Document Translation Services

Last Updated On: April 7, 2020

The world is becoming smaller as the level of global intercommunication becomes easier and more necessary. The need for effective translation has never been greater. If you need to translate documents from English into any other language or vice versa you will appreciate getting your documents translated accurately and on time. Good document translation services should be able to handle a range of document types. While some large organizations have their own in house staff that deal with the usual translation requirements, most smaller companies, organizations and individuals will seek out a specialized translation service.

Types of documents

One of the most important aspects of translation is making sure that the translators have experience in the terminology of a particular document. Document types range from legal contracts to medical journals, software instructions to newsletters, business correspondence and marketing materials. The range can often be too large for any one single translation company to deal with so they may specialize in different sorts of documents. Well developed document translation services will probably also have specialist translators who will have an expertise in specific types of documents that use particular terminology. This specialist service is particularly important with such things as legal document translation when the translator must be proficient in legal terminology. This knowledge must be not only in the home language but the target language as well.

Translation software

Good translation companies now use a range of technology that helps speed up translation times and make them more consistent. Translation memory software and glossary services may be provided that help translate documents more efficiently. These services are more important when there is a lot of repetitive text that can be ‘remembered’ by the translation software and glossaries provided.

The importance of localisation

When documents are translated, it is important that translators are aware of the cultural specificities of the community in which the target language is imbedded. This is particularly noticeable when cheap computerized translation services are used to translate documents. The potential for glaring mistakes and clumsy language is obvious. If you have ever bought an appliance which has been manufactured in another country and has an instruction manual printed in a range of languages, you may have noticed that the English (or whichever language you use) is very clumsy. It may be even confusing and potentially dangerous if the appliance could harm you. These translations have probably been done cheaply using an online translator.

The legality of document translation

Many countries demand that important documents are only translated by accredited or approved document translation services. An example is the range of immigration documents required in Australia for residence and employment visas and citizenship applications. Normally, the document translations have to be certified that they have been translated by such an accredited translator. This means that the immigration department (in this example) can be sure that the translation has been done accurately, so that the information on the original document is what is required by the department.