Clarifying General Misconceptions About Translation – Part II

In Clarifying General Misconceptions about Translation – Part I, we have already discussed some of the wrong ideas that most people have about translation. We feel that there is still a lot to say and want to help our readers get rid of misunderstandings about translation. The following content will certainly be relevant to you if you are planning to have any sort of texts translated.

Translators and interpreters are NOT the same

When you tell others that you are a translator, it is very common to hear questions like “Oh, so you have to sit in a cabin for your work, right?” or “Wow, you meet a lot of important people then, don’t you?”. Such questions are based on the misunderstanding that a translator is an interpreter. In fact, however, those two professions are not identical.

A translator works on written texts. This work is nowadays mostly done remote, as it is easy to receive work online and submit translations to clients via email or net-based platforms. An interpreter, on the other hand, translates spoken texts. That is why interpreters might sit in cabins or get to know “important people” at international conferences, meetings among politicians, TV shows etc. – while translators have no reason to do so.

CAT tools are NOT the same as machine translation

Most modern linguists use CAT tools for their professional practice. It is important to note that CAT tools are absolutely not the same as machine translation. While machine translation is carried out by a machine and should not be used for anything that is actually really important (please find out more here), a CAT tool is a tool that linguists operate while they translate. To learn more about CAT tools, please check out our CAT tool blog and also get to know some basic concepts behind technology in translation!

An English website alone is NOT enough to attract clients

Many businesses expand locally making use of the internet to reach new clients from all over the world. In many companies, it is quite common to believe that once there is an English language website, it will be sufficient to attract new customers. The truth, however, is that in order to be successful, you need to have website content in many more languages, as we explain here.

Even a talented translator CANNOT translate every type of content

Many people hold the belief that a professional translator, for example for Spanish to English, will be able to handle all sorts of Spanish to English assignments. In fact, however, it is practically impossible that one person is good with all sorts of texts. Just consider how many fields there are – from medical texts and financial translation over poetry and marketing to IT, education, etc. Nobody can really claim that he/she can do all of it. That is why linguists normally specialise in certain areas or industries to guarantee high quality standards. A reliable translation service provider will help clients choose the right translator for each sort of text.

Now that you have read about these general misconceptions, do you feel like “Oh no – that sounds just like me”? Don’t worry! elionetwork knows that particularly clients who have never used translation services before, often hold incorrect assumptions about localisation – and we don’t blame them. What we do is to provide reliable advice for each and every client, listen to specific needs and find tailor-made solutions. Please contact our professional team to see how we can help you.