Why Professional Translations Are Worth the Money
As we all know, professional, human translations are expensive. However, they are well worth the cost. On the internet, there are services, such as Google Translate, or other translation websites, that are free. These services are notorious for being inaccurate and even hilarious at times. They often don’t take into account the correct usage of grammar, metaphors, puns, etc.
Humans can interpret the text and replicate the tone, as well as the meaning of the text into another language. Even if machine translations improve drastically, they will never match up to the quality of a professional translation. A lot of the time, there are several different meanings for each word or different ways to say it that would change the tone dramatically.
Time to “Tap”
Let’s take the English word “tap” as an example. It can be described as a light touch, or a faucet of sorts. It can also be translated to click, strike, touch, and knock. Now let’s say that you are trying to translate “He tapped the glass” into Chinese. If you were to use Google Translate, it comes out as “��了杯子”, and translated again using Google Translate, it means, “He knocked on the cup.” This has a completely different feel to it. If this was translated by a person, it would most likely be more accurate.
This isn’t to say machine translations have no validity. They are often correct as well. If you were to put simple words like “cup” or “paper” into Google Translate, it would most likely become what you were looking for or capture the basic idea. Human translators will just probably be more correct in the long run. In business, “capturing the basic idea” may not be enough.
A Team of Support
Professional translators may also be better than just your friend, or someone you know who may or may not be fluent with the language that you are attempting to translate something to. There is often a team behind professional translating. This ensures that you have an almost certain chance of getting a translation that is true to tone, grammar, and accuracy. Some people may also be fluent in speaking the language, but they have a hard time reading or writing it. You don’t have to worry about any of this with professionals.
Language can’t be accurately shaped by an algorithm. It can convey feelings and thoughts, things that machines are unable to experience. Only people can accurately portray this. There’s no replacement for the flow of words or interesting ways people are able to speak and write.
A business owner may lose business and be responsible for some legitimate charges, but the dishonorable translation cost someone his life. Basically, it is not justified, despite the possible benefits.
While quality translation will cost more than low-cost translation, it goes beyond guaranteeing the honesty of the organization. The money spent on appropriate translation is amortized, ensuring that none of these costly situations are applied to the organization.