Tag: document translation

Document translation is very important factor in translation industry. It is necessary in migration process.

Use a NAATI Accredited Translator for Dealings with the ATO

If you have come to live in Australia from overseas, you will soon be dealing with the Australian Tax Office (ATO). The ATO will issue you with a tax number which you will need in many aspects of life in this country. For instance, if you want to start up a business you may need an Australian Business Number or at least to register for the Goods and Services Tax (GST). If you are going to be employed, you will need an Australian Tax File number.

Australian-tax-office
To register for any of these numbers you will have to show some documents to prove who you are and what your status is here in Australia. The most important document you will need for the ATO is your identification. If you were born overseas or have identification documents that were issued in any other language than English you will need a NAATI accredited translator to make sure they are translated correctly before registering.

certified-translation
Any original documents need to be translated first by a document translation service, then certified by them that it is a true copy of the original document. The ATO is quite fussy about the way the certified translation is presented to them, as they won’t accept a translation from any person without the copy being stamped (if one is available) and the translator’s name or company name and telephone contact details as well as the date of the translation recorded on the copy.
Your language translation services should know what the ATO requirements are and provide several copies of the translation for you with each one certified by the translator or a representative of the translation service. This is important not just for the ATO, but other organizations for which your document translation is needed because the translation document may never be returned to you for use elsewhere. In fact, the ATO quite clearly states that any certified translation which is sent to them when registering will not be returned to you after they have examined it.

Choose Your Legal Translator Carefully

A quick search on the internet will reveal numerous language translation services which are able to provide a legal document translation service. However, there is more to the translation of legal documents than a simple translation of the language. It is important that the translators have a good working knowledge of the subject material of what they are translating. This means that they should have relevant experience in the legal language they are translating and in the often complex regulations and laws of the country in which language they are performing a translation service.

Legal documents are written in a specific legal language and terminology. Whoever translates these documents needs to be thoroughly familiar with the terminology and language used in that country as well as that used in Australia. The consequences of even small mistakes in meaning can be financially damaging or even catastrophic if the translation is not effective. The recent case of an interpreter’s “mistake” in a court hearing in Queensland is an example of a situation that was unnecessarily caused by a poor translation.

Become-a-legal translator
Documents that are required in court need to be available according to exacting deadlines and where those documents were originally issued in a language other than English. A document translation service will be used by the international lawyer in order to be able to use the documents in court. Any delay or mistake in translating may mean that the document is considered null and void.

Translation – Or How To Close A Sale With A Bit Of Effort

An anonymous German businessman is credited with the quote “When I’m selling, I’ll speak your language.  When I’m buying, you’ll speak mine.”.  Whether or not the source of the quote is true, the accuracy of it is hard to dispute.  One of the great ironies of the growth of international trade is that in a world where companies and individuals can often take their pick of goods and services, literally, from across the globe, they often prefer to do business with people they feel understand them.  In other words, they want to deal with people who “speak their language” in every sense of the phrase.

Quality language translation services will put at least as much effort into document translation as the creator(s) of the original document did when they put it together.  This is why using a certified translation service is more than about compliance with (potential) legal issues.  It’s about ensuring that the end document is a sales’ tool, regardless of whether or not that is its main purpose.  Rightly or wrongly, first impressions do count for a lot and just as companies would likely hesitate to hire a candidate who fails to present themselves appropriately, so an end customer is likely to have reservations about using a company which fails to present documentation properly.

Translating – When All Is Said And Done, That’s Exactly What It Is

There’s an old joke about an Englishman, a Frenchman and a German discussing languages. The Frenchman argued that French was the best language in the world as it was the language of romance. The German argued that German was the best language in the world, because it the language of discovery of thought and science. The Englishman, however, just smiled and, picking up a knife said, “You’re both wrong. You Frenchies call this un couteau and you Jerries call it ein Messer, but we English call it a knife, which, when all is said and done is exactly what it is.”.

To speakers of all languages, their interpretation of any particular concept makes perfect sense and in history the fact that people from another country may see matters somewhat differently may only become apparent if they tried to learn another language for any reason. In modern times, however, people now often have to learn to adapt to other people’s view of the world, even if they themselves never leave their home country. International travel has made tourism a huge industry while international trade means that businesses need to communicate with partners across continents and cultures.

It’s the latter point that tends to pose a challenge. Where there are common cultural links, people can often communicate very ably over great distances. Australia and the U.K. for example are literally at opposite sides of the globe, but generally people from both countries can understand each other very well, even if they each use expressions the other finds amusing. When dealing with more significant cultural differences however, the importance of using a certified translation service, can not be overstated. Effective language translation services ensure that document translation takes into account cultural differences as well as linguistic ones.

Translating The Untranslatable – The Art And Science Of Capturing Different Worlds

Everyone can spot a tourist.  Even if they know exactly where they’re going.  Even if they speak the language fluently.  Everyone can spot a tourist because they just don’t get the little details that the locals do.  They don’t understand the unwritten rules that the locals instinctively follow.  Pick up any piece of non-technical writing written for any given country and the chances are, it’s full of references that the locals will absorb without a second thought, but which will baffle foreigners.  A translator, therefore, in a sense takes on the role of tour guide, leading the reader through this new world.

Take Christmas for example.  Mention the word to anyone from the northern hemisphere and the chances are it will conjure up the sort of “White Christmas” images familiar to anyone who’s watched Hollywood films.  Mention it to someone from the southern hemisphere and it may well conjure up images of trips to the beach.  Mention it to someone from a country where Christmas is not celebrated and, depending on the person’s background, the expression may be meaningless, or it may trigger images from Hollywood culture.  It is exactly these cultural differences – and how to convey them to an audience unfamiliar with them – which challenge literary translators.

Although document translation may seem a more mundane form of translation, making effective use of language translation services can make the difference between a piece of writing being understandable and a piece of writing presenting a professional image.  The internet is full of the most blatant examples of poor translation, which for practical purposes generally means using a budget translator as opposed to a NAATI accredited translator, some of which have generated publicity the businesses in question would presumably have preferred to avoid.  While these are, by definition, exceptional blunders, even in technical writing, there are terms that need skill to translate, if embarrassment is to be avoided.

A Home Without Rent?

The idea behind the working holiday visa is to allow people to explore and experience Australia, paying their way as they go.  Many travellers go about this task the conventional way of finding a job and a place to live within travelling distance of the job, but there are other approaches.  House-sitting is a popular service in Australia as in other countries and is often facilitated by agencies charging minimal fees.  Most stays are short-term (to cover holidays for example), although some can be for longer, for example to cover a family travelling abroad.  Liking animals is often a distinct advantage since people often use house-sitters as a way to avoid having to put pets into boarding kennels.  Generally speaking there’s nothing to stop the sitter having a job as well, just as long as their able to take care of whatever other duties are agreed.  For those interested in going down this route, it’s particularly important to use a certified translation service for document translation since home owners are generally very eager to check the credentials of the person who will be living in their family home.  Using a NAATI accredited translator will ensure that documents are accurate and give the best possible impression.