The Ethics of Translation

Posted On May 1, 2012By TranspanishIn Spanish Translation, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

Just as professionals such as doctors and lawyers occasionally grapple with ethics, translators and interpreters will likely face a range of ethical dilemmas in the practice of their profession. Certain countries have established codes of conduct that set out guidelines for issues such as quality standards, impartiality, and confidentiality; however, the truly difficult decisions arise when linguists are asked to translate a text that clashes with their personal ethical standards.

Consider these situations:

  • A translator is asked to translate the election platform of a political party whose views the translator vehemently opposes.
  • A translator with pro-life values is assigned a translation project involving educational materials about abortion.
  • A translator firmly against animal cruelty is presented with advertising copy for a company operating in the fur industry.
  • A translator opposed to the business practices of XYZ Corporation is asked to translate information about one of the company’s product lines.

The role of a translator is to objectively render the message provided in the source language into the target language. Ideally, linguists detach themselves from the topic in order to achieve the highest degree of objectivity when reproducing the message. A translator should be able to produce a sound translation even when his or her views come in conflict with those expressed in the text; however, if the source text tackles an issue that the translator feels so strongly about that it precludes his or her ability to remain detached and professional, then the translator should turn down the project.

In addition, it’s important to remember that many subjects are distasteful or unpleasant (e.g. reports of human rights violations), yet information concerning these topics is often needed to help combat horrific practices, investigate crimes, etc. Translators must evaluate not only the topic of the translation but also its end use.

Virtually all professional translators draw the line at translating texts that describe illegal activity, but when the topic of the translation falls into an ethical gray area, the decision to accept or reject the project on moral grounds ultimately rests with the translator. With that said, individuals who rely on translation to put food on the table may be slightly more open-minded than those who can afford to turn down unsavory projects thanks to other sources of income.

All freelancers have the right to choose which projects they take on. If they do turn down a translation, they don’t necessarily owe the client an explanation; nonetheless, it can be helpful to let the client know the reason for the rejection. In many cases, the client/agency will be understanding and supportive; however, translators should be aware that by turning down a project, they run the risk of losing the client.

If objectionable themes are likely to arise with a particular client, translators should consider adding a clause to their contract with that client, outlining the subjects the translator refuses to handle for ethical reasons. Another idea is to draw up a statement of principles, which summarizes the types of texts the translator will not accept on moral grounds. This statement may be sent to translation agencies or direct clients looking to engage the translator’s services so that his or her limits are clear from the very beginning.

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Notes on Back-translation

Posted On April 24, 2012By TranspanishIn Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

What is back-translation?

The process of back-translation consists of translating a previously translated text back into the original language. Ideally, a back-translation should be performed by an independent translator who did not participate in the original translation. The back-translation may then be compared to the original text to check the accuracy of the initial translation. Even careful translators and editors make mistakes, and the back-translation process offers a second chance to catch errors, omissions, additions or misinterpretations of the text.

A back-translation will rarely yield a result identical to the original text. Above all, it’s important for the back translation to reflect the same meaning as the original document, even if the word choice or word order differs slightly. A back-translation should be very literal but still idiomatic.

When is back-translation typically used?

  • Clients often request a back-translation to check the quality of the translation when the subject matter demands an extremely high degree of accuracy, for example, in clinical trials. They prove particularly useful for picking up errors that may be easily missed by the proofreader but that can have dire consequences. Some ethics committees and institutional review boards (IRBs) require back-translations before granting research approval.
  • In the field of advertising, translators tend to get creative and embellish the copy, occasionally moving away from the meaning of the original text. In some instances, even slight deviations in meaning can cause serious legal problems for the agency or client. With a back-translation, the client’s legal department can detect these potential legal issues. In addition, back translations of ad copy can allow the client to get a better feel for how the advertising concept is being expressed in the target language.
  • A back-translation may be requested when the reviewer doesn’t know the target language, especially in the case of unusual language combinations (i.e. Spanish to Luxembourgish).

The argument against back-translation

Some translators consider back-translation to be a fruitless exercise. Rather than perform a back-translation, there are those who argue for the original translation to be reviewed by an experienced, qualified proofreader as well as an expert with technical background (e.g. a doctor or other medical professional in the case of a medical translation, a lawyer for a legal translation).

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The Absence of Certified Translators in the U.S. and Implications for Translation Buyers

Posted On March 27, 2012By TranspanishIn Did you know?, Spanish Translation, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/  2 Comments

Unlike most European and Latin American countries, licensure or certification for translators does not exist within the United States, neither at the federal nor the state level. In the case of interpreters, a program does exist to certify individuals so that they may work within the federal court system; however, interpreters in other fields are not subject to this certification process. Although there’s no official certification program for U.S. translators, they may seek accreditation through professional organizations such as the American Translators Association (ATA), which rigorously test translators before granting them a “seal of approval.” Without a formal certification scheme—and thus a lack of assurances regarding a translator’s competence—many agencies have developed their own certification procedures to vet potential translators.

In other parts of the world, only certified translators may translate certain types of documents, such as legal or medical texts, for example. However, in the United States, translators are not required to be certified or licensed in order to provide a certified translation. Any translators willing to take an oath before a notary public, attesting to the accuracy of the translation and their qualifications to translate to and from a specific language pair, can offer clients certified translations.

Unfortunately, the absence of certification for language professionals in the U.S. means that nearly anyone, regardless of experience, education or aptitude, can pose as a translator. In addition, many translators refer to themselves as “certified” in an attempt to increase their marketability. Given that there’s no licensure or certification program in the United States, it’s wise to question the qualifications of those claiming to be certified translators (i.e. who certified them?). It’s important to note that there are many highly qualified, experienced translators who are neither accredited nor certified by a particular institution.
What can translation buyers do given the lack of translator credentialing programs in the U.S.?

  • Inquire as to whether the translator is accredited by a professional organization for translators.
  • Thoroughly check the translator’s references.
  • Work with a translation agency that has taken the time to put together a trusted team of qualified translators.
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The Importance of Quality Translations to the Pharmaceutical Industry

Posted On March 9, 2012By TranspanishIn Spanish Translation, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

In a global economy dominated by the English language—the world’s current lingua franca—obstacles to the clear communication of scientific information abound. With an increasing amount of clinical research and pharmaceutical manufacturing taking place around the world in numerous languages, quality Medical translation services can break down these barriers, expediting the process to bring a drug to market and paring down the clinical trial process. The need for language services may arise during a number of stages, including research and development, submission to and review by regulatory bodies, production, and product marketing.

A company that understands the importance of technical translation possesses a clear competitive advantage. A skilled technical translator, with in-depth medical knowledge and sound translation skills, is critical for the approval of a drug or medical device by a regulatory agency. A poorly-done translation can lead to rejection of the drug by the regulatory body, or worse yet, delays in bringing the product to market or drug recalls. Each one of these setbacks adversely affects the company’s bottom line and has the potential to place consumers’ health at risk.

In a nutshell, when it comes to matters of health and safety, it’s never advisable to scrimp on quality.

Read more on the topic here.

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Trends in the Global Translation Market

Posted On February 16, 2012By TranspanishIn Languages, Spanish Translation, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

Companies and multinational corporations operating in the global market require translation services for many aspects of their business. Marketing materials, websites, help forums, compliance documentation, technical handbooks, and human resource manuals all require language support. To meet demand, departments routinely contract with various translation service providers from around the world; however, in light of budget constraints and corporate belt-tightening, perhaps this isn’t the most sensible approach.

The independent market research firm Common Sense Advisory released new data that confirms the benefits of centralizing language services with one trusted provider. Using this approach can lead to decreased costs and faster times to market for greater volumes of translated material. The firm conducted a survey with 226 respondents at international companies that purchase translation services. In spite of global economic concerns, the majority of these firms reported that their translation spending had increased from 2010 to 2011.

Key findings in the report “Translation Performance Metrics” include:

  • Translation costs are extremely small in comparison to the revenue they create. Virtually all companies noted that their translation costs fell well below 1% of total revenue.
  • Key industries are spending more on translation services. Spending increased by more than ¼ in the financial services, health care, manufacturing and insurance sectors.
  • The budget for translation services correlates to the size of the firm. The majority of companies anticipate an increase in their budget for translation services. Firms with revenue in excess of US $10 billion expect the highest percentage increase (31.1%).
  • There’s an upward trend in project size and the number of languages. Large translation projects consisting of one million words or more increased across almost all industries. The organizations that participated in the survey estimated that ¼ of their projects would contain a million or more words by the year 2012. In 2009, projects of 10,000 words or less were translated into an average of 16 languages, with predictions for 2012 estimating some 20 different target languages.

For more information, visit Common Sense Advisory.


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The High Cost of a Bad Translation

Posted On January 17, 2012By TranspanishIn Spanish Translation, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

Pay now or pay later. In the world of translation, this saying certainly rings true. Some translation buyers—more concerned with the bottom line than with quality—look for the cheapest translation possible without considering the potential fallout from a translation done for a rock-bottom price. A poorly translated text could tarnish a company’s hard-won corporate image or negatively affect sales, but, in the worst-case scenario, a bad translation could lead to injury or even death.

Translation buyers wooed by low-budget translations don’t always realize that they’re likely sacrificing quality for price. Cheap translations are often performed by inexperienced or unqualified translators or those who hope to garner more clients by translating into languages other than their mother tongue. Some translation buyers bypass human translators altogether, opting to plug their text directly into online machine translation tools such as Google Translate. The results of translations by rookie translators, non-native translators and machine translation tools can be disastrous in certain situations.

The following types of translations require the utmost care and should never be left in the hands of a second-rate translator or a machine translation tool, as doing so could invite catastrophe:

  • Sales and marketing texts requiring both linguistic and cultural understanding
  • Patent translations or other technical literature where accuracy carries great importance
  • Medical and pharmaceutical texts, particularly when such information may mean a matter of life or death
  • Legal texts such as contracts, court orders, and wills, where any error in the text may have profound legal implications
  • Any text that represents the public face of your business or organization, including websites, brochures, manuals, etc.

Companies work tirelessly to cultivate a particular image, but the results of that hard work can evaporate quickly with just one major gaffe. Websites marketing products and services can’t afford to take a lax approach to linguistic blunders. According to an article published by BBC News, UK-based online entrepreneur Charles Duncombe found that “an analysis of website figures shows a single spelling mistake can cut online sales in half.” It makes one stop to think about the potential impact of error-free yet awkwardly-expressed language, or text that flows and works well in one country and culture, such as Spain but not in others, such as Mexico or Argentina.

Inexperienced translators and machine translation tools also lack the ability to fine tune the text based on cultural nuances. The success or failure of a print ad or online marketing campaign rides on the text’s ability to connect with the target audience, and culturally inappropriate aspects of a translation will stick out like a sore thumb to native speakers. Regardless of the technological advances made, machine translation will never learn to pick up on the cultural undertones and subtleties at play in language. Jokes, idioms and wordplay are largely lost on tools such as Google Translate, which fail to capture the “flavor” of the text.

It’s worth mentioning that bad translations can have an impact on more than just the company’s bottom line. Inaccurately translated testimony in a court case could lead to an undeserved conviction; a translation error on a prescription drug label could have life-threatening consequences for a patient; and badly translated instructions in a machine manual could spell injury or death for a factory worker.

Businesses and organizations that prioritize their investment in a high quality translation of their documents, website, etc. project an image of professionalism and integrity, and they ensure the health and safety of those who rely on the company’s products or services.

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STATS: English, Spanish and Portuguese on the Internet

Posted On January 9, 2012By TranspanishIn English Language, Languages, Portuguese Language, Spanish Language, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/  1 Comment

English, Spanish and Portuguese comprise three of the top five languages on the Web. Let’s take a look at some statistics reflecting these languages’ influence on the Internet.

English

  • Number of native English-speaking users on the Web: 565.0 million (as of May 31, 2011)
    % of English-speaking Internet users with respect to total population of English speakers: 43.4%
  • User growth from 2000 to 2011: 301.4%
  • Percentage of total Internet users: 26.8% (Overall ranking among top 10 languages: #1)
  • % of websites available in English (as of December 31, 2011): 56.6%

Spanish

  • Number of native Spanish-speaking users on the Web: 165.0 million (as of May 31, 2011)
  • % of Spanish-speaking Internet users with respect to total population of Spanish speakers: 39.0%
  • User growth from 2000 to 2011: 807.4%
  • Percentage of total Internet users: 7.8% (Overall ranking among top 10 languages: #3)
  • % of websites available in Spanish (as of December 31, 2011): 4.6%

Portuguese

  • Number of native Portuguese-speaking users on the Web: 82.6 million (as of May 31, 2011)
  • % of Portuguese-speaking Internet users with respect to total population of Portuguese speakers: 32.5%
  • User growth from 2000 to 2011: 990.1%
  • Percentage of total Internet users: 3.9% (Overall ranking among top 10 languages: #5)
  • % of websites available in Portuguese (as of December 31, 2011): 2.0%

A quick analysis of the numbers points to the following facts that translation buyers should be aware of:

» Figures show that there’s still a great deal of room for growth among all three languages, in terms of the number of users and the amount of content available. Although English leads the charge as the “language of the Web,” not even half of all English speakers are on the ‘net, and Spanish and Portuguese lag even farther behind. As the economic outlook continues to improve in Latin America and Brazil, user growth among speakers of Spanish and Portuguese should be particularly strong.

» Despite an explosion in the number of Internet users among the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking populations over the last decade, access to content in those languages remains severely limited. Those businesses looking for a competitive edge will invest in translations of their web content into Spanish and/or Portuguese.

Statistical data courtesy of Internet World Stats and Wikipedia

More information on the English Language
More information on the Spanish Language
More information on the Portuguese Language

 

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Facebook’s Newest Machine Translation Tool Falls Flat

Posted On November 15, 2011By TranspanishIn English Language, Spanish Translation, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

Just in case you need more proof that most machine translation tools don’t quite cut the mustard, the latest attempt by social media giant Facebook to incorporate machine translation (MT) into its platform fails miserably with most languages.

In an effort to help pages connect better with their fan base—often found scattered across the globe—Facebook recently introduced machine translation, powered by Bing. With just one click, users can get an automatic translation of status updates and comments. Facebook plans to roll out this feature to all profiles (not just pages) in the near future.

There’s just one problem: most of the translations are unintelligible. Posts on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are rife with slang, and Bing’s machine translation tool simply isn’t up to task. An analysis of Bing’s performance by the site Lexiophiles shows that Bing only gets it right about 50% of the time, leaving users confused and, at worst, possibly misled by faulty translations. Interestingly, out of the ten languages tested, posts translated from Spanish to English fared worst of all, with less than 10% of the rendered text considered intelligible.

For greater accuracy, Facebook will also be implementing a feature that allows bilingual users to offer an alternative translation. If other users endorse the accuracy of the crowdsourced translation, it will take the place of Bing’s original translation the next time the “Translate” option is clicked. Page administrators will be able to manage crowdsourced translations through a “manage translations” link below the posts on pages they control.

One of the great arguments in favor of MT has always been that it can at least offer users a gist of the conversation when no other means of translation is available. It seems that, at least for now, Bing’s tool doesn’t even offer that to Facebook’s users.

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Spanish in the United States: Second Language or Foreign Language?

Posted On November 7, 2011By TranspanishIn Languages, Spanish Language, Translation Buyers/  2 Comments

Given the pervasive use of the Spanish language in the United States, some would argue that Spanish should no longer be considered a foreign language. With roughly 40 million people in the United States speaking Spanish, the language has permeated American society and deserves greater respect. As a highly visible and daily aspect of many Americans’ lives, Spanish has evolved into the United States’ second language rather than a foreign language.

Although English predominates within the nation’s corporate boardrooms, the halls of government and the court system, both corporate America and the government increasingly recognize the role of Spanish in the U.S. Companies now woo potential customers with Spanish language advertising and social media campaigns, the court system offers Spanish language interpreters for proceedings, and an office of the U.S. government’s General Services Administration (GSA) works to ensure the proper use of Spanish by federal agencies.

Spanish speakers in North America even have their own organization known as the Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española — ANLE (North American Academy of the Spanish Language) to define Spanish language standards. Recognized as the authority regarding Spanish language use in the United States, ANLE works in conjunction with Gobierno USA, the U.S. government’s Spanish language portal, to ensure the correct usage of Spanish in all official communications by government entities. According to a member of ANLE, the federal government translates more documents into Spanish than any other minority language, highlighting its importance.

Just as Spanish speakers in other countries have their own particular idioms, the mix of cultures and “flavors” of Spanish combined with a strong influence by English has produced idioms unique to U.S. Spanish. ANLE is currently working to compile a list of these idioms for inclusion in a dictionary that captures the words and phrases unique to the Spanish spoken within the United States.

ANLE looks to standardize the usage of U.S. Spanish, which will pay off later with translations that are more faithful to the nuances found in American Spanish. It’s also important to highlight that Spanglish, an informal mix of Spanish and English, does not represent or define proper use of the Spanish language in the United States, although U.S. Spanish speakers have had a difficult time shedding this image.

A professor at the University of California at Berkeley sums up the debate about Spanish as a  foreign language versus a second language, like so: “Despite the quotidian presence of Spanish in the state of California, the voice of Spanish speaking Californians is strikingly absent from the Spanish I curriculum at UC Berkeley. …perhaps the reconceptualization of Spanish as a second language must start with students such as mine who expressed that their goals for Spanish were neither touristic nor global-economical, but immediately practical– they want to be able to communicate with individuals with whom they share a home state but not a means of communication.”[1]

 

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Transpanish Announces New Discounts for Translation Buyers

Posted On November 2, 2011By TranspanishIn Spanish Translation, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

Transpanish is pleased to announce a savings opportunity for translation buyers. Now through December 1, 2011, new customers ordering English to Spanish translations will receive a 15% discount on services. Plus, don’t forget that new customers purchasing Spanish to English translations qualify for a 10% discount. We’d also like to remind existing customers that Transpanish offers discounts on large volume translations and 10% off the cost of translations for non-profit organizations.

Get a free translation quote today from Transpanish and take advantage of this offer.

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