The Art of Translation: Ensuring Accuracy and Quality in Translated Texts

Translation is an art that involves converting the intended meaning of a text from one language to another while keeping the original tone, style, and message intact. The translation process necessitates understanding the source and target languages, cultural nuances, and an extensive vocabulary. Expert translators are language specialists who use their skills to convey the intended meaning of a text precisely, ensuring that the translation faithfully reflects the content. These days, ensuring accuracy and quality in translation is crucial as it enables individuals, organizations, and companies to communicate across language barriers. By adhering to these principles, skilled translators provide a service that facilitates communication and fosters cultural exchange.

In this article by The Language Doctors, we will delve into who translators are, elucidate the significance of their work, and elaborate on how we ensure top-notch quality in our translations. Let’s dive in!

The Role of a Skilled Translator

The significance of a translator in the translation process cannot be emphasized enough. These language experts understand both the source and target languages, enabling them to convey the meaning and essence of the original text. They serve as intermediaries, carefully selecting vocabulary, expressions, and idiomatic usage to communicate the intended message and localize their translations effectively. Skilled translators demonstrate abilities to grasp the source text’s tone, style, and context and flawlessly reproduce it in the target language.

An illustrative example that highlights the importance of a translator is a literary translation project. When translating a novel from one language to another, preserving its essence and emotional impact on readers is crucial. A skilled translator understands the meaning of words and appreciates nuances, cultural references, and historical context embedded within the text. With attention to detail and mastery of both languages, involved translators ensure that their translated version captures the essence of the work while evoking an equivalent emotional response and preserving the artistic integrity created by its author. For instance, Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” cannot be translated word for word into any language while maintaining its essence.

Translators have ensured that the meaning remains clear and understandable to readers of any language by modifying words and phrases and adapting the text for regions. As a result, it sounds natural to the intended audience in each area. 

Challenges in Translation

Translation challenges require skilled translators to navigate complexities to ensure accuracy and quality in the translated text:

Furthermore, these challenges often give rise to situations. For instance, one of the unforgettable translation blunders encountered by The Language Doctors took place in a context. The original expression, “Сосиски в тесте,” was intended to mean “sausage bread rolls.” However, when the client attempted to translate this phrase using Google, the result was “sausages, in the father-in-law.” Yes, you read that correctly! In Russian, the word “тесть” refers to “father,” while “bread rolls” should have been translated as “тесто” in this context. The only difference between them is one letter. Just imagine the confusion that could arise when encountering this on a menu!

P.S. You can put your like to this story here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7063958724809240576

Translation Tools and Technology

Nowadays, every company uses translation technology and tools to improve and accelerate the workflow. The most important are:

1. Computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools improve efficiency and offer terminology suggestions based on previously translated texts and the extensive database that can be uploaded there.
2. Machine Translation (MT) powered by Artificial Intelligence can quickly provide initial translation. However, as written in the Life 3.0 book by Max Tegmark, AI doesn’t understand the differences between cultures and senses, can’t localize the text, etc. Once more, it proves the importance of having a human behind the machine translation. 
3. Translation memory systems maintain consistency by storing and allowing the reuse of previously translated segments, reducing repetitive work, and enhancing overall quality.

Quality Assurance in Translation

Ensuring translation accuracy, consistency, and readability standards is important. Quality assurance in translation plays a role in achieving these goals, involving proofreading, editing, and reviewing to detect and correct errors. This meticulous approach guarantees that the final work is of top-notch quality.

One method used for quality check in translation is “back translation.” This involves assigning a translator to translate the text into the source language. Any discrepancies or mistranslations can be identified and rectified by comparing this translation with the source text. This process safeguards against errors while ensuring the final translation accurately represents the intended meaning.

In addition, specialized tools like translation memory systems and terminology databases play a role in maintaining translation quality assurance. These tools store translated segments or preferred terminology for reference, ensuring consistency throughout the translation project. By using these tools, translators enhance the quality and coherence of the final translated text.

Furthermore, effective collaboration and feedback between translators and clients or reviewers are components of quality translations. Translators can engage with clients to clarify any ambiguities, ask questions, and ensure an understanding of project requirements.

Regular feedback and ongoing communication play a role in refining the translation, addressing any concerns, and making revisions. This iterative process ultimately leads to an improvement in the quality and accuracy of the translation.

At The Language Doctors, we follow the ISO standard for translation, which involves a team comprising a translator, an editor, a proofreader, and various quality control steps. ISO 17100:2015 sets forth requirements for processes, resources, and other aspects necessary to provide a high-quality translation service that meets specifications. As a result of our comprehensive translation quality management approach based on these standards, the margin for error is practically nonexistent.

Conclusion

Translation is the art of words that connects people worldwide. Translators, the specialists that ensure the smooth translation process, should not only be masters of words but also specialize in localization, idiomatic expressions, the general culture of the translated language, and all other small details that may not be defined at first blush.

Although there were many concerns about AI replacing translators soon, there’s no evidence of it. AI is a huge database that doesn’t understand the difference between a man and a woman, behaves based on common patterns, and wouldn’t be able to provide the explanation why “ссосиска в тесте” should be translated as “sausage bread roll”, and not as “sausage in the father-in-law”. This proves that although there are machine and AI translation tools, they can’t replace translators. 

Quality assurance is essential in the translation process and involves thorough proofreading, editing, and reviewing to guarantee the highest standards of accuracy and consistency. Techniques like back translation and specialized tools further maintain quality and ensure that translated texts meet or exceed client expectations.

At The Language Doctors, we have a comprehensive system of translating, editing, and proofreading the text, so the quality of our work is always high. If you feel that this is what you need, don’t hesitate to contact us: https://thelanguagedoctors.org/request-a-quote/