Excerpt from: Translation, Localization and Interpretation
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| February 22, 2010 | | Investing in quality language translation is generally worth the money. | Faulty machine translations or handing translation
tasks over to workers who “sort of” speak a foreign language can be costly in several
ways.
Relying on automatic translation for material that
will reach consumers and customers is definitely a no-go. The translation may
be free, but it can cost your company in terms of your corporate image. It can
even turn out false or negative information about your products. Also,
litigation over faulty translation is not unheard of in the business world.
Assuming that employees who speak another language can
“do the job” can also lead to inaccurate translations, with the same results
cited above. It’s also not a good human resource investment. Asking someone
with no experience or training to do any formal translation work will take the
employee away from his or her regular job – sometimes for a long time, as
translation can be slow going for a novice.
Even truly bilingual staff members may well be
unqualified to do professional translations. As American Translators Association
president Jiri Stejskal has pointed out, professionals don’t just translate the
words -- they are also tuned into the cultural context of the language they are
translating to. They are also aware of the importance of accurate translation, as
well as being top-notch writers.
If you work with a language service provider such as Language
Translation, Inc., you can be sure to get the best translator for your
specific needs.
Betty
Carlson | | |
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