5 Elements That Fail The Translation Process

The translation is complex. This revolves around the conversion of text from a source to a target language with consideration of multiple important factors. Clients and companies that seek professional translation solutions always look for quality work. This helps them excel overseas and in foreign markets. There is a pool of translation agencies in the market that claim to be good at their work. However, not all of them are competent and professional.

Translation services have now invaded all possible fields and industries. Aviation translation services are one of these. In the past, people could barely speculate about the aviation industry requiring translation, but the advancement of technology and increasing trend of globalization has also made translation companies offer translation services in fields including aviation, telecommunication, engineering, and tourism. People get to experience poor translation, and there are several reasons for that. There could be different types of errors in the content. The grammatically and linguistically incorrect things require serious consideration. Moreover, the factual information should also be cross-checked.

Here are a few factors that translators should avoid to maintain the quality and accuracy of the translation

1) Poor Quality of the Source Content

People very rarely talk about it. But when it comes to the quality of the translation, it is important to catch the root cause from the start. There are hundreds of examples that elaborate on mistakes in the source files that affected the translation quality big time. The clients often overlook the need to check the quality of the original file and run a scan for important quality checks. This leads to the production of content that is full of errors and of below-average quality. Therefore, clients as well as translation agencies should ensure that they send the original content after a proper check and correction of errors. Moreover, it should be simple and understandable enough for the translators to continue their work smoothly.

2) Ignoring the Preferences of the Target Audience

This is another factor that gets ignored. The companies as well as the translators also overlook the significance of understanding the intended audience. Understanding the audiences, the translators are going to translate for can do wonders. Once they know the audiences, their preferences, and their style of choosing content and products, they can integrate that information into the translation. This further allows them to connect well with targeted people and feel comfortable. Therefore, the translation agencies as well as the clients should also put great focus on conducting thorough research on understanding their audiences. For instance, if they are translating for Mexico, going through some Mexican traditions and incorporating that information into the translation can make the people in Mexico go gaga over the content and the new business.

3) Not Hiring Subject Matter Experts

Contrary to what many people assume, translation is not a simple task. A number of translation tasks ask for translators who are subject matter experts. Though general translation can be pulled off by ordinary translators. However, the wonders that an acknowledged subject matter expert can do cannot be matched. Companies invest a lot in translation projects and hence look to get content that is up to par and goes well with their foreign clients and business associates. A well-read translator with relevant information at his fingertips translates content that is engaging, fluent, and crisp. There are common examples that quote random and inexperienced translators ruin the translation and even the whole project. Therefore, companies and translation vendors should consider this trait when hiring translators, or else this can affect the quality of the translation badly.

4) Overlooking the Need of Understanding Language Pair

Translation services often differ with language. Similar techniques and methods cannot be implemented in every language, as languages have different translational demands. For instance, European languages are far different and poles apart from Asian languages, likewise, the translation techniques also go differently for both language families. It is important that the companies and translation agencies do a fair share of research regarding their language pairs for better quality translation. They should find out the mutual connections, differences, and similarities between both languages. This helps them to be sorted to cater to the languages and their attributes. Croatian, for instance, is also an Indo-European language, but it comes from the Balto Slavic language group, which is totally different from the main languages. For the translators to excel in Croatian translation services, they should be either native speakers or understand the language as their own.

5) Compromising on Accuracy and Precision 

Accuracy is the beauty of translation. Translated content has to be accurate in terms of flow, fluency, and engagement. The content should be relevant, to the point, and reflect the original intent that is there to stay. The translation can get boring often. People also lose interest and take it as a translated copy. However, when it is treated well, where accuracy and precision are taken care of, it goes well with the clients. This all requires effort to make it worth reading. Therefore, not taking care of accuracy and not putting effort into making the content precise can turn all efforts futile, affecting the end product.

Conclusion

The translation is a complex and challenging process. While following some tips makes the translation worthwhile and qualitative, a number of factors affect the quality of the translation. Therefore, it is important that translators understand the target audience, and requirements of the language pair they are going to translate for and maintain accuracy and precision, among others.