Translation is the transmittal of written text from one language into another. Although the terms translation and interpretation are often used interchangeably, by strict definition, translation Refers to the written language, and interpretation to the spoken word.Translation is the action of interpretation of the meaning of a text, and subsequent production of an equivalent text, also called a translation, that communicates the same message in another language. The text to be translated is called the source text, and the language it is to be translated into is called the target language; the final product is sometimes called the ”target text.”

Translation must take into account constraints that include context, the rules of grammar of the two languages, their writing conventions, and their idioms. A common misconception is that there exists a simple word-for-word correspondence between any two languages, and that translation is a straightforward mechanical process. A word-for-word translation does not take into account context, grammar, conventions, and idioms.

Who Uses Translation Services?

Businesses often seek translation services in an effort to serve their customers better and keep up with their demands. As this world gets more and more competitive, it’s imperative that businesses convey their message clearly and accurately to their customers. Translation mistakes can potentially affect a company’s reputation and result in financial loss.

Generally, most industries have a need for this type of service. The legal field has the need for the translation of depositions, petitions, court records, and court proceedings. Law enforcement may need to have statements translated and the medical field frequently needs medical records and notes translated. Other examples of industries that benefit form document translation services are insurance and financial companies, as well as the media.

As more and more companies make their services available through the Internet, the need for the translation of websites and web content has also grown. Furthermore, talk radio, pod casts, surveys, focus groups, and corporate meetings often need translation services.

Businesses are not the only ones that have a need for document translation. On a personal level, individuals also employ this type of service. Due to more people migrating to different countries in search of a better life, they find themselves in environments that are unfamiliar, including the language. As a result, they may need legal documents translated, such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, passports, contracts, and leases or mortgage contracts.

Translator Jobs

The demand in the translating field is greater than ever before. Many translators work as freelancers and others are employed by international organizations as well as government agencies. Nonprofit and religious organizations also hire or contract the services of translators for document translation. Individuals who work as translators are highly intellectual. Their work is rewarding and satisfying.

You can find forums and boards on the Internet where you can find job advertisements. You’ll be able to benefit from other translators’ experience and support. Other places to find document translation jobs are newspapers and online job websites. Your local newspaper could be a good source of job leads.

If you want to work independently, you may want to start by marketing your services to local businesses. Insurance companies, hospitals, doctor’s offices, and real estate companies are sectors in your community that may benefit from your translating skills. One advantage of doing document translation is that you can work from home. You can receive the source documents through email, fax, mail, or courier.

To succeed in this field, you will need good organization and time management skills. The ability to meet deadlines and set priorities is very important as well. The possibilities are infinite if document translation is what you want to do.

 

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Reference:

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By: pntglobal

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With the global economy looking healthier than ever before, travel to far-flung countries on business and pleasure continues to rise at a steady pace. The influx of foreign students into US and British universities, and of software and other professionals into European and American businesses, has been escalating over the past two decades. According to recent estimates – there are about 45 million people residing in the US alone, who speak a language other than English in their homes, and among them, about 19 million have a limited ability to communicate in English.

Need for interpreter and translation services in hospitals and clinics

When non-English speaking patients seek medical help, the issue of proper communication by translation and interpretation of a patient’s problem for physicians and other medical staff at the healthcare center assumes serious importance. Most patients take it for granted that once they approach a doctor or hospital and describe their specific ailment and its symptoms, a line of treatment that is appropriate to their condition would be prescribed. But in reality, things are not all that simple: communication is the key element here, as unexpected complications may arise if the patient or his family is unable to clearly explain the exact nature of the patient’s condition and the accompanying symptoms. The situation could be even more precarious if it happens to be an emergency.

Although some hospitals and clinics have trained interpreters on board for translating the patient’s conversation, many are not equipped with such translation services. In any event, miscommunication through faulty translation of a patient’s condition can have serious implications on the treatment outcome.

Medical mistakes caused by errors in interpretation

In a recent study undertaken in the pediatrics department of the Boston Medical Center, 13 encounters between physicians, their patients (who were non-English speaking) and the interpreters were video-taped, and it was found that there were as many as 396 interpreter errors! The study specifically revealed that untrained interpreters were far more likely to make errors that had serious consequences on the patient’s health than trained personnel.

The most common interpreter errors that were listed in the study were as follows:

Omission: (52%), in which the interpreter left out an important piece of information.

False fluency: (16%), in which the interpreter used words or phrases that didn’t exist in a specific language.

Substitution: (13%), in which a word or phrase is replaced with another word or phrase of a different meaning.

Editorialization: (10%), in which the interpreter’s opinion is added to the interpretation.

Addition: (8%), in which a word or phrase is added by the interpreter.

(Source: Language Barriers Lead to Medical Mistakes kyha.com/OCRLanguage/Language%20Barriers%20Lead%20to%20Medical%20Mistakes.pdf)

Availability of interpreter or translation services

Currently, the services of an interpreter are covered by insurance in five U.S. states: Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, Vermont and Washington. Many large hospitals in Milwaukee have interpreters on their payroll, and the State-owned Children’s Hospital employs both full-time and part-time Spanish-speaking interpreters. Many hospitals outsource their interpreter or translation services based on need. However, a number of healthcare establishments don’t have adequate resources to cover the expense of hiring interpreters or translators.

On a more heartening note, the situation that prevails in the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in the Bay Area is worth a mention. David Peschard, a Mexican native, together with his dedicated team of professional and volunteer translators help ease the problem faced by Spanish-speaking patients and their families who have difficulty communicating in English. Peschard not only offers interpretation and translation services to Spanish-speaking families, but also helps find interpreters for patients who speak many other languages including Russian, Cantonese and Japanese. He also coordinates interpreter training and the commissioning of volunteer services at short notice as needed for interpreting conversations between patients and their physicians. Vietnamese is the second-most commonly spoken language, followed by Mandarin and Cantonese.

With rapid advances in the field of medicine taking place concurrently with cross-border migration of people in large numbers either for education or for livelihood, the need for a high quality of interpretation and translation services in health care facilities is being felt with increasing intensity. Medical mistakes can prove expensive not only to patients and their care givers, but also to health care establishments. So it would be appropriate to adopt strategies similar to the one practised at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital by health care facilities, in the best interests of all concerned.



By: Armando Riquier

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