Category: Translation Tips

The Technicalities of Technical Translations

KW Doing Technical Translations

When doing technical translations it’s important to get the translations accurate otherwise misunderstandings could take place ranging from the improper use of a dangerous tool or the wrong assembly of a product. Mistakes could lead to serious injury or death. This is why technical translators tend to specialise in a specific area so they can become familiar with the translation requirements for the particular product. A translator may specialise in the motor vehicle industry where there are many different documents that need to be translated that reaches the global purchasers of the vehicles. The sorts of translations range from product descriptions to warranty information. All vehicles come with handbooks and maintenance manuals including how to operate an airbag to general maintenance tips for the engine, brakes and tyres. Any translations have to fit the targeted audience even thought the information is technical it needs to be easily understood but not too simple so that there is sufficient information to ensure any jobs that need to be done can be done well at no risk to the owner. Poorly done technical translations could lead to misuse and abuse of a vehicle which may become a danger to a user and anyone else nearby. Doing technical translations is in constant demand and as technology changes and so does the sort of technical translation. A handbook for a petrol car isn’t the same as an electric car so a whole new technical translation of a manual has to take place as technical developments in the today’s world change.

Some of the documents which need technical translations are:

● operating and instruction manuals

● electronic guides and manuals

● troubleshooting guides

● engineering specifications

● scientific papers

● data sheets

● technical reports

● patents and patent applications

● technical e-learning modules

● technical specifications

● aviation

● engineering specifications

● safety manuals

● technical drawings

● data research results

● installation and service manuals

● maintenance guides

● technical equipment certificates and documentation

● products and materials catalogues

Technical Translation Requirements

Accuracy is key when doing technical translations. Any errors of any sort can’t be allowed as it could affect research results, the way a device works, the length and conditions of a contract, how a medical procedure is performed, how equipment and machinery should be used and so on.

The Challenges of Afghan Translators and Interpreters

In a war or crisis situation where people are involved who speak many different languages problems of communication invariably occur. This puts a lot of pressure and means many challenges for Afghan translators in places like Afghanistan which has been faced with one crisis after another. 

During crises, translators and interpreters are used to facilitate communication within the community where there are different people speaking many different languages. In Afghanistan, it’s not only the citizens that may need to be informed about an impending event but there are different organisations from around the world who send people to deliver aid to those affected by war or other crises. 

There could be medical workers from Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) or from the Red Cross. There could be peacekeepers provided by the United Nations that come from many different countries and language groups like Pakistan and Nepal. This means a country like Afghanistan has to provide translators and interpreters in at least the most common languages that are present at certain times in the country. 

There may be a need to distribute written communications throughout the country or even send groups around with loud hailers when it’s necessary to ask people to evacuate. This is a great challenge for Afghan translators who are unlikely to be fluent in even a fraction of the languages likely to be spoken in Afghanistan in times of crisis.

Press Conferences Need Interpreters 

Often a press conference will take place when a situation is likely to change in a place. All the information will either need a series of interpreters who are ready to provide interpretations of the announcements or translators at hand to provide translations of documents that are to be distributed to all those likely to be affected. These are the challenges for Afghan translators. A translator’s usual role in a crisis situation is to help to translate warnings, legal documents and written PSAs. Often though, there are times when interpreters and translators could be difficult to find to translate the rarer languages.

For military interpreters, they have to deal with wartime interpreting. This could be to ensure contact between troops and locals or through friendly or even enemy forces when there are language barriers in existence. 

Sometimes an interpreter’s role is to act as a cultural mediator. There was one such situation in Afghanistan when a Dutch interpreter had to justify some action taken by Dutch soldiers who failed to respect the Quran. The interpreter had to persuade the soldiers to promise they wouldn’t act in such a reckless manner again.  

Instructions For Translating Your App or Software Into Other Languages

According to recent statistics, 62.4% of all website content can be found in English, while only 25.9% of Internet browsers speak the language.  Many people whose native language is not English try to learn it so they have more access to the global community. However, they still have a preference for using software and other online applications in a language they know well which is normally their native language.

In order to access a suitable app or software, the first thing an internet user will do is input search terms in their preferred language. This will bring up results of products they will be able to easily understand how to use. Anyone who has not translated his or her app or innovative software and has not used internationalization best practice to ensure it is well advertised will lose out on the lucrative international market.

Translating your app or software means also through SEO or search engine optimisation your product will feature higher in the search rankings and will be viewed by more potential customers. This is software localization best practice.

How Software Translation’s Work

It’s not quite the same as a document translation as the original document can either be mailed or dropped into the translation services office or if there isn’t one it can be scanned and emailed. A software or app translation isn’t quite the same as it is written in a special programming language. The normal human translator is unlikely to understand this code.

This means if you have some software or an app you have developed and want to be localised you will need to separate the language content from the source code. This is called internationalization or i18n and allows your software to be made available in different interface languages. There are tools available, depending on whether your app is iOS, Android, or Windows Phone as they all have localization guides. When you have succeeded in extracting from your app your original copy and have transferred it into a Strings, XLIFF, ResXor XML local file it’s ready to be forwarded to the translator.

Once your translator has completed the translation you will have a locale file for all the languages you want. The next step in the process is to place these locale files into the source code of your project depending on your platform and then release the updated app. or software. This completes your app or software localization and will move your hard work into a greater potential market.

The 6 Most Important Types of Translation Services

6 Most Important Types of Translation Services:

General Translations

The texts that are called general translations are generally not accepted today as they were completed by translators who had no formal qualifications or experience.

Certified translations

These sorts of translations are often a necessity for documents like birth certificates, college degree certificates, divorce documentation and death certificates. Organizations or agencies requiring these documents often require the translator to certify them before they are considered to be valid translations.

Legal translations

These translations should never be conducted by amateur translators but need the skill and expertise of a professional legal translator who is both fully conversant with the legal terminology and the cultural use of legal language in both the source and target texts. Laws are made in a country based on its culture and a legal translator needs a firm grasp of this.

Legal translation services cover a wide range of very different documents. These may include legal documents, such as summons and warrants; administrative texts such as registration certificates; corporate statutes and remittance drafts; technical documents such as expert opinions and texts for judicial purposes; and a number of other texts in addition to reports and minutes of court proceedings.

In certain societies, legal translators often work in courtrooms as juridical translators, or act as official legal experts.

Juridical translations

This sort of translation is when a legal translator is required to translate legally-binding documents, for example, translations of laws, decrees and regulations. Additionally, legally binding contracts fall into this category like commercial contracts, internal regulations and partnership agreements. These sorts of translation must be perfect as there is no room at all for errors.

Medical translations

These require not only impeccable translation skills but also specialized knowledge of the medical field. These sorts of translation work could involve medical books, manuals about the use of medical equipment, drug packaging, medical journal articles and clinical research results. Reports about pharmaceutical tests, drug instructions and information make up medical translations too. It’s one of the most challenging areas of translation?

Technical translations

This is a broad term that covers such things as product user manuals, instructions for use information sheets, medical translations and financial reports. They also include engineering, electronics, mechanics, as well as texts related to industrial processes. Technical translations require a high level of knowledge in key areas and a technical translator normally chooses an area and specializes in it.

Boosting Your Presence at an International Business Event with Effective Interpreting Services

You are not going to attend an international business event of any type, however you are involved, without aiming to boost your business presence. Unless you happen to be at an event where everyone speaks the same language as you do (an unlikely proposition) you will need to think of some effective interpreting facilities. If you don’t plan ahead, your communication with a whole host of useful contacts, customers, clients, suppliers, buyers and other connections may be wasted. It’s wishful thinking that everyone else in the business world-wide is fluent in English, even if that language is still the most commonly used intermediary.

So what Sorts of Interpreting Services may Come in Useful?

If you are attending a conference, and intend to really make an impact, you should think about simultaneous conference interpreting facilities. If you think they are not made available by the conference organisers, perhaps you should suggest it. The way it works is like what happens at important political events like the U.N. where representatives are free to speak in their own language, yet this is simultaneously translated into the languages of the other delegates. It’s not a cheap solution, so whether it is justified depends exactly on the potential financial rewards.

The most common simultaneous interpreting service uses a team of interpreters who are seated away from the main conference or event room. Delegates or conference attendees wear a special headset, through which they hear other delegates speak in their own language.  As the delegate speaks into the headset microphone it is picked up by the team of interpreters who simultaneously interpret into the languages of the other delegates.

One on one interpreters may be very useful if you are invited for meetings with individuals who don’t speak your language. Interpreters may also be required if there are guest speakers at a conference or event where the majority of the attendees speak the same language. This may be something that you can organise for yourself if it is you that is the guest speaker. It beats having to learn the language before you go. More importantly, it frees you up so that you can speak more confidently in your own language while someone else has the responsibility of conveying your message.

Hopefully, interpreters have been chosen carefully so that they have industry experience in the topics that are most likely to be discussed.

Translating Culture is as Important as Translating Language for Newly Arrived Chinese in Australia

Australia has a strict immigration policy that is meant to ensure that any skilled migrants are at least able to communicate easily with Australians once they arrive. But cultural differences can be almost as difficult to adjust to as linguistic ones and these are not part of the criteria for residence.

Chinese immigrants to Australia (just to use one of many possible nationalities) do get a bit of a cultural shock when they go to work in an Australian workplace, whether it is a private business or a government agency. It’s not the language they need translating, It’s the subtle and sometimes not so subtle cultural differences. Here are some examples.

Respect For Superiors

Chinese employees tend to have more respect for their bosses at work than is the case in Australia. That can lead to frustration on both parts. For example, an Australian manager may ask their Chinese employee to complete a task with the employee feeling duty-bound to acquiesce. Their Australian counterpart may be comfortable refusing, giving a perfectly acceptable reason (they are overloaded, for instance, or still have to complete another task. In China, employees may be used to staying at work until their immediate boss finishes work. In Australia, work times are usually more explicitly laid out. Australian workers are used to having their free time off after their workday (although this is something that is changing). Chinese employees can easily become exhausted agreeing to do much more than they can handle in order t please while their Australian supervisor doesn’t understand

Intertwining The Personal and The Professional

Many newly arrived Chinese are used to intertwining their personal life with their professional life, while this tends to be kept separate in Australian workplaces. This means that if there is a disagreement between a Chinese employee and their Australian counterpart, the Chinese employee is most likely to take it personally. In response, the Chinese employee may try and dodge confrontation, but the disagreement can affect their psychological state of mind. The professional and personal tends to be kept more separate in Australian workplace culture meaning that if a professional or work disagreement arises, it may not affect the way the two people relate to each other on a personal basis.

This works both ways, as Chinese employees are much more likely to bring their private lives into work. That can mean using work resources for private purposes. This happens far less in Australian workplaces where there is an expectation that workplaces are for work and private activities are left for life beyond the workplace.

Over-the-Phone Translators are Useful for Quick Translations

Phone Translators

Once in a while you may come across a document that seems interesting but you simply can’t understand it because it’s not in your language. What might you do at that point? Would you make use of a machine translation tool despite its drawback or perhaps you would search for different options like over-the-phone translation to help you understand the document.

As machine translations are rarely of any use particularly if the information you can’t understand is in a vital document, like an operational or instructional manual for understanding how to use something.  You need to settle on choosing a translator that promises you a precise translation.

Why Use Over the Phone Translation Services?

A live phone translation is neither a machine translation nor a standard translation. It is something you can get done via telephone.  You can depend on machine translations when you have no other choice. However, mistakes in a translation which are so common with machine translators can hamper the image of your business and you would not want that to happen. Phone translation businesses have increased significantly as they are precise and can be acquired rapidly. This method of getting a quick translation is reliable and dependable.

Most over the phone translation services offer over-the-phone translations in a variety of forms, including person to person translations and translations of audio recordings. Supposing you’ve had a message from a client in say Cantonese about a product order from you business and it’s been left in your phone’s message bank and you have no idea what the client has said. This is a great situation for calling an over-the-phone translation service which will connect you to a suitable translator.

Over-the-phone translators listen to your client’s message, analyse it and convey to you what has been said accurately and efficiently.  Translators are specially trained in over-the phone translation techniques, and are screened, tested and certified to exacting standards which customers like you can’t fault however hard you try.

What is NAATI Accreditation and Recognition?

NAATI Accreditation and Recognition

Not all countries have strict rules for translators and interpreters, but Australia does. The organization that sets and monitors standards in this field is called the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI). It is the body that provides the national standard and accreditation for translators and interpreters. Its aim is to seek to maintain high national standards in translating and interpreting to ensure there is a pool of talented and accredited translators and interpreters available to meet the demands for language translation in a multilingual country. The primary aim of NAATI is to issue credentials or accreditations that recognize the skills of translators and interpreters so that they can be employed in the community and those who employ them know that they will do a good job.

How to Get NAATI Accreditation?

There are several ways of getting NAATI accreditation

  • Sitting and passing a NAATI assessment test
  • Passing a course that has been NAATI approved
  • Providing proof of an overseas qualification in translating and interpreting at the tertiary level
  • Providing proof of membership of a translating professional body overseas.

NAATI recognition isn’t offered in all languages, particularly those that aren’t in high demand.  Once you have been granted NAATI recognition it is an acknowledgment that you have recent experience as a successful translator and/or interpreter.

There are a number of NAATI-approved translation and interpreting courses that are qualifications of at least a diploma level or higher. The courses are offered by certain Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Higher Education campuses that have been approved by NAATI as having the credentials to teach and assess the knowledge and skills needed in the translation environment. Anyone who gains a qualification at a NAATI-approved educational institution may file an application for NAATI accreditation without the necessity to undergo any more testing.

NAATI certified

Revalidating your Translating Credentials is a Requirement of NAATI

Accreditation from NAATI does have an expiry date. Every now and again if you have NAATI accreditation you are required to produce evidence that you have been working as a translator and have been involved in professional development. This evidence is sufficient to revalidate your credentials for the following 3 years.

Why NAATI Accreditation is Useful for Immigration

NAATI accreditation isn’t just there to prove you can translate. It can help those wishing to migrate to Australia in a number of ways, including the following.

  • It is part of a skills assessment for those migrants or workers who are sponsored by an employer or who have been nominated for employment by a territory or state government.
  • Accreditation is a qualification that points can be claimed for in the skill category as a translator or interpreter, which is particularly useful for a migration visa that is accessible on gaining a certain number of points.
  • NAATI accreditation can also be used for the migration visa that’s based on points called the Credentialled Community Language (CCL) points.

The 1994 Migration Regulations has allocated NAATI as the assessment authority for the interpreter and translator occupations. If you file an application for your skills to be assessed, NAATI will offer to provide an assessment of your skills in two categories, which are either as “suitable” or “unsuitable” for your specific occupation as either a translator or interpreter, i.e. NAATI professional-level accreditation or higher.

Benefits of NAATI Test Clearance

It’s not too difficult to understand that if you have NAATI accreditation it will help with your migration application by accumulating much-needed points.

Why do I Need my Documents Translated by a NAATI Accredited Translator?

NAATI Certified Document

It is a requirement of most Australian government departments including the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, which handles visa applications,  that all documents that are not in English must be translated by a NAATI translator for anyone who wishes to apply in one of the migration categories to reside in Australia (assuming the translation is getting done in Australia). That means if you have important documents like birth and marriage certificates that are not in English they must be translated by a NAATI translator before they are presented as part of your migration documentation. There are other documents that might fall into this category, including degree and diploma certificates, past employer references, and medical examination documents completed in another language that’s not English.

Types of NAATI Accreditation

Under NAATI’s present system, there are 10 different kinds of accreditation, which are listed below.

Conference Interpreter (Senior)

This is the highest level of accreditation for NAATI accreditation. It shows the person has an excellent level in conference interpreting which has been recognized by extensive experience and success in this area.

Advanced Translator

This is NAATI translating accreditation at the highest level. It shows an excellent level in specialized translation, gained through not only extensive experience but international leadership in translation too. 

Conference Interpreter

This shows the ability to interpret in complicated, technical, and sophisticated situations. Conference interpreters work in situations where high-level negotiations are underway and at court proceedings.

Advanced Translator

This sort of competence level is necessary when handling the more complex, technical, and more sophisticated translations. Often an advanced translator will work on technical manuals, will translate research papers, conference documents, and work on documents related to higher-level negotiations and on documents related to court proceedings.

Professional Interpreter

This group represents the lowest level of competence for interpreting as recommended by NAATI for working in many different environments including the areas of law, banking, health, community, and social services. A professional interpreter is capable of interpreting in semi-specialized environments and is able to use the consecutive mode in order to interpret presentations and speeches.

Professional Translator

This represents the minimum level of competence for professional translating and is the minimum level recommended by NAATI for work in settings including banking, law, health, social, and community services. Translators at this level work across a wide range of subjects involving documents with specialized content.

Para-professional Interpreter

This accreditation is the competence level in interpreting for general conversations. Para-professional interpreters usually participate in the interpretation of dialogues that are non-specialist. Practitioners who have been accredited at this level are generally encouraged to get professional-level accreditation if they can.

Para-professional Translator

This is the competence level necessary for undertaking translations of non-specialized information such as a birth certificate. A practitioner at this level could get a more professional level accreditation when ready to do so.

Recognized Interpreter

This credential doesn’t have a specified proficiency level. All recognized interpreters should try to get a higher level of accreditation.

Recognized Translator

This is a NAATI credential that acknowledges the date of the award the translator has had regular and recent experience working as a translator with no particular proficiency level specified.

How NAATI Translator Accreditation is Awarded at a Minimum of a Professional Level

  • from a language other than English (LOTE) into English;
  • from English into a LOTE;
  • in both directions.

NAATI Exam Questions

There are kits you can buy to prepare you for the NAATI exam questions which include materials relevant for your area as follows:

For a Paraprofessional Interpreter, a Test Kit Includes:

  • a complete set of dialogue and questions which are similar to replicate a NAATI test;
  • 2 extra practice dialogues;
  • suggested question answers;
  • a CD that includes a sample test with practice dialogues;
  • an interpreter’s handbook.

For a Professional Interpreter Sample Test, Each Kit:

  • is available in all languages;
  • includes a script of a complete test  with questions, sight translation, dialogues, and consecutive tasks;
  • includes two extra dialogues for practicing;
  • has 2 additional practice consecutive passages for practice; I am into English while the other is into LOTE
  • has a CD that includes 2 extra practice sight translation passages
  • includes an interpreter’s handbook

The Paraprofessional Translator Practice Kit:

  • is available in certain languages only;
  • is a script of 1 set of translation passages;
  • contains ethics questions found in a NAATI test;
  • includes 2 extra practice passages in the 2 languages and in both directions;
  • includes a translator’s handbook.

The Professional Translator Sample Test Includes:

  • sample tests in most languages;
  • a script of 1 whole set of translation passages;
  • ethics questions similar to a NAATI test in both language directions;
  • sample translations and answers to ethics questions;
  • 3 extra practice passages in each language in both directions;
  • extra ethics questions.

Summary

The NAATI translator accreditation is a service that benefits all involved in the translation industry. It accredits translators and interpreters so they can prove their expertise in their field and have a better chance of employment. It helps organizations, such as the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection, ensure that potential immigrants have the required credentials to enter the country. It also ensures that NAATI translators and interpreters keep up their standards by insisting on revalidation of NAATI status every 3 years. All in all, NAATI accreditation is the envy of countries throughout the world.

Why Are Some Document Translation Services More Expensive Than Others?

These days translating documents is far more commonplace than it ever used to be. The reason for this is globalisation. Both humans and businesses are extending their boundaries to faraway places trying to find a niche where they can fit in nicely or even grow their profits. Any movement into another country which doesn’t speak your own languages the authorities will require that you provide keys documents with translations which can be read and understood easily by immigration personnel.

The sorts of documents you may need to provide with an application could include any of the following:

  • birth certificate
  • marriage certificate (if applicable)
  • degree and diploma certificates
  • police clearance document
  • medical report.

    • All these documents will need a translation provided by a document translation service provider that specializes in translating documents for immigration into another country. If you are entering the United States, for either job or business reasons, and you intend to reside permanently all your official documents will need to be signed by the translator who has to include a statement stating it is an accurate translation. This is most likely to be a more expensive document translation because the care that needs to be taken to ensure a perfect translation is far more crucial than other forms of document translation. Translators don’t provide a free service so if the job takes longer or a translation has to be certified expect this to be a more expensive document translation than others you may already have had.

    Other types of documents that require highly specific translation skills are warranty cards for products and product manuals which is the documentation that normally accompanies a newly purchased product. It’s crucial that these documents are perfectly accurate so as not to cause confusion or misunderstanding. If you are looking for this high degree of accuracy expect to pay more for the service than other less important document translation services.  You pay for what you get and if you want the best translation possible then expect a more expensive document translation.

Communication Means a Successful Document Translation

When translating a document the source document’s quality is related directly to how long it takes to complete a good translation. The quality of the original document also helps in the calculation of the cost of the translation at the commencement of the document translation.

What a translator thinks

At a first glance the translator gains a different image than you the owner of the document does. When you look at your own document you see it as a complete piece of written work that has been prepared and written fluently in your language. A translator sees a raw document containing many thousands of phrases and words that have to be identified and put into a context. From this the correct phrases and words need to be replaced with those that give the best meaning in the second language. If the text to be translated contains language which includes many idioms, and colloquialisms it makes the translation far harder to complete quickly and produce a useful and effective translation. Basically when a translator assesses the source document and starts to find the best language for the text the terminology used needs to be consistent throughout the new translation.

The sorts of problems of a document translation include explaining abbreviations and substituting the right words if a table or graph is included which has been labelled. This is crucial if it’s a legally binding document or a medical translation as doing a poor translation could cause serious legal implications for both the owner of the original document and the translator.

Translation Consistency is vital

It’s important that there’s Communication for translation otherwise the point of the translation has not been reached.  The translator determines whether the language used is consistent throughout the text. This is vital to ensure good communication. The most important thing from the point of view of the client who wants the translation is that the translator is fully fluent in both languages and for the type of translation that needs translating. If it is a medical translation it’s important to hire a translator who is fully conversant with medical terminology in the two languages so that there is consistency in the two languages once the translation has been completed. Most translators have a database that they use when translating for the same client. This is often drawn up between the client and the translator so that the most appropriate phrases and words can be repeated in the documents each time.