“To translate is to build a bridge between two messages, two languages, two cultures, as an act of comprehension and communication.” H. G. Gadamer
The importance of a quality translation
To translate is to communicate a message to a different culture.
For our target audience to understand precisely what we wish to convey,
it is essential to achieve an effective communication. Therefore, literal translation of our text is simply not enough.
Only a professional translator knows how to meet these quality standards:
Faithfulness: A quality translation conveys the same ideas as the original text, without making any mistakes in meaning. It also uses the same register (formal or informal) and fulfills the same purpose (to persuade, to inform, etc.).
Accuracy: Every technical term is thoroughly revised to make sure that the vocabulary is accurate.
Fluency: A good translation is perfectly written, without any grammar or spelling mistakes, so that it reads easily and fluently.
Adaptations: For the text to be fully understood by our target readers, it may need to be adapted to their culture. To this end, the translator finds those expressions which do not apply to the reader and evaluates the addition of explanations or conversions, such as currency and measurement units, names of institutions, cultural habits, idioms, sayings, metaphors, puns, collocations.
