Shall I try translating too?
Hello~
Most of you probably have experience translating. While studying, looking at work...
However, when I try to translate it myself, I realize that it's not as easy as I thought. Therefore, when I need to translate something important, I entrust it to a professional translation company or translator.
However, even though they turned to an expert, they are often disappointed because they don't like the results. From the point of view of making a request, it is a precious investment of time and money, and if the results are disappointing, there is no choice but to be very disappointed. So today, in order to reduce such unfortunate cases, I'm going to share one basic but very important tip you should know before entrusting the translation.
When translating, many people think about localizing foreign literary works such as poems and novels. However, the field of translation is much more diverse than one might think. Also, 'technical translation' and 'creative translation' occupy both extremes in such a broad spectrum of translations.
Technical (technical) translation
“Technical translation”, also known as “technical translation,” refers to the translation of specialized documents in various fields such as science, technology, industry, and law. Therefore, in order to do a good 'technical translation', it is necessary not only to have an understanding and knowledge of the relevant field, but also to be familiar with relevant technical terms. Also, since most documents are official, and there are many special terms that appear over and over again, accuracy and consistency in translation are particularly important. Note that the documents used by the company include product manuals, regulations, contracts, and patent-related content.
Creative translation
On the other hand, “creative translation” has characteristics contrary to “technical translation.” It may be necessary to be creative or even make minor adaptations about language and culture so that readers of the translation can sympathize with the author's ideas contained in the original text. In other words, “creative translation” thinks about how to make the message conveyed clear and properly convey the nuances and colors of the original text rather than being bound by each word in the original text. In particular, “copywriting” is one of the most difficult “creative translations,” and may require a second level of creation beyond simple literal translation or paraphrasing. Note that some of the things companies use include brochures, advertisements or marketing, and website text.
If so, who should you entrust the “technical translation” and “creative translation” to? From now on, I'll tell you what criteria and who to entrust to prevent disappointment after receiving results.
Who should I leave it to?
First of all, translators who do “technical translation” should be familiar with technical terms commonly used in the field, and the more experience they have in related translation work, the better. Also, proper translation is possible if you are familiar with the document writing rules that are followed in the field. To put it in a simplified way, it's like driving while watching a navigation system. Even if the road (original text) looks a bit strange and rough, you can reach your destination (translation) by following the established road rules and driving (translated) as a guide.
On the other hand, “creative translation” places more emphasis on conveying the meaning and message contained in the original text. The degree of freedom of translation is higher than “technical translation” because it is important to make the viewer understand the sentiment and mood contained in the original text. Therefore, when I do a “creative translation,” I first try translating into various versions and then choose the one I like the most. In other words, if “technical translation” is close to driving according to fixed rules while watching navigation, “creative translation” is similar to driving by choosing a scenic or favorite route under the assumption that “you will arrive at your destination properly.”
Therefore, when entrusting a translation, it is important to carefully determine what you need, “creative translation” or “technical translation.” Of course, if you read this article, I believe it will be possible to choose a more suitable method based on your understanding of the two fields of translation.
However, as I mentioned before, the spectrum of translation is very broad, so not all translation tasks are clearly divided into “technical translation” and “creative translation.” We will also take the next opportunity to introduce various fields of translation between “technical” and “creative” translation, so stay tuned.
*This content has been transferred from Gicon Studio to Letterworks.
