There are many advantages to using human translation services for global business and this article will help you understand why it is so important.
Human Translation Services
While professional translation service providers, and translators in general, often use a form of machine translation within computer-aided translation systems, they do not rely on them solely for an accurate translation.
This is because translation is complex process which involves more than just language.
For a translation to be accurate, engaging, and informative, a translator must adapt the source text to fit within the new context, culture, and language.
Factors such as the local culture, dialect, humour, colloquial phrases, and so on, must be ‘translated’ so they are relevant and comprehensible for the target audience.
Generally, the following features should be adapted (or considered for relevancy to the new audience and potential to cause offence) when translating or localising content for a new language and cultural setting:
• Language
• Symbols/signs
• Images
• Humour
• Colloquial phrases
• Idioms
• Dialect
• Culture
• Currency
• Formats (address, phone numbers, and so on)
• Spellings
• Linguistic structure
• Use of colour
• Grammar
• Religious tendencies
• Government structure
AI-powered machine translation tools are not yet advanced enough to fully understand the complexities and nuances contained within each of the above factors, but a human translator is.
Advantages of Human Translation Services
For any global business to be a success it must engage with its audience, no matter what language they speak or where they are located.
However, when your audience speaks a different language, it can be difficult to connect with them, and communication can be adversely affected.
Human translators bridge this gap using their linguistic skills and cultural knowledge, helping your business form lasting relationships with your clients, stakeholders, suppliers, and customers.
The key advantages of using human translation services for global business are as follows:
1. Language Experts
Professional translators are language experts who can adapt a text from one language to another while ensuring that the overriding message remains consistent with brand values, audience expectations, and the ultimate purpose of the translation.
Unlike machine translation, human translators can fully understand the information within any given document, derive the context and meaning, and then translate this so that it becomes significant and accurate for its intended audience.
2. Literary Creativity
Human translators are creative and skilled writers who are able to grasp the subtleties and nuance contain within a text, and then re-create this structure in a different language.
Consider those translators who translate literary texts, poetry, or songs so that we may experience the depth and intensity of words created in another language to the full extent to which the original was intended – it is quite a remarkable feat to imitate literary greats!
3. Industry Specialists
Human translators are often also industry specialists in a field other than language.
For instance, here at Creative Word, many of the translators we work with have previous experience and training in fields such as, law, marketing, design, IT, finance, and so on.
This gives them an additional level of competency and accuracy, specifically linked to the industry for which the translation project is being completed, besides their language skills.
Translators with industry expertise (outside of their language skills) have knowledge of the industry’s markets, terminology, specialisms, current news, and business procedures, which is utilised to create a first-rate translation or localisation.
4. Culture Experts
We briefly looked at how language and culture are linked so it should come as no surprise that professional translators are also often culture vultures!
They immerse themselves in the culture linked to the languages they specialise in, often living and working there for extended periods, mixing with different people, and learning about the society at large.
This combined knowledge of the language, and the culture linked to it, help a translator create a translated text which offers the right lexical choice, tone of voice, and persuasiveness, to ensure that the target audience engage with and understand the message.
Human translators are adept at communicating with a global marketplace and understand how to connect and engage their target audience.
Using a professional translation service, with human translators, can give businesses the competitive edge which is so vital in today’s economic climate.
If you’d like to find out more about how our team of human translators can help your business achieve the global presence it deserves, contact us now.
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