software or on websites may be the cheapest alternative. They may meet your needs if you have a sentence or two to translate or if you just want to understand the gist of a document and do not need a lucid translation. But outside of these limited applications, website or software translations cannot be used extensively because they are not able to add the subtle nuances of language that are so important.