Posts Tagged ‘Spanish technical translations’

Checking translations

Saturday, July 12th, 2008

www.goihata.com
We should always aim at rendering the best of our ability so, it is good idea to make sure that we are delivering a good translation. What are the actual criteria to use in order to decide that one translation is good and another is not or that one translation is “better” than another?
We should check the following points first:
Precision: The translation should be accurate, it should represent the text. It should be complete without omissions and correct so that it communicates the same sense, style and genre of the original.
Proofread a translation, proofreading Spanish, proofreading Japanese, English, Basque

Suitability: Ask yourself if the translation fulfils the purpose for which it was required. You should know to whom it is intended to, who is likely to use the text and how will it be used, e.g., is it about instructions to operate a machine? To re-launch a product? Knowing this will help you to put together a translation that is best suited to its purpose.
Knowledge of area and grammar proficiency: These two are linked. We should have experience on the topic or business area we are working with and the ability to produce a coherent translation aided by a good grasp of grammar.
Filtering: You should avoid filtering the message to match your own perspective. You are transmitting a message not expressing your likes and dislikes. If you do not agree or share the ideas of the original it would be hard for you to be objective so it is advisable to decline the job and pass the work to another Translator.
We know instinctively when we have done a good piece of work although there is still a need for objective criteria to be arrived at. In the meantime, a Translator who observes the above mentioned points will not be far away from excellence.

Paulina Torres De Witt
www.goihata.com

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Translation mediocrity

Wednesday, May 28th, 2008

- www.goihata.com
Once I had to work on an editing project where the document had been previously translated from Spanish to English… it was difficult to understand but not because of the subject – philosophy – but for the inappropriate wording and the lack of structure and order in the choice of those words.
As I have mentioned in several occasions before, the final translation must not seem a translation. On the contrary, it must be rendered in a professional manner, written by a certified and trained person who has great command of the language, uses excellent grammar and style, fully understands the topic in order to offer an impeccable work and is humble enough to accept that even the shortest text requires revision by a second person and subsequent editing applied when needed. When in doubt, we have to research at length in order to use the appropriate terminology as to not neglect the quality of our work relying on the idea that the editor will correct all of our errors… That, in my opinion, would be a symptom of mediocrity. If the translation is poor, a good editor could get it better but the final result would never be as good as when the editor works on a good translation.
English to Spanish translations
Also remember about concordance between the information on the text and its style, e.g., a press release would use different style and wording than the one needed for a business proposal or marketing material. The translation must obviously have the correct meaning and it should also reflect the tone of the original, as in the case of a business letter in which the tone shows a sign of irritation as immediate payment of a long due invoice is requested; our translation should reflect that tone but maintaining good manners all the time.
Paulina Torres De Witt
- www.goihata.com

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Facts about Spanish (3)

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

- www.goihata.com
Some of the differences you may notice between the Spanish used in Spain and the one used in Latin America:
Pronunciation: One of the main differences is that many Spaniards often pronounce the z and the c like the “th” in “thin,” while many Latin Americans pronounce it the same as the s. Also, speakers in some areas (Argentina in particular) often pronounce the ll and y like the “s” in “treasure.” In southern areas, you will hear some speakers drop s and r sounds, so “esto” sounds like “eto” and “pagar” sounds like “pagá.” In some areas, the j sounds like the “ch” in “loch” like in “reloj” while in others it sounds like the English “h” like in “jarra.” You’ll become aware of other differences as well, particularly in the rhythm or cadence in which Spanish is spoken in the different countries.
Spanish English translations
Grammar: Among the differences, we can find the use of the pronoun “vos” and “tú” (the singular familiar for “you”) in Latin America and “vosotros” is often used as the plural of “tú” in Spain, while in Latin America “ustedes” is by and large the word used.
Vocabulary: The use of suffixes is widespread, for example, a lápiz is a pencil or crayon everywhere, but a lapicero is a pencil holder in some areas, a mechanical pencil in others, and a ball-point pen in still others. There are also fair numbers of obvious differences, such as a computer being an ordenador in Spain but a computadora in Latin America, but they are probably no more frequent than the British-American differences. Of course, every area also has its peculiar words: as an example, a biscuit in Ecuador is called an allulla, but you will not run across that word in other countries of the region.

Paulina Torres De Witt
- www.goihata.com

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Quality translations

Monday, April 7th, 2008

- www.goihata.com

Every company or individual requiring a translation service needs quality and most of the time a fast delivery wrapped in technical expertise. This is especially important with companies within the life sciences sector such as pharmaceutical and medical laboratories where any inaccurate translation of the information regarding prescribed dosage directions or product description could be extremely harmful and potentially lethal because they are usually manufacturers of medical and surgical equipment exporting on worldwide scale and must provide the most accurate information, complying with all the legal requirements for labelling or instructions in every language spoken within their target markets, for their intended audience. Inaccurate translation for such companies can be costly, both in the cost of correcting poor translations, but more critically in the potential cost to the health of the patient or end user of their products and so, expert localization is vital in these cases.
Medical.Translations
Translators working on these areas are mostly native speakers who have professional experience with a proven track record in the industry. Ideally, they should be practicing surgeons or doctors thus ensuring that the expertise applied to the translation and the terminology used are industry standard to guarantee they are upheld throughout and this is especially important with the Asian languages where perfectionism is key as linguistics is so complicated, and so challenging that it is vital for the Translator’s work to remain accurate usually by staying close to the native tongue, by staying in the country where the language is spoken.
A Translator must have a mix of sharp language skills, formal training, real-life translating experience and most especially the ability to think in two or more languages at once to ensure excellence becomes an intrinsic part and the basis of all our tasks and projects. We should (must!) really exude Quality!
Paulina Torres De Witt
- www.goihata.com

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