20 Translation Terms your Business should know

If you're looking to expand your online business, translation is a great way of reaching out to more customers, both at home and overseas. Translation jargon can be a bit tricky, however. Here are 20 terms you should know when getting to grips with business translation.

1) Accredited/Certified Translators

An accredited or certified translator is one whose skill and abilities have been ratified and endorsed by an official governing body. Choosing an accredited or certified translator often guarantees a higher quality of work.

2) Administrative Translations

A broad definition, administrative translation refers to administrative texts, such as those used in the day-to-day maintenance of a business or organisation. It can also be applied to similar machinations in government.

3) Certified Translations

A certified translation is one which has been carried out by a certified or accredited translator. This will generally be more reliable and in some cases is imperative, especially for legal document such as marriage and birth certificates, criminal records, etc.

4) Commercial Translation

This type of translation applies directly to any documents used in the business world. This can include company accounts, reports, tender documents, correspondence, purchasing orders, etc.

5) Computer Assisted Translation (CAT)

This form of translation relies solely upon computer software, without human input or supervision. This is generally very unreliable and should be avoided.

6) Computer Translation

Not to be confused with CAT, computer translation deals with all translations of computer-related documents, such as help files, manuals, instructions, warranties, etc.

7) Desktop Publishing (DTP)

A complete service which handles not only the translation of a company's marketing documents in hard copy form, but also the formatting, setting and printing of these.

8) Interpreting

Interpreting differs from translation in that it involves oral translation of a client's words, in real time. Translation deals only with the conversion of the printed word into another language.

9) International Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

This is used to raise the profile of a website within a specific area, and when executed in conjunction with a website translation, can help to build a company's client base overseas.

10) Internationalization

Sometimes called globalization, this process ensures that a product or software can be translated into another language without changes to the hardware, thus making it marketable world-wide.

11) Language Service Provider (LSP)

An overarching service which will translate your document into the desired language(s), handle localization, formatting, printing, and all other concerns. Often expensive, but comprehensive.

12) Legal Translation

One of the hardest types of translation, legal translation deals with contracts, laws, statutes, treaties etc. It so difficult because law is different depending on the nation and culture, requiring the translator to have an excellent knowledge of the law of both the source and target language countries.

13) Localization

The opposite of internationalization, localization adapts a product or software not only to the language of a specific region, but also its customs and cultural peculiarities.

14) Machine Translation

Similar to computer translation, machine translation relies solely on software such as Google Translate to achieve its aim. Very unreliable and not recommended where accuracy is important.

15) Notarized Translations

A notarized translation is one where a public notary has confirmed the identity of the translator and witnessed them signing an affidavit or swearing that the work is of good quality. They do not guarantee the quality of the work - only that the translator has attested to it.

16) Project Managers (PM)

The point of communication between the client and the translation company, the PM's job is to ensure that the customer is happy and that the work is performed to a high standard.

17) Source & Target

The source is the original language from which the document is to be translated. The target is the desired language into which it is to be translated.

18) Technical Translation

A broad-ranging term which covers all types of translation which involve a high level of jargon or technical terms. As such, it is often more expensive since it requires specialist knowledge.

19) Translation Memory

Translation memory is a type of computer software which assists in human translation, by remembering key translated phrases and suggesting those when the phrases are repeated. A great time and money saving tool.

20) Verbatim Translation

Verbatim translation is one that follows the original document exactly, word for word. It is most often used in legal translation, where any slight discrepancy between the original and the translation can cause huge problems.

This blog was written by Rob Truslove for Alphatrad - a UK translation agency in London. If you require website translation services, visit Alphatrad at http://www.alphatrad.co.uk/website-translation. Alphatrad offers professional services through a network of more than 80 centers worldwide. And, with over 35 years of experience, is positioned as a leader in certified translations, technical translations and much more.