The cost of translation and interpreting errors and how to avoid them

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Acting as a bridge, translators and interpreters help people and organizations understand each other better and communicate more effectively. As specialists in various fields such as  life sciences, legal, publishing, finance, insurance, manufacturing, medical, and marketing & advertising, language professionals play a key role by accurately conveying information from one language to another. However, as in any human-based task, errors are bound to happen.  Read more

As the world becomes smaller, language translation needs become greater

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No longer just a catch phrase, going global is a phenomenon that has reached nearly every industry across the globe. What is globalization and why is its uptake continuing to accelerate?

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The net costs and benefits of using professional medical interpreters

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There are US patients with limited English proficiency (LEP), as well as international patients with LEP.  With both types of patients, their communication with healthcare professionals and their general experience with the healthcare industry is marginalized. Read more

How to reduce your legal translation cost

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In an industry where accuracy is essential, you can’t leave anything to chance. And when it comes to legal language translation, the smallest error could have significant consequences. 

Even with the need for precise translation, one of the top reasons legal firms don’t seek assistance from a language service provider (LSP) is cost. What if you could get the professional legal translation you need, while keeping your costs under control? This post provides tips to help you to reduce your legal translations costs.

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Don’t let your international brand get lost in translation

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After achieving success in the U.S., you made the decision to introduce your brand on an international level. While global expansion will give you the opportunity to profitably grow your business, you need to ensure that the image you painstakingly built doesn’t get lost in translation – or worse, have a negative effect on your brand and bottom line.

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Should legal translations be done in-house?

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When you decide to extend your reach on an international level, there’s more to consider than just investment and capital, product standardization and staffing. You also need an understanding of the differences between your country’s legal system and that of the nation you’re about to enter. And since each country’s law is based on its unique heritage and culture, translating legal documents can be an arduous and complex undertaking. This article will discuss whether legal translations be done in house.

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Benefits of a back translation

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The term “back translation” can seem nonsensical if it’s outside the context of a “forward translation.” Technically, every translation is a “forward translation,” but if a forward translation workflow also contains a process to translate the target document back into the source language, then that part of the process is called a “back translation.” In other words, a back translation only makes sense if it’s part of a forward translation process and, ideally, both parts happen back-to-back in the same project. The back translation process is perhaps the most valuable of all translation processes because it allows for unique benefits:

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Language translation is just part of the equation: Why SEO matters

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Our connected world has made it easier than ever for businesses to grow and expand their operations beyond borders. While reaching international markets provides companies with many opportunities such as access to new markets and revenue streams, reducing costs and recruiting new talent, it also adds a layer of complexity when it comes to language translation and localization.

Does your growth strategy include expansion on an international level? If so, translating just your marketing and sales material for local consumption is not enough. International success requires you to maximize the visibility of your products or services, and this extends to your website. However, translating web content for the region(s) you are entering is just one component. For consumers to find and feel comfortable with your website, you also need to localize content. And the best way to do this is to incorporate search engine optimization (SEO) into the translation process.   

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What is transcreation?

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Clients, particularly in a marketing and advertising department, sometimes request that a translation be “adapted” to a local audience so that it takes into account local culture. When we probe, we learn that these requests mean that clients want us to do more than just “translate the words”. They want us to go beyond that and ensure the translation has the same emotional impact as the original source text – this is transcreation. Transcreation is a mix of translation, copywriting and, potentially, localization to create copy in a target language. It is copywriting in another language, but based on a source text. Sometimes, a client will ask to address non-translation elements like color and images, which brings an element of localization into the transcreation task.    

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The importance of culture in translations

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Culture is, at its most basic definition, the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts…. To effectively communicate across cultural boundaries and to ensure that the audience has full understanding, translators need to take many elements into consideration. Key to this is making sure that the content is regionally suitable. 

The level of importance professional language translation companies place on cultural considerations shouldn’t be underestimated. When left out of language translation processes, it can result – at a minimum – in miscommunication, hilarity or embarrassment. Depending on the type of faux-pas, brand reputation can be negatively affected and even more serious – legal action may ensue. This article discusses the  importance of culture in translations.

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