Multilizer Translation Blog

This is a guest post by Alison Williams

Technology is going through rapid change in all areas of life, from how we communicate to how goods are produced. The change in the technology used in translation is following the same trend.

Translating from one language to another has usually been left to those who were either born into a bilingual world or have acquired multi language fluency early on. These specialists have used their skills to learn technical terminology in their pair of languages so that they could gain employment translating in specialist areas.

These days there are endless possibilities for getting a text translated apart from through a human translator. For a simple translation task that gives the gist of the meaning Google Translate and similar computer aided translation tools offer a useful if limited resource. But these simple translation technologies aren’t completely effective when it comes to accuracy in the translation.

Mutual Understanding Created by Better Communication Technology

The earliest phase of humanity’s existence saw a mushrooming of different languages. As people spread throughout the world, languages evolved and changed, making it more and more difficult for people to communicate with each other. This was especially true when natural geographical barriers prevented people from communicating. When these geographical barriers broke down, the differences that had developed in language acted as a barrier between communities. Today, the opposite is happening. Smaller languages are disappearing and the need for effective communication is even more important as globalisation closes the geographical gap between people their cultures and their languages.

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

Machine learning and artificial intelligence are becoming more a normal part of translation and are increasingly opening up opportunities in many areas of our lives, including in the education sector. These technologies are having a tremendous effect on translation which will ultimately change the way people communicate with each other.

One example of technology that is currently being developed is a device that can pick up a particular language and automatically translate it. The listener can hear it in his or her language via an earphone. This technology hasn’t even begun to emerge on a large scale. So far, there is software available that can be loaded on to a mobile phone but the quality of the listening devices isn’t high enough for the listener to get anything more than the gist of what is going on.

People typically prefer to communicate in their native language, so there is an increasing need for translation technology and the digitizing of languages so that translations can take place using voice recognition. Even more important in this increasingly culturally homogeneous world is the need to preserve some of the lesser known languages. This can be done if automated translation technology is programmed to understand and translate these languages, thus limiting the chance they could be lost altogether.

Author: Alison Williams

My interest in writing became important to me in 2001 after I gained an MA in Applied Linguistics and I started to move into writing as a means of securing an income. I have since then specialised in writing blog posts and web pages for a variety of clients including those in the legal and translation niches. I have built up the ability as a highly skilled writer to communicate with a variety of audiences and in an array of styles and formats. Over the past few years, I have worked with executives, entrepreneurs, industry experts and many other professionals in writing and publishing, SEO web content, blogs, newspaper articles and more.

This is a guest posting from Aussie German Translations.

The world is changing at a faster pace than ever. It is being transformed into a global community where barriers of language need to be crossed to ensure effective communication. Good translations in both German and English speaking countries have made it simpler for businesses to identify and target potential consumers markets and associate with them. Germany is one of Europe’s biggest economies, so there is a need for English speaking countries to ensure that their product descriptions are translated into high quantity German. This opens up and keeps new markets.

If a business deal takes place between a German and English company it’s important that all the legal documents related to the deal are meticulously translated into the 2 languages so as to ensure no misunderstanding takes place.

Germany has many openings available for businesses to enter into business agreements and expand their customer base. However, Germany expects high quality so a lot of effort has to go into translations including accurate translations of such documents as handbooks relating to products as well as the product descriptions themselves. It has in its country one of the biggest corporate industries in Europe which makes it particularly lucrative for a wide range of businesses. This makes it very important to hire professional quality German translators to undertake all the required translations to the highest standard possible.

Germany has increased its influence in the financial sector in Europe. The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was worth at least US$ 3,634.82 billion in 2013, making it Europe’s key financial hub. Germany’s GDP represents nearly 6 percent of the world total. It not only offers businesses a possible consumer base, but also provides opportunities for businesses to take part in business partnerships over the long-term with a string of German companies.

Some are corporate giants while others are medium and small enterprises form Germany’s business sector. The country’s stable economy and good financial policy means there are many who are interested in working in association with this huge variety of German companies. Of course it is important to ensure all documents related to business activities are available in both German and English.

Austria, another European German speaking country, in terms of its GDP per capita, is one of the world’s 12 richest countries, standing at €36,640. It has exceptionally high living standards. Additionally, Switzerland has a per capita GDP of US$54,600. Around 80 percent of its population speaks German in a Swiss dialect and this is used in commerce and industry.

There are also large English speaking markets for German speaking countries to gain from, such as the United States, Australia, Canada and Britain. These are countries that boast large consumer markets so there are always business and trade openings available for German speaking countries, as long as any marketing material is translated effectively from German to English.

It doesn’t take much to work out how important it is to use high quality German translators when translating English to German, as these countries expect the best and well translated material would adds professionalism to a business’s image and breaks down barriers to communication so that business dealings can take place smoothly.

Author Bio:-

My interest in writing became important to me in 2001 after I gained an MA in Applied Linguistics and I started to move into writing as a means of securing an income.  I have since then specialised in writing blog posts and web pages for a variety of clients including those in the legal and translation niches. I have built up the ability as a highly skilled writer to communicate with a variety of audiences and in an array of styles and formats. Over the past few years, I have worked with executives, entrepreneurs, industry experts and many other professionals in writing and publishing, SEO web content, blogs, newspaper articles and more. 

This a a guest posting by Lucy Justina from Professional Interpreting

Different Interpreting Services That Make Life Easier
Interpreting services make life easier by translating what is being said while keeping its true meaning intact. Interpretation services have become inseparable part of the industries worldwide due to globalization. Multinational companies that operate from different locations, having their customers and suppliers from all over the world would need an efficient interpreting service for both operational and promotional needs. There are many instances when interpretation service is required for personal reasons. Based on the varied needs, you can select from the different interpreting services.

1. Business Processes
Business expansion beyond boundaries call for the knowledge of culture, market statistics, and language of the countries targeted. Cultural knowledge can be gathered from research, market statistics from market survey, and the language barrier can be removed by professional interpreter. The interpreter supports in business expansion by aiding third party communication, client meetings, and interviews. The written matter can be sorted by the professional translator.

2. Government and public sector organizations
Communication with government and public sector organizations is carried out by the single person having knowledge of both the languages. He would mediate by interpreting entire communication in both the languages for either of the parties. As the talks involved in this case demand high level accuracy, it is good to hire the services of only the well-trained professional interpreter from the reputed company.

3. Media communication
This is a special category interpretation. Media interpreters specialize in carrying out interpretation for press conferences, recorded interviews, and television programs. Some of them carry out live interpretation when the program is being aired and this is quite stressful. It requires highly skilled professional as even a single error would reach out to wide spectrum of people, leaving no way for rectification. You will have to hire only the experts for this.

4. Interpretation for deaf community
In this type, the interpretation is carried out from spoken language to sign language. It is usually carried out when the event is attended by delegates belonging to deaf community. The spoken language is converted to sign language and in case of bilateral communications, sign language is converted to spoken language. Like all other interpretation, this also takes place simultaneously.

5. Global conference
Conferences are not confined to national boundaries. Globalization has expanded the horizon for conferences. The invitee list includes people from different origins speaking different languages. The motto of the conference is usually to brief the customers, suppliers, or employees about the company and products. Some are held for motivating the team. The idea is to develop an interest amongst the stakeholders about the company. When using interpreter, make sure that the person is capable of keeping the essence of the conference intact. The dynamic nature of the conference should not be changed because of interpreter. Here you will require quick interpreter using proper voice modulation.

The task of legal and medical interpreter is also very crucial. Even individuals would require their services in certain situations. Hiring an appropriate interpreter is more important than hiring just any interpreter, as miscommunication is more fatal than no communication.

This is a guest posting by Levi Corrie from Aussie Translations.

Translating text from one language to another involves a process in which the translator doesn’t just simply string the words of the source language into the target language, but a meaning related to the text in its context has to be considered too.

When a translator is getting ready to translate some text, whether it is a long or short piece, he or she starts the process with an initial reading and overview of it first. This is in order to get a feel for the text and who it is to target. The message in the translation should be expressed in such a way that the audience defined for the translation is the same as the audience for the source language.

The translator can detect this through the linguistic symbols and language used in the source text. If the text is designed for a specific gender in mind a skilled linguist and translator should be able to calculate this from the language used. The same applies if the targeted audience is age specific or it is aimed at the business community. It might even be so technically based that the audience are those people who relate to that content and no one else like for example a scientist. Deciding on the language to be used in the translation is a decision made by the translator.

Why translation is a process

The art of translation is a process because it converts feelings, thoughts and messages from the source language into the target language where the meanings in both contexts remain the same. The translator cannot do a word for word translation as the language ability of the audience has to be considered as well.

Why translation is also a product
The end result of a translation can be called nothing else but a product. It is something that has been physically produced with an end user in mind. The translation is paid for like any other marketable product. With the increased demand for translations globally as more and more countries, cultures and language groups merge for academic, social or business reasons and the World Wide Web helps to bridge the gap so translation becomes a marketable product uniting the world through communication.

It is no longer the question of providing a simple easy to understand translation but the discipline specialises in different types of translations with their specific features. This includes such divisions as legal translations, technical translations, document translations, product description translations and much more.

These sorts of divisions in a text need to go through a specific process by the translator in order to determine what type of translation is required and who will be the recipient of the translated product. For example, translating a product handbook for a buyer of a product would be different than providing one for a technician trained to fix the product.

All in all a translation is both a process and a product.

This is a guest posting from David Rainey at DAMMANN German-English Translations.

German Translators, Ethical Translations and Ethical Behaviour

In the course of their duties German translators come across a number of ethical translation issues they need to handle. As a result of this ethical behaviour, maintaining good ethical standards is necessary in order to keep to the best possible practice in translations.
There are some translating organisations, like the National Accreditation Authority for Interpreters and Translators (NAATI) in Australia, that ensure ethical standards are followed in the Australian translation environment. In fact, if NAATI believes that if one of its practitioners has not stuck to the required code that translator may lose the much sought after NAATI accreditation that allows translators in Australia to undertake translations for high profile organisations like government authorities such as the courts and the immigration service.
There are 3 bodies in the country that take part in developing ethical translation criteria in Australia and they include NAATI, the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT) and for interpreters, the Australian Sign Language Interpreters’ Association (ASLIA). Also, when working with certain organisations German translators must follow the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC)

General ethical translation principles for German translators and interpreters are as follows:

• Respect the client’s right to confidentiality and privacy
• Reveal any conflicts of interest that are perceived or real
• Refuse work that the translator is not competent or accredited to undertake
• Discuss the translation job openly with the client
• Remain professionally detached from both the client and the translation
• Don’t use any confidential information discovered in a translation project that could bring about personal gain

When a German translator has reached the standard to pass NAATI accreditation it is acknowledging that the individual when undertaking a translation can transfer effectively information in relation to government, legal or medical matters in a way that the recipients will understand.
Many clients in Australia will not hire German translators without NAATI accreditation. This is partly because the NAATI accreditation takes a good look at ethical translation issues and teaches translators to work appropriately in this area. When German translators sit the NAATI exam they need to be able to answer questions related to ethics.
During the test the participants are given a scenario as it would take place with a translator out on the field. In the questions participants are asked to point out the ethical principle. They have to be able to state which principle a certain statement is related to.
Getting accreditation from NAATI doesn’t mean a translator can’t turn down a translation on ethical grounds. For example, a Muslim translator may refuse to translate texts related to alcohol, porn, casinos, adultery or anything that appears offensive to any ethnic or religious group as well as their own.
When it comes to translating a story found in the news media, if the translator believes the story is an exaggeration, or even a blatant lie, he or she may refuse to translate on ethical grounds. Morals, religion and ethics all play a major role when it comes to a translator’s choices. The news media gains supporters through mistruths and exaggeration and not all translators are prepared to be a part of this sort of translation work even though a translator in the end provides a very good translation, whether it’s ethical or not.
One translator turned down a translation of a whale researcher’s article because the article contained a finely tuned argument that defended commercial whaling, even down to the scientific detail that backed up the view. Sometimes, of course, a savvy translator whether he or she believes in the article or not could be doing the anti-whaling community a favour by translating such an article as it brings attention to the sort of people who are involved in the pro-whaling community.
Another relatively common ethical reason for refusing a translation project is the pay that is offered is too little and the translator doesn’t want to set a precedent in the translation community. There are times when a translator may put up with lower pay if the recipient has limited means but urgently needs a translation for humanitarian reasons. There are even some sympathetic translators who will offer their services pro bono because a client’s future depends on a reliable translation.

Ethics of a German translator

A translator resembles the role of an interpreter who has to report precisely what is said, whether agreeing with it or not. A translator might have his or her own opinion on a subject but this should not affect accepting or rejecting a job. What is more important is that the client can expect to receive a reliable and authentic translation free from bias of the translator.

Author Bio:-
My interest in writing became important to me in 2001 after I gained an MA in Applied Linguistics and I started to move into writing as a means of securing an income.  I have since then specialised in writing blog posts and web pages for a variety of clients including those in the legal and translation niches. I have built up the ability as a highly skilled writer to communicate with a variety of audiences and in an array of styles and formats. Over the past few years, I have worked with executives, entrepreneurs, industry experts and many other professionals in writing and publishing, SEO web content, blogs, newspaper articles and more.