5 Common Translation Myths
25th October 2021
Translation comes with a lot of misconceptions that simply aren’t true. Professional translation requires skills and experience. Why? Because mistakes can be costly.
In 2009, HSBC bank launched a marketing campaign using the slogan “Assume Nothing.” However, due to a localisation failure, in many foreign languages, the slogan translated to “Do Nothing.” This translation mistake cost HSBC $10 million, which they had to spend on an emergency branding campaign in the hopes of minimising reputational damage.
Translation mistakes can be detrimental to your business, so it is imperative to get it right first time.
Before you think about translation services, there seem to be certain myths about language translation we want to refute.
1. Any bilingual person can be a translator.
Not quite. Knowing more than one language doesn’t make you a translator.
To be a translator, you need to be fluent in the source language, have an excellent understanding of the cultural nuances of the source language country and have outstanding writing skills. Many translators also have an academic degree such as an MA in Translation or Translation Diploma and undertake various translation courses to constantly improve their skills and knowledge.
2. Google Translate does the same job as a translator for free.
I think we have all, at some point in time, heard or seen a translation mistake made by machine translation. These could be restaurant menus or road signs. Machine translation is improving with the use of AI but it’s no match for human translation.
Google Translate uses machine translation to generate a translated version of a website’s content. It fails in its ability to understand correlations between one language and another.
3. Translators can translate thousands of words in a day.
Translators are human beings and there is a limit to how much work they can deliver in a day. They can translate between 2,000 to 2,500 words per day whilst ensuring their work is precise and of a high standard.
4. Translators are the same as interpreters.
Translation and interpretation are often used synonymously, but there are clear distinctions between these two closely related linguistic disciplines. Translators work in one direction. They focus on converting a document from a source to a target language (their mother-tongue language). Interpreters translate in both directions, on the spot, with no time to use grammar books, dictionaries, or other resources. Another clear difference between translators and interpreters is that interpreters work in real time, while translators work to deadlines.
5. The same translator can work on a variety of documents.
Just like doctors specialise in a certain aspect of medicine, translators have their specialisms and niches too. Translators tend to specialise in more than one subject area, but they wouldn’t usually work in every available subject matter. It is unlikely that a market research translator will feel confident in translating technical or medical documents for example.
Summary
Like measuring the quality of someone’s writing, translation quality isn’t a simple matter. Quality requires a higher investment, but it tends to pay dividends long term. It’s the same as buying a better, newer car – you won’t spend as much on repairs.
If you require professional translation services to deliver international projects smoothly and avoid unnecessary pitfalls, get in touch with us here.
