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Translator or interpreter? |
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Translators deal with written texts, whereas interpreters assist with the spoken word, for example at company visits, conferences or courts of law. Each task requires different skills.
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Always use ... |
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... a professional translator
If a job is important, don't be tempted to use someone with only moderate
linguistic competence unless it's a case, for example, of simply finding
out what a foreign document means. Translation is a specialised
task and requires different skills from teaching a foreign language
or speaking it well.
… a mother tongue speaker
In other words, to guarantee fluency and accuracy use a German
native to translate into German or a French native to translate
into French. Conversely, you will need an English native speaker
to translate from German into English. Although this might not be
essential when translating texts for information, it is an absolute
must for anything which is to be published. Or would you have your
company brochure written by a non-native English speaker?
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Background info |
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Give your translator as much background information as you possibly
can, i.e. tell him/her what the text is for, and provide any visual
aids that you might have. An existing contact in the relevant country
could be invaluable for help with specialist terminology.
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Answering queries |
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If a translator asks questions about the text, it does not mean
that he/she is incompetent. Quite the contrary: it means that the
translator reads the text carefully and takes the task seriously.
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Give the translator enough time |
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Translation is not just a one-by-one exchange of words. Instead,
the text has to be re-written in the other language, and producing
highly readable copy takes time. Just consider how long it took
to write the original English …
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Proof before print |
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Always have typeset copy proofread once more before sending it
off to print. Small mistakes creep in all too easily! |
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