The Importance of Delivering a Premium Product 

Because we are so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about what we do, we are committed to excellence and to providing the best product. We become involved with the projects that our clients entrust us with and never cease to highlight the importance of a collaborative effort.  Whether it is translation, interpretation, proofreading or editing, we guarantee our full dedication to ensure the quality of our work and our unwavering professionalism.

With languages, a “little knowledge”, or not knowing enough, can be a dangerous thing. A translation should be entrusted to a professional linguist, who preferably is a native speaker of the target language with a current and updated knowledge of the language. Our finished projects do not contain errors of omission, misspellings, inaccurate subject-verb agreements or anachronistic terminology.

Clear communication is essential and more often than not, word for word translations fail to convey the intended meaning. Is essential to ensure that the message that needs to be communicated is accurately rendered in another language, and therefore a clear understanding of the context is of the essence.

A Word about Words

A translated text should never sound like a translation; it should flow seamlessly while accurately conveying the meaning intended by the source language. Ideally, a translation should read as if it had been originally created in the source language.

Since language is a living organism and as such it evolves and undergoes transformation, some new words are coined (neologisms) while others become anachronistic, outdated, or simply disappear from common use. Furthermore, as part of their evolutionary process, words may sometimes acquire different meanings, depending on when they are spoken, even if they still retain their original sense.  More often than not, the inaccurate rendition of a text or message, be it in translation or interpretation, may cause amusement or an embarrassing situation at best, and can even bring about potentially serious, timewasting and costly consequences, at worst. This is why it is so important to entrust a translation or interpretation to an experienced professional who is acquainted with the linguistic nuances of his or her working languages.

In Translation, as in Life, Beware of False Friends

Let us consider this: A word may have the same or a very close spelling in a language different than our own, although this does not imply that both languages share the same meaning of such word.  This is what is known as a “false friend”. Here are a few examples:

• “Crayon” does not translate into French as “crayon”, even though the English version of the word originates from the French language.
• “Achievement” is never to be translated as “achèvement”, French for “completion”.
• A “deposition” should never, ever be translated into Spanish as “deposición”, which has a totally different meaning in that language.
• The Italian word “confrontare” does not mean “to confront”, but “to compare”, and the term “celibe” in Italian means “unmarried, single” in English, not “celibate”.
• “Burro” or “butter” in Italian, would be “mantequilla” in Spanish, while the Spanish version of the word, “burro” means “donkey”, or “asino” in Italian.

There are many more examples, and this is a fascinating aspect of languages that illustrates the transformative process they go through, how they evolve and how they come to be.  Similarly, it is also very important to be aware and sensitive about the singularities that exist in the different versions of the English language.  Our world is a global community, and respect for other cultures is of the essence if we wish to contribute to harmonious communication between nations and cultures. This being said, there are many differences between British English and American English; some are better known than others.  Let us mention a few: The word “mad” means different things on both sides of the pond; a “pushchair” is the British version of the American word “stroller”, and a British “full stop” is called a “period” in America.  Furthermore, the British often refer to Continental Europe as “the Continent”. If this expression is not adapted for (or clarified to) American audiences, chances are that Americans reading or hearing such word will be wondering what “continent” the author is referring to.

 Areas of expertise 

Advertising, Art, Biography, Broadcasting, Business, Computer and Information Sciences, Culinary Arts, Geography, Health and Fitness, History, IT, Journalism and Mass Communication, Law, Linguistics, Literature,  Marketing, Medicine (General), Music, Nature and the Environment, and Animal Rights and Protection, Patent Descriptions and Trademark documentation, Religion and Philosophy, Telecommunications and Transportation.

Please contact us and we will send you a free quote. It will be our pleasure to assist you in bridging your communication gaps!