Film schools » Translations



Translations


Speaking a second language has become very important for all people, no matter where you are, a language different than yours is spoken in your country. Speaking a language in an informal context gives certain freedom to make some mistakes as long as the general idea is understandable however when you’re communicating in the written word, it’s another matter altogether. Writing usually has a formal context so there cannot be any mistakes. Writing is a complex process and the translation of a document is even more complex.

Translation means to rewrite a document from one language to another keeping its original meaning. The translation process can be difficult for some people, to do it correctly one must possess an extended knowledge of grammar, syntax, vocabulary, etc in both of the languages you are using. It is also advisable to know about the topic you are going to translate because this allows you to recognize lthe main idea faster. Usually a text has several paragraphs; each one has an idea which put together form the general idea. A translator must keep the same meaning to the general idea and to the ones in each paragraph as well.

The problem usually comes when there are no words in the one of the languages with the same meaning to that of the original text or when the tense or grammar structure does not exist in the other language either. To give an example English grammar is different from Spanish or any other idioms; in those kind of situations is when the translator has to use the knowledge he/ or she has to replace the words for the correct ones which will have the same idea the other language did.

Nowadays many companies have foreign business partners as a result they are hiring people who speak the client’s language to make the negotiations however when they need to make a document like a contract, an introduction letter, etc, most of these companies look for a translation agency, these companies can guarantee the equate of the text because they have specialized people in translation. There are different people for each language.

Over the internet is possible to find hundreds of websites which offer translation services. In some of them the translation is done by software and not by a professional. These kinds of translators are helpful when the text is not an important one and you just want to get a general idea because they will not translate exactly as in the original text. The best alternative is to choose an agency or person to do the translations, you will most likely have to pay a fee but the result will be a thousand times better. Remember that usually a translator charges by word, they have a rate which is about 5 or 6 cents per word, that is depending on the company of course.