Professional Translations and Context

Professional Translation Services – Professional Translations and Context

By: L. Amado 01/28/2010

Languages are systems to encode and decode information. Human or natural languages are cultural constructs; they are arbitrary and based on convention. They not only reflect but effectively shape the way we see reality. The main function of human language is communication and all human language carries meaning. But since all communication and meaning take place in a given environment, context plays a major role.

At its core, translation – whether amateur or professional translation – involves understanding the meaning of a text in a given language and producing an equivalent text that communicates the same meaning in another language. The language of the text to be translated is known as the source language and the language that it is to be translated into is called the target language.

Before translating, the translator needs to understand the meaning of a text. To do so, the translator has to take context into consideration. Context refers to the total environment in which a word, phrase, or sentence appears. Context is very important because we do not translate words in isolation but rather words bound by their syntactic, situational and cultural contexts. We can safely say that for most practical purposes context determines the meaning of a text.

Take the word “bat” in English. It can be used as a noun or as a verb. In the sentences “He hit the ball with the bat” and “The bat flew into the night”, the term is used as the same part of speech, a noun, but with two completely different meanings. In the first sentence, we are talking about a wooden or metallic club, in the second about a winged, furry, nocturnal mammal. Things get more complicated when we consider “bat” as a verb. For example, “He will bat next” (meaning to strike with a bat) or “She did not bat an eyelid” (informal, to blink).

According to pragmatics, the subfield of linguistics which studies the ways in which context influences meaning, there are two primary types of context with relevance to meaning: linguistic (sometimes also referred to as verbal) and situational (or social).

Linguistic context refers to all the linguistic factors which influence or shape the meaning of the text. Words or lexical units in a text do not occur in isolation; they interact with other words and the text as a whole. Most words have more than one meaning or category and translators need to understand the way in which they are used. The best way to find the particular meaning of a word is to look into the context.

Situational context refers to the non-linguistic factors which influence or shape the meaning of a text. The same sentence or statement used in different circumstances may have quite different or even opposite meanings. Situational factors may include the body language of the speaker and the hearer in oral communication, and the social, political, moral, cultural and economical environment. Other factors to take into account are conventions, value systems, religious beliefs and even ideology.

Experienced professional and certified translators working for professional translation services companies such as such as ASTA-USA Translation Services (www.asta-usa.com) and its legal division Legal Translation Solutions (www.legaltranslationsolutions.com) are well aware that they do not translate words in isolation, but rather words with meanings determined by linguistic and situational context and that developing context awareness is one of the most important requisites for a professional translator.

Thoughts on Professional Spanish Language Translations

Professional Translation Services – Some Thoughts on Professional Spanish Language Translations

By: L. Amado 01/26/2010

A professional translation services company should be able to help its customers identify the best target language (the company’s translation team must be sensitive to the idiosyncrasies of individual countries and their regional differences) in order to maximize the benefits and impact of its professional translations.

Language translation experts will tell you that this can be particularly tricky when translating from one language into Spanish. It is important to take into account the fact that the Spanish language has a vast geographic dispersion. From Spain to the Philippines and from the US and Canadian border to Tierra del Fuego, the Spanish language is spoken by nearly 350 million people and is the official language of more than 20 countries as well as being the de facto second language of the United States after English, with around 43 million native speakers.

If feasible, and when appropriate, the best and safest course of action is to go for a neutral or not country-specific professional translation. Such a professional translation would assure clear communication and would be perfectly suitable for all Spanish-speaking markets from a linguistic point of view. Such a professional translation approach should use standard Spanish terminology and grammar, instead of a vocabulary and style which denote a particular geographic preference.

Abiding by the standard linguistic rules and terminology of the Spanish language and producing a professional standard Spanish translation is the best option for most usages. However, one of the issues with this approach is that it does so without the particular local flavor of individual Spanish-speaking countries, such as preferences for verb tenses, regional idiomatic expressions, distinctive terminology, etc.

If using a professional standard Spanish translation is not possible, the first difference to be made is between the Spanish used in Spain (usually referred to as European Spanish) and the Spanish used in Latin America (or Latin American Spanish).

As mentioned before, it is important to remember that Latin American Spanish may be a very nice abstraction, but it is not a language in the real sense of the term. Latin American Spanish is a simplification. There are also very important stylistic and terminological differences among the Spanish speakers in the region. When dealing with certain types of material, such as marketing material, legal material, or sales material, it may not be possible to use the same professional translation for audiences in Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Chile and the vast number of Spanish-speakers in the United States.

Professional translation services providers such as ASTA-USA Translation Services (www.asta-usa.com) and its legal division Legal Translation Solutions (www.legaltranslationsolutions.com) will be able to help the customer to determine whether a professional standard Spanish translation is suitable for a given professional translation project or if it requires a more country-specific professional translation, depending on issues such as the type of text to be translated, the domain, the target audience, the level of specialization and the specific market.

Professional Translation Service Company

Why Use a Multilingual Professional Translation Service Company?

By: L. Amado 01/21/2010

If you are in the market for professional translations, a multilingual professional translation service company is the way to go, regardless of the size and complexity of the professional translation project.

Here are some thoughts on why the best option is to work with a multilingual professional translation services company instead of independent translators or smaller single-language vendors.

Only a multilingual professional translation service company who consistently hires and retains the most qualified and certified professional translators can systematically assure not only high quality professional translations but consistent high quality professional translations.

Only a multilingual professional translation service company with a large pool of professional certified translators is able to comply with tight deadlines for professional translations and systematically deliver according to schedule.

Only a multilingual professional translation service company has the ability to deal with simultaneous professional translations to several different languages and dialects and still produce consistent high quality professional translations.

Only a multilingual professional translation service company can guarantee that the customer will receive the professionally translated material according to schedule even if one of the translators is ill, the city suffers a blackout or the building is damaged by a fire.

Only a multilingual professional translation service company can assure scalability, the ability to deal with professional translation projects regardless of considerations of size (word count) or number of target languages involved.

Only a multilingual professional translation service company is able to add value to the professional translation process. Whether you are looking for professional language localization, to outsource your in-house translation department, or for somebody who understand the linguistic subtleties of your markets, a multilingual professional translation service company offers the best value for the money.

Only multilingual professional translation services providers such as ASTA-USA Translation Services (www.asta-usa.com) and its legal division Legal Translation Solutions (www.legaltranslationsolutions.com) can consistently assure customers the highest quality of professional translations, independently of professional translation project size or the number and complexity of the target languages involved.