To work effectively with professionals in any industry, you should understand the terminology they use. Here is a list of terms to help you make sense of the translation jargon.
Translator or interpreter: First, you must determine if you’re looking for a translator or an interpreter.
- A translator converts written content from one language to another.
- An interpreter converts speech orally from one language to another.
Desired language pair: Next, find a translator with your desired language pair, the two languages they’ll be working with (for example, English to Spanish). These two languages are also known as the source language (the language of your original text) and the target language (the language you want it translated into).
CAT software: Computer-aided translation software, or CAT software, is used by professional translators to see source and target texts side by side and to build a glossary of commonly used terms.
Localization: This process adapts a translation (or any product) to make it appropriate for a specific culture or region.
Target audience: The people you want to reach, to craft a text that is culturally appropriate in tone and language.
Termbase (TB): This is exactly what it sounds like: a database of terms. When working on a large project, translators can create a specific termbase dedicated to that project to maintain consistency and save time.
Text type: The information the text contains, such as marketing, financial, legal, scientific, medical, literary or academic.
Transcreation: A marketing technique that, like localization, focuses on adapting content from one language and culture to another.
Translation memory (TM): A database that saves previously translated text, which allows translators to ensure consistency throughout a project and helps speed up the translation.
Word count: Total words to be translated.
Final thoughts
Make sure you and your translators are speaking the same language.
Understanding the methods and terms in the process will help your organization work more efficiently with translators as they convert or create your multilingual communications materials. You can improve the quality and consistency of your translations today with our translation style guide worksheet.
Hook Multilingual offers thoughtful translations that help you better engage immigrant employees and clients. Contact us for details.
