What Is Translation?

Know The
Different Types Of Translation
Do your business information needs to be conveyed appropriately to the
audience in their native language? The translation is a key solution for
every growing international business.

If you have never worked with a translation agency before, you would not
understand how difficult it is to find the best-certified translation company near
you. Despite thousands of options in the market, it is quite exhausting to find the
right company that meets your translation needs.

So, here in this chapter , we have covered the major steps or ways to find out the
best-certified translation vendor near your location or business market

What is Translation?
Translation like powerful patent translation, as you might have heard, is the art of
converting written words from one language to another. It consists of two types of
languages, viz. source language and target language(s). The former is the
language of the original documents, while the latter is the language in which the
documents need to be translated. So, when you approach a translation vendor,
you will be asked about the source and target languages. Upon translation, you
will receive a similar copy of the original files in a different language (target
languages).

Using the translated copy, you can reach out to a global audience, communicate
and fulfill your end objective.

What Exactly Translation Means?

The translation is the transmission of written text from one language (the source)
to another language (the target). Although translation and interpretation mostly
used interchangeably, by actual definition, translation refers to the written
language, and interpretation refers to the spoken language.
The main objective of translation is to transfer the intent of a message and
original tone, taking into consideration regional and cultural differences between
target and source languages.
Nowadays, translation is a field that is seeing a lot of activity these days, it’s all
because of the increasing globalization of businesses. There is a large number of
people in a country that do not speak their local language well.

Of course, this portends well for the translation industry. There are different types
of translation that may be needed, and each of them is unique, with its specific
requirements and processes. If you are partnering with international business, it
would be useful to hire translation services near ur organigation , who can
understand your specific needs and can accommodate them. Experienced
translation service professionals, whether working as a part of a company or
individual, can deliver the exact translation service you have expected.

This becomes very valuable when content creation is consistent and can be
reused- eventually translating into cost reduction, and saving time by the
deduction of duplication of efforts.
On your part, it is essential that you conduct a meeting with your service provider
over the phone and convey them your exact needs- the more information you
can deliver them about your business, the easier it will be for them to meet your
specific needs and expectations. If you can, try to set out important jargon or
terms used in your industry, and a style guide. Furthermore, discuss with
the translation providers to familiarize them with the products and services you
offer.

Translations can be classified into two- non-business related, and business-

related categories. However, there is some kind of overlap in both categories. So
let’s determine the most common types of translations that you can hire.

Different Types Of Translation

1. Technical Translation-
A technical translation is always needed if you intend to market a technical
product in some other country. In this situation, the technical documentation must
be translated into the language of the specific country. Technical documentation
involves product data sheets, user manuals, product descriptions, maintenance
manuals, operating instructions, product descriptions, and much more besides.
There is a major need of technical translation in every industry.

If your technical documents are to be considered user-friendly, they must fulfill

certain criteria. Experienced technical translators can help you in adhering to
these criteria in the foreign language also.
Any technical content that has to be translated- manuals, user guides, online
help text, training materials, video, instruction booklets, marketing materials for
technical fields such as engineering or science, manufacturing- all these come
under technical translation. When selecting a translation company, it is important
to analyze how well-trained they are with the jargon and terminology used in your
specific industry- if they are not as familiar with the stuff as you want but they are
good in the translation, it would make sense to deliver the complete information
about your company so that they can get familiar with your business in general,
and your business in particular. By nature, technical content translation is a little
difficult, and even a tiny mistake can result in a huge loss, therefore it’s ideal to
use the benefits of translation services as this will assure you that you are getting
the best from the best.

2. Legal Translation-
Many people in the UK use a language other than English at home and with the
emergence of global commerce, the requirement for multilingual forms, contracts,
tenders, and other legal documents is continuously growing. Legal translation is
important for businesses and public organizations.

Many organizations need legal documents translating. This is often a

complicated task. Even small mistakes in the effective legal translation can lead
to potential lawsuits and legal exposure, consuming time and money and putting
hard-won reputations at risk.
This is the most complex translations, and involves marriage certificate and birth
certificate translations, translating contracts, memorandums, agreements, wills,
and so on. A professional translator needs to understand the multiple underlying
texts of the document and that of the two countries or regions for which the
documents are needed- the politico-legal aspects, and the socio-cultural aspects
as well. They would then require to translate in a certain way that the target
audience can easily understand the text. Even if you are familiar with the culture
and are good at translation, you may need to hire an experienced translation
service company so as to make sure that your translation is error-free.

3. Book Translation-
Book translation needs an excellent knowledge of the target and source
languages. Only a person who knows the importance of the original tone of the
book can translate its exact meaning. Book translation assists in capturing the
massive crowd of the entire world. It comes to play to enable decoding of written
stories, poems, books, and much such contents of literature written in foreign
languages.

Getting more and more books translated initiates you to experiment with your
own literature. Many authors avail book translation with an aim to communicate
textually attitudes, thoughts, and intentions into another language by creating
varied copies just as the original one.

Furthermore, there are different types of translation for marketing that you can
consider according to your needs.
4. Medical Translation-
A medical translation covers many areas in the medical field, including the
translation of information pertaining to pharmaceutical products, translations of
essential product information for medical devices utilized for things like hip and
knee replacements and research findings and patient medical reports and notes.

The benefit of medical translation is that it plays a huge role in helping healthcare
providers implement the required treatment needed for patients in their care who
don’t speak their native language well enough to permit proper communication.
This shows the value of trustworthy medical translation in the healthcare industry.
Any medical content that is related to labels, instructions, packaging, scientific
papers, medical device documentation, doctor prescriptions, pharma studies and
so on, generally needs translation services, It is absolutely imperative that the
translation service providers are well-experienced, have the appropriate
knowledge, and are in-country professionals.
Translation of medical documents can be complicated as the needs of the
translation can vary from country to country; a company specialized in translation
would be your profitable bet, as they would know the intricacies of all the different
requirements. The professional translation company doesn’t risk the quality of the
translated document by using machine translation. Therefore, they avoid
machine translation as this doesn’t guarantee to deliver a well-translated
document.

5. Patent Translation-
Translation of patents is the task of translating patent documentation into another
language. These are most likely to be ready by legal experts and genuine patent
license in a foreign country. The patent translation should be such that a person
having no prior knowledge of it also knows the invention. A small mistake can
make or break the deal, so utmost care should be taken for the proper
translation. Patent translation in a particular country also meets the filing
country’s particular patent norms.

6. Multimedia Translation-
Multimedia translation is advantageous because it makes it possible to
communicate effectively with the target market, which represents market
penetration. Localization also makes sure that the requirements of the target
market are taken into consideration. Additionally, it makes sure that the
messages conveyed suit them effortlessly.

In the case of the international market, the majority of the consumers will most
likely buy products from sellers or companies that deliver information in their
language. Multimedia translation in health care assists to satisfy the need for the
provision of information in the language of the stakeholders.
Graphics, videos, animations, infographics, GIFs- all this can be merged under
multimedia; and this is very essential today, as more and more organizations are
creating multimedia content to reach their audience and keep them engaged.
Localizing this content can be a little difficult though it may look very simple from
the outside. It has to be relevant for the local culture, and appeal to the
customers in that region.
If you don’t do it efficiently, you could end up disrespecting your audience and
drive them away. Obviously, you don’t want this to happen so to avoid them it’s
good to hire multimedia translation services.
7. Script Translation-
Translating your script can have numerous advantages. It can help you reach
more populations all around the world and can help people understand your
content. Localization is a very important factor to reach people. Translating the
scripts is good for the people who don’t know your native language but are
interested in your script. Translating your videos or movies into the script will also
assist adding subtitles to them. This is also going to help you with a wider reach.
Subtitles are great for people who are either heard of hearing or deaf.

If you have your translated script ready in another language, you can easily add
subtitles for your audience of that language. Subtitles will also help the people
who love watching videos or movies without turning on the sound.
Many popular TV shows and movies that come out of Hollywood and Bollywood
are dubbed into multiple languages and are released worldwide; sometimes the
films are in Indian languages and dubbed into English like the Telugu language
blockbuster, Baahubali, which was released in German and Chinese, among
other languages. But for these releases to happen, first the script has to be
translated into the target language.

You can count it as a literary translation, but it’s not exactly the same. Sometimes
it can be little dicey, as translating jokes, punchlines, or catchy phrases into
another language to leave the same impact on the audience is very difficult.
That’s why it’s important to hire the script translation providers as they can bring
accuracy in the translation. With more movies being released in different
languages these days, the script translation is very much in demand today.

8. Contract Translation-
Because of the role of contracts and the possible repercussions if one of the
parties breaches an aspect of the contract the significance of contract
translations cannot be understood if the parties included do not share the same
language. It is so convenient to misunderstand a legal contract if it is not
accurately translated by a high-skilled contract translator. When a legal contract
is binding those parties involves need effective language translation services to
know exactly what is involved otherwise a breach of contract could take place.

9. License Translation
A driving license is a government-issued document that is delivered when you
have passed the essential tests and are approved by the concerned officer. It
contains information such as the name of the applicant, date of issuance, license
number and date of expiry, and other details. A person is not permitted to drive in
the country without the respective license. A driving license is required to be
translated as well sometimes. It is important that certified driving license
translation is obtained as the legal documents are not be played with.

Hiring experienced certificate translator will ensure reliable conversion of the

driving license from one language to another.
10. Literary Translation
The name is pretty predictable- literary translation depicts the translation of
literary works like novels, stories, books, and so on. It is often considered as the
biggest form of translation because this type of translation is so much more than
just converting the context and the meaning of the document into the target
language. It involves many relevant cultural nuances, translating humor,
emotions, feelings, and other subtle aspects of a particular work. Many
litterateurs say that it is very difficult. Some examples of situations that could be
complicated are- puns, rhyming words, anagrams, idioms, and so on.

Most of the time, there are no appropriate translations in the target languages,
and the humor is lost. Have you ever tried to translate a joke into another
language? If yes, then you would certainly understand what we are trying to say
here. Haven’t you felt that after translating, the funny part doesn’t remain as
funny as it was? That’s why it’s important to hire expert translation services who
can translate every single word without changing its uniqueness.
11. Commercial Translation
This type of translation need language translator with specialized skills, such as
knowledge of the business, and the industry to which it belongs. This kind of
translation of commercial documents could include business reports,
correspondence, company accounts, tender documents, memos, and so on.

12. Website Translations

We are obviously discussing subtitles for videos on your web pages, website
copy, and any documents you have on your site. Here you will also require to
change things such as address formats, currencies, and layouts, so as to reach
the different local audiences. Now when it comes to website localization vs
website translation, then it needs to be specified that website translation and
localization both are difficult and to be done by professionals.

You need to think about the languages you want your site to be translated in and
then locate the pages accordingly. Hiring a website translation company will ease
the process if you want accuracy in your work.
It takes a lot of effort for executing quick website translation as a small mistake
can lead to a heavy loss.

13. Administrative Translation

In the realm of translation, administrative demonstrates the translation of
management texts you often see being used in companies- whether regional
businesses or huge corporations. Though quite similar to commercial translators,
it’s not exactly the same. While administrative translation can be called as a part
of commercial translation, all commercial translation is not administrative.

Conclusion:
Do you need a quality translation of your documents? Do you want your business
to grow internationally? If yes, hiring a translation agency for same day document
translation is the next thing that you should do. At Tridindia, we take care of your
translation requirements, no matter big or small. We have talented experts on
board, who translate all types of documents in different Indian and foreign
languages (including different dialects). So, we have got you covered for all your
diverse translation needs.

Quiz and Observations ,

The Illusion of Transparency

"A translated text, whether prose or poetry, fiction or nonfiction, is judged

acceptable by most publishers, reviewers, and readers when it reads fluently,
when the absence of any linguistic or stylistic peculiarities makes it seem
transparent, giving the appearance that it reflects the foreign writer's personality
or intention or the essential meaning of the foreign text--the appearance, in other
words, that the translation is not, in fact, a translation, but the 'original.' The
illusion of transparency is an effect of fluent discourse, of the translator's effort to
ensure easy readability by adhering to current usage, maintaining
continuous syntax, fixing a precise meaning. What is so remarkable here is that
this illusory effect conceals the numerous conditions under which
the translation is made . . .." (Lawrence Venuti, The Translator's Invisibility: A
History of Translation. Routledge, 1995)
The Process of Translation
"Here, then, is the full process of translation. At one point we have a writer in a
room, struggling to approximate the impossible vision that hovers over his head.
He finishes it, with misgivings. Some time later we have a translator struggling to
approximate the vision, not to mention the particulars of language and voice, of
the text that lies before him. He does the best he can but is never satisfied. And
then, finally, we have the reader. The reader is the least tortured of this trio, but
the reader too may very well feel that he is missing something in the book, that
through sheer ineptitude he is failing to be a proper vessel for the book’s
overarching vision." (Michael Cunningham, "Found in Translation." The New
York Times, Oct. 2, 2010)
The Untranslatable
"Just as there are no exact synonyms within a language ('big' does not mean
precisely the same as 'large'), there are no exact matches for words or expressions
across languages. I can express the notion 'four year old male uncast rated
domesticated reindeer' in English. But our tongue lacks the economy of
information packaging found in Tofa, a nearly extinct tongue I studied in Siberia.
Tofa equips reindeer herders with words like 'chary' with the above meaning.
Furthermore, that word exists within a multidimensional matrix that defines the
four salient (for the Tofa people) parameters of reindeer: age, sex, fertility, and
rideability. Words are untranslatable because [they] do not exist in a flat,
alphabetised dictionary style list, but rather in a richly structured taxonomy
of meaning. They are defined by their oppositions to and similarities to multiple
other words--in other words, the cultural backdrop." (K. David Harrison, linguist
at Swarthmore College, in "Seven Questions for K.
David Harrison." The Economist, Nov. 23, 2010)

If you’re at all like me, you have probably tried to order a drink or a meal in a
language you aren’t completely fluent in and have experienced the hot-faced reality of
your server wincing at your pronunciation and narrowing their eyes trying to decipher
your requests.

I mean, “A” for effort...but, there’s room for improvement.

That’s because the process of taking a word--or turn of phrase--and translating it

effectively (readability, grammar, context, culture all considered) is no easy feat.

We all understand the concept, but the reality of translation goes much deeper than
sheer word replacement. Capiche? 🍝

What Is Translation?
Translation is the process of reworking text from one language into another to
maintain the original message and communication.

But, like everything else, there are different methods of translation, and they vary in
form and function.

Let’s break down the most prominent language service types to better understand their
full potential and purpose:

1. General Translation - An All-Purpose Method

A simple but vital process of changing the actual words on your website, app, or
product into another language.

Both professional human and machine translation fall under this umbrella and it is the
first tier of language services we offer at Smartling.
2. Transcreation Transforms Content
While translation focuses on replacing the words in one language with corresponding
words in a new language, transcreation services are focused on conveying the same
message and concept in a new language. Transcreation best serves creative,
marketing-focused copy and typically the process begins with a creative brief.

Not sure if transcreation is what you need?

Here’s a helpful hint: If your text is designed to trigger an action from the customer,
transcreation is likely a good choice.

The depth that transcreation can bring to the table can sometimes even result in
reshaping your marketing messaging to better resonate with an audience - if the
translator working on your account folds in the right amount of targeting and
localization!

Now that is getting your money’s worth!

3. Localization Hits the Spot

Drilling down and manipulating your copy to reach a deliberate segment of your
target demographic can have many benefits to your bottom line.

I have written about it before, but it bears repeating: If you’re looking to share ideas
or products and services with a new audience, you want to make sure it doesn’t
include any confusing or offensive language, references, etc.

Taking into consideration a culture’s norms, beliefs, and values is crucial to making a
good impression.

Localization takes your content and allows it to capture and resonate with a new
audience in a new location.
And of course, content in new languages means a wider potential audience to capture
who will engage with your messaging.

4. Globalization and Thinking Big

Most companies strive for a strong international presence and positive global
recognition.

When you’re aiming to reach and connect people on a global scale your operations,
financial planning, social media and digital strategy needs to be buttoned up to
optimize your potential of success.

If your startup gets bought out and the buyer wants you to focus on translating all the
details of your company’s mission, you had better double check the intricacies of the
very foundation of your company.

Globalizing your efforts into a streamlined and cohesive package requires the “kitchen
sink” of translation services in order to ensure minimal internal and external errors,
and fight off even the most miniscule of misunderstandings that could hinder your
reputation.

5. Simplify Software Translation With

Internationalization
Without getting too deep into the weeds, internationalization is the process of building
your application or product to support multiple languages and writing conventions,

Internationalization requires developers to account for localization from the very first
planning stages of their platform or service.

As we close out 2019, the research has been done. In report after report, the key to a
strong international presence lies in 1. Mobile and 2. Apps. No news there!

Level up: the service, solution or product your company offers must be top notch in
order to further extend the power they hold.
 Different Language Services (Don’t Worry, We’re
Fluent)
Here’s your cheat sheet to some of the many language services Smartling offers.

Legal Translation, or the translation of legal documents. Agreements can be copy-

heavy and most of the time have the power to hold a lot of weight as it is critical to
protecting the rights of a company, employees and reputation.

When done professionally, legal translation weaves in a deep understanding of how

and where the translated content is to be used. This is because it will impact how you
go about having fair accurate content as well as the ability to refine your approach to
the translation process.

Legal translation includes:

 Company employee contracts
 Client agreements
 Terms of Service
 Vendor contracts

Literary Translation, or the translation of published literary works, focuses on

translating a work of one culture and shaping it into a digestible art form in another
language.

Our translator, Nao, discusses the excitement of being able to open the world up to see
the beauty of Japanese culture through her work as a translator.

Literary translation includes:

 Novels
 Publications
 Higher Education texts

Commercial and Financial Translation, is a reworking of fundamental banking,

economic and details within the commercial or financial sectors of a business.
Accurate information for stakeholders falls under this category.

Commercial and Financial translation includes:

 Partner/vendor/contractor documents
 Banking statements
 Payment records
 Medical/Healthcare Translation, the translating of professional medical materials,
must be handled with precision. When peoples’ lives are at stake, your translation has
to be 100%.

Medical translation includes:

 Clinical trials
 Medication information and warnings
 Patient history

Technical Translation, or the translation of scientific and technological data, is often

the basis for future planning and, therefore, needs to be clearly conveyed.

Technical translation includes:

 Technical writing
 Coding
 Owner's manuals
 User guides

Smartling is here to help with all your Translation, including Transcreation,

Localization, Globalization, with access to translators that specialize in Legal
Translation, Literary Translation, Commercial/Financial Translation,
Medical/Healthcare Translation and Technical Translation.

If you would like more information on these services or just want to say hi, reach out!
We would love to take you through the options we believe would help you secure
quality translation that serves your bottom line.
About Laura
Laura Wyant is a freelance digital strategist and writer/editor. She is currently
working with start-ups, tech companies, and health and healing spaces. Laura
has been contributing to the Smartling blog on topics around cloud translation,
digital strategy, and overall creative translation process. When she isn’t working
in media, she is working to educate herself on matters such as intersectional
women’s health and advancements in technology.