If the world were to be a movie, translation services would have been a hero. Imagine, if a “Je’ Taime” from a French guy was never translated into “I love you” to a British girl. Their love story wouldn’t have begun. Sad!

In a world where 7117 languages are spoken today, translation services are such a relief. In an era where 40% of languages are endangered, the importance of translation services in India is gaining momentum.

India alone is home to several hundred dialects.

The 22 languages in the eighth schedule of the Constitution includes,

A language is a tool for communication but it’s not just words that we communicate. We communicate civilizations and actuality.

Imagine Jason, a Brit, watching the classic South Korean movie “Parasite” without any English subtitles.
It’s obvious Jason would have rated the movie a 3-5 out of 10.
An Oscar award-winning movie losing its charm only for a petty reason that Jason failed to grasp the storyline because of the language barrier. Such a pity!

Without translation, the world would appear as a flop movie. A movie with an excellent script, seamless direction but the failure to communicate the message owing to the language barrier turns it into a super-duper loss.

We all have come across the term translation but what is translation?

What is translation?

Wikipedia states that Translation is the transmission of the meaning of a source-language text utilizing a correspondent target-language text.

Fair enough.

You take a piece of text in one language and communicate its meaning in another language. A piece of cake right?

It has its origin from the Latin word “translatio ” implying “a carrying across”.
Simply put, it’s “a carrying across” of a text from one to another language.
Translation involves two languages, the one getting translated from and then another getting translated into.
The language being translated from is called the Source language.
The language to which the translation is done is called the target language also called the receptor language.
Suppose we are aiming to translate a text from English to Mandarin, then English is the Source language, whereas Mandarin is the receptor language

Translation has 2 ideals.

●    Fidelity

●    Felicity

They both are very interesting concepts.
Their nature is conflicting.

These ideals cannot be present together in the same piece of text.
A translated text could either be “beautiful” or “faithful”.

Fidelity also called “faithfulness” means how much accurately a translated text renders the meaning to the source text without distortions. Such text is called faithful.

Felicity also called “transparency” takes into account the magnitude to which a translation appears to a native speaker of the target language to have originally been written in that language, and conforms to its grammar, syntax and idiom. Such text is called idiomatic.

Now you decide, whether you are looking for a faithful text or a transparent text.

What are the types of translation?

Types of Translation

●     Technical translation

Technical translation refers to the translation of user manuals, financial reports, medical reports, minutes of the meetings, instructions leaflets etc.
It’s technical documentation of texts in the field of Information Technology,  mechanics, engineering, electronics.

One needs to have detailed information about the terminology used in the sector of the source text.

●     Scientific translation

The scientific translation is an extension of technical translations. It deals with translating text in the field of science.
Study reports, analysis, articles, thesis papers, research papers etc fall into the ambit of scientific translation.

●     Financial translation

All types of economic documents are covered under financial translation. It deals with translating in the field of finance, banking, cryptocurrency and stock exchange.
Financial translation deals with the translation of financial statements, contracts, packages, accounts etc

●     Legal translation

Translation of all the documents in a legal setting and for a legal purpose is done in the legal translation. Legal translation takes into account the translation of legal documents like warrants, summons, reports of judicial proceedings etc.
The translator should have substantial legal knowledge as most of the legal writing is exact and technical.
It takes into account the translation of administrative texts like remittance drafts, registration certificates and expert commentary for judicial purpose.

●     Judicial translation

Judicial translation refers to the translation of all the documents in the court setting. Court judgements, interrogation minutes, expert opinions, court proceedings etc are translated in this type of translation.

●     Juridical translation

The juridical translation covers legally binding documentation. All type of contracts and agreements, license and commercial agreements, insurance policies, internal regulations, sales and purchase agreement, protocols and conventions etc included in the juridical translation

●     Certified translation

Certified translation is translated by certified or sworn translators. The translator after translating a particular document uses his signature to authenticate the document. It means that the translator accepts the responsibility for the accuracy of a translated document.
One can find a juridical or legal translator working in a courtroom as a certified translator. A certified translator can also act as a legal expert providing a translation of divorce settlements, marital agreements, civil status documentation etc.

●     Literary translation

Literary translation deals with the translation of a literature piece from an ancient language to modern fiction. Translation relating to all types of fiction poetry, prose and drama is included in this type of translation.
Considered as one of the most trickiest translations, literary translation deals with offering the semantic content of a text and then takes into consideration the literary style, rhythm, meter and other literary elements.

Some interesting facts on translation.

• Alexander Argüelles, a polyglot, holds the Guinness Book of World Records for speaking the most languages.
• The most difficult languages to learn for an English speaker are Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
• The English language rules the internet with the tag of being the most popular language.
• Full-time translators can translate around 520,000 words per year.
• Professional translator states that Spanish is the easiest language to translate. Es fácil.
• A recent study states that there are over 330,000 professional translators worldwide. Woah!
• Can you believe that any sacred book can be the most translated book? Believe it, its the Holy Bible.
• Harry Potter is the only novel that has been translated into more than 70 languages. (Harry Potter fans, are you listening?)

Most popular language pair in demand for translation in India.

• English to Hindi
• Hindi to English
• English to Telugu
• English to Tamil
• English to Marathi

The most widely used language on the internet is English. Chinese has the second largest user base on the internet.

5 common misconceptions about translation.

• Anyone who speaks a foreign language can be a translator.
• Anyone raised bilingually can be a translator.
• Translation tools can totally replace a human translator.
• The translation is such a waste of time, everybody knows English.
• The translation is a piece of cake, anybody can do that.
• There is only one possible translation of every piece of text.
• Translation deals only with the translation of words.
• I can translate the whole text with the help of a dictionary.

Who does translations?

The translation is nothing less than art. For every art, we need artists. Translation services to have artists; learned, skilled and knowledgeable. Every movie needs a solid script, the writer drives the story from the beginning to the end.

In the field of translation, it’s the translator and interpreters that steers the work.

The person who actively participates in the translation process is,

• Translators
• Interpreters.

And yes they both aren’t the same. It’s a huge misconception that both the term means the same.

Interpreter job is to just to interpret, infer or comprehend. His work deals with the oral aspect of the text.

The Translator’s job is to do the actual translation. His work deals with the written aspect of the text.

Apart from these, we have subject experts, linguists and language specialists to support the process of translation.

Who needs translation services?

The world has become small. There ceases to be any physical barrier. Be it trade, business, communication or anything, we are going global. With the physical barrier not in the play, with the arising need to be present everywhere, with the desire to grow in nooks and corners of the world, has arisen the necessity of “getting understood”.

Though establishing our footprint overseas can be easy, the same business model, plan and strategies that worked in your country can fall flat if you fail to communicate with your potential customers abroad.

This is where the need for translation services arise. For scaling our business, customers must understand the communication from global businesses. This helps to build a rapport and a certain level of comfort for purchasing and using the businesses products. Content writing firms, hospitality, real estate, education, tourism, health and wellness, legal services, businesses etc make use of translation services for facilitating their work.

Translation in their native language built a comfort level amongst the customers. People give preference to their native language. It’s near to them and they can relate to it.

Not everybody understands English. The message communicated must be clear and in a language best understood by the readers.

Translation helps not only to communicate words but it’s also a medium of keeping civilization alive by cross-culture communications.

Translation creates a common understanding between people of different cultures and backgrounds.

A multilingual and multicultural world will thrive only with effective, clear and efficient communication. We benefit greatly in all the spheres of life by harnessing the power of translation.

What is the process of translation?

A normal translation process goes through a typical 3 phase namely,

●     Pre-production phase

●     Production phase

●     Post-production phase

Pre-production phase.

All the processes involved before the actual translation process is included in this phase.

It includes,

Inquiry

The client communicates his requirements to the translation company. It also helps the translation company to determine their course of action. It is in this case, that both the parties determine if they are compatible or not. Various aspects like submission of work, work format, date submission, other specific requirements are also determined in this period.

Quotation

This is a crucial part of the process. Based on the initial discussion, the translation company prepares a price quote and forward it to the client. Any discount, deductions or deals are discussed in this and both the parties agree at a common price for the project.

Client agreement

It is at this point that both the parties enter into an official agreement. NDA, deadlines, work submissions, mode of payment etc are included in the agreement to which both the party signs.

Handling of project information

This deals with the ethical vision of the translation company. The translation company adheres to any demand of the client regarding the non-disclosure of the information. They also take full responsibility for avoiding any information gaps.

Production process

This is the phase where actual translation takes place.

It includes,

Translation

The translator along with the help of subject experts, linguists and language experts translates the document from the source text into another language.

Checking

The document translated is checked by the translator. It is scanned for any mistakes or issues with the translation.

Revision

The translated document is edited and reviewed by a native speaker in the translated language against the source content.

Review

This is an optional process. This includes a monolingual check of the translated document in a target language. The main aim of this process is to avoid misinformation or hurting the feelings of the readers.

Proofread

This process involves examining the revised target language content. It also makes necessary corrections before the translated document is sent for printing.

Final verification

A project manager is appointed by the translation company for every project. He is in charge of doing the final pre-delivery check to ensure the specifications have been fulfilled.

Post-production process

This includes all the process that takes place after the actual translation has taken place.
It includes,

Feedback

The client forwards the feedback to the translation company. The translation company keeps the feedback and uses it for further improvement.

Closing administration

The closing administration deals with generating and forwarding the invoices. It is the phase where the payments are made.

How much does a translation service cost?

” Show me the money”.

Yes, money is an important factor. The translation services usually charge per word. The “per source word” pricing word model is widely used.

Broadly the translation services in the world also charge according to,

• Per word
• Per line
• Per page
• Per hour
• Flat fee
• Minimum Price
• Customised pricing

The charge depends on various factors like,

• The volume of data to be translated.
• The complexity of source text.
• The language pair.
• Expected turnaround time.

There is no standard cost for translation services. A plethora of components come into play when determining the cost of a typical project. The charge can start from as low as $0.15 to as high as $0.30 per word.

Now that you have unearthed the A to Z of translation, make the best use of it to grow your businesses. Choosing the best translation services for your translation needs in 2021 to gain maximum benefit because, in the end, it’s a translation that introduces you to the rest of the world.