| Your company has decided to go ahead with a | | | | structure and etymologies of any pair of |
| collaborative venture with an established | | | | languages, and idiomatic phrases are unique |
| German firm, and you are charged with the | | | | to a language. Also, in any given language, |
| onerous task of getting the paperwork in | | | | most words have more than one meaning, with |
| order right from the word go. You are perhaps | | | | usage depending on the context. Thus |
| a bit nonplussed as to how to go about | | | | providing translation services is by no means |
| finding a reliable service provider who will | | | | an exact science so one does not often come |
| do a good job of providing English | | | | across any consistent one-to-one correlations |
| translations of the German documents sent by | | | | between phrases of different languages. So |
| your overseas counterpart. Identifying a | | | | any attempt at literal translation of texts |
| translation service provider can be both | | | | would be a meaningless exercise and fall far |
| extraordinarily simple as well as | | | | short of the mark, especially when the issue |
| complicated, for the simple reason that it is | | | | at hand is of a serious nature and you want |
| not easy to judge the quality of the final | | | | every nuance of the original text captured in |
| product delivered to you unless you happen to | | | | the most authentic manner possible. |
| be a linguist yourself. You may at best be | | | | |
| able to hazard a guess as to how well the | | | | Another common misconception is that anyone |
| task has been performed. | | | | who speaks fluently in two languages will be |
| | | | a good fit for undertaking translation |
| One of the common misconceptions that many | | | | services work. In one instance, even a |
| people have about translation services is | | | | professor of French teaching college-level |
| that there always exists a word-for-word or | | | | students where the medium of instruction was |
| phrase-for-phrase equivalent between any two | | | | English, found herself at a loss when |
| given languages, and that translation is | | | | confronted with a technical document in |
| merely a mechanical process. If this were to | | | | French. Knowledge of a language per se does |
| be true, machine translations can suit your | | | | not equip an individual to get fully |
| requirement and can be had for the asking at | | | | conversant with the different terminologies |
| the click of your mouse! In actual fact, any | | | | and forms of expression used in a business or |
| language is a self-contained system in itself | | | | specialized industry context. |
| that has evolved over time in a unique | | | | |
| manner. There can be no parallel in the way | | | | Translation service agencies are now getting |
| any two languages may have evolved over time. | | | | wind of this problem, and are making it a |
| | | | point to have on their rolls, translation |
| Andreas Udbye, Executive Director of the | | | | experts who have expertise in different |
| World Trade Center Tacoma, on a trip to China | | | | fields such as medicine, pharmacy, |
| a few years ago with Sam Reed (Secretary of | | | | engineering industries, finance, agriculture, |
| State from Washington) came across a banner | | | | and so on. Linguists who have subject matter |
| that read: "Welcome the Ordinary Sam Reed." | | | | expertise should be the preferred choice when |
| It's real intent was to say: "Welcome the | | | | it comes to translations of contractual |
| Honorable Sam Reed." | | | | documents, scientific treatises and other |
| | | | important documents. |
| Differences exist in the grammatical | | | | |