4 Reasons A Professional Translator Is Key To Clear Communication

Computer translators – often known as Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) tools – are a good aid for humans, and can give a vague idea of a short written text in an instant. But a vague idea won’t cut it in your industry with the stakes as high as they are.

That’s why you need a professional human translator. Great care and attention are paid by our translators to the details of your piece, including language structure, context, flow, meaning and cultural nuances. If you’re concerned with making a good impression, breaking into new markets and winning key clients, then you’ll need a human translator.

Get in touch with The Bridge-World Language Center, Inc. to learn more about our excellent professional translators!

1. Translations Can’t Be Done Word-For-Word

Any translator worth their weight will agree, it’s almost impossible to translate the meaning of a word without its context. Think about English and how many words have multiple meanings.

As any linguist will undoubtedly agree, it’s almost impossible to translate the meaning of a word without its context. Why? Think about the English language and how many words we have that have multiple meanings – known as homophones.

Common homophones include:

  • Run (i.e. physically run on a track, run a company, running water, etc.)
  • Bark (i.e. bark on a tree, a dog barks, etc.)
  • Seal (i.e. seal an envelope, seal of approval, the animal “seal”, etc.)

This list of homophones can go on and on, and it can be hard for computer translators to figure out the context. Then, the meaning is lost in translation. Only a human translator can deduce the proper meaning according to its context.

Learning By olilynch

2. It’s More Cost-Effective

While a human translator may seem like a larger expense at first, it’s actually more cost-effective in the long run. Whether it’s the cost of retracting a marketing campaign that got the branding wrong or losing a million-dollar client because of an unintentionally insulting email, human translations will help.

And even if you still insist on getting your translations done by machines, by the time you or your office employees have sifted through correcting, editing, replacing and removing, a qualified translator would have done the job three times as fast, leaving you and your team free to spend your valuable time on something else.

3. Humans Make Judgement Calls

Giving a qualified human translator the job allows them to use critical thinking skills and make judgement calls a computer translator can’t compete with. So when it comes to frequently used terms, typos, understanding a person’s speech, accent, or listening to bad quality audio, human translators can make an educated guess or judgment about what’s coming next.

With an increasingly globalized marketplace and the importance of speaking to customers internationally at a local level, the need for localization in products, services and marketing have become vital. Computer translators aren’t aware of cultural taboos – human translators are.

4. Humans Can Specialize in Your Field

Whatever business you’re in – entertainment, autos, law, medical, shipping or anything else – a human translator can be specialized in your field. Translators often specialize, becoming subject matter experts in a given field. This ensures they know any terminology inside and out.