A certified translation is a translation from one language to another language by a professional who can ensure that he or she has a perfect understand of the two languages, and that the translation is complete, accurate, and true to its meaning.
These certified translations go through a process which create a legally binding record recognized by U.S. officials, courts, and academic institutions. If you need any professional documents translated such as birth certificates, court transcriptions, marriage certificates, or anything else legally important, you will have to make sure it’s a certified translation or it won’t count.
If you are a translator yourself, it’s understandable that you would want the translations to be done by yourself. You’re probably able to translate the languages well, and of course you would trust your own translations. It’s also quicker than hiring a professional, and it saves you a lot of money that you would otherwise be required to pay someone else in order to complete the work for you.
Unfortunately, certified translations are not allowed to be made by yourself for a few important reasons. Translating a document yourself doesn’t offer the right level of assurance to government officials that the document hasn’t been forged. Of course, you are a trustworthy individual and wouldn’t dare forge a document, but it has happened in the past and it’s better to be safe than sorry. Furthermore, the government needs to be assured that the translation is of the best quality, and written from an unbiased point of view, so it would be ideal if the translator was also a stranger to you.
When we translate our own work, we often don’t think about quality as much as we should. Even the smallest, tiniest mistake on a legal document can mean the difference between being granted citizenship in a country or being turned away and flown out immediately. Accuracy is key in this case, so you can’t afford to have any mistakes in your document. Having your document translated by someone else severely lessens the chance of errors being made, even if you’re the best translator there is. It also can relieve some of the pressure that you might feel if you tend to work poorly under stressful conditions such as this.
The risk of making a mistake in our own document is quite big, and any mistake causes a lot of pain, headaches and grief. This, in turn, takes up a lot of time in a process which is already complicated. It doesn’t need to get more complicated than it already is. This is why government officials only accept certified translations which have been written and certified by a different translator, so they can ensure the best quality work and complete the process in the least time possible. It’s not because they don’t think you’re good enough, it’s because it’s only natural to make mistakes.
It can be a good and smart idea to hire a translation service such as inlingua Utah to handle all certified translation needs. Professionals such as these can help to make sure that your documents are thoroughly proofread for any mistakes, and present you with the highest quality product.