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Myths about Translation
The translation business is a tough one. All business is based on communication, but translation is the business of communication. Clients are predisposed to expect perfection in world that is constantly changing, not only culturally, but also linguistically. As such, certain myths have been propagated regarding the art and business of translation.
One common myth concerning translation is the notion that native speakers are the most suitable for the job. This is not always the case. Consider that there are over a billion native speakers of English worldwide. Now, how many people would you rely on to write the perfect thesis, or even be able to write a simple cover letter? It’s probably a very low percentage. Arguably, even former presidents of the United States have not even mastered the language. Therefore, clients would do well to recognize that translation is all about understanding the source language as well as the target language. In other words, while good translators are usually native speakers of the target language, not all native speakers are good translators.
Another common myth regarding translation is that the client is all about quality. In most business models, quality is a priority, but in translation, studies show that most clients are in fact more interested in speed—quantity over quality. Meeting deadlines is crucial for a translation business. Accuracy, it seems, can be dealt with later.
Running a translation business is often about educating the clients as to what to expect when seeking services. A third myth has to do with clients assuming that translating from one language to another is the same as translating in the reverse direction. For instance, English to French should be as easy as French to English, right? Not always so. While there are translators that can successfully translate in both directions, it is not as common as one would think. A client should understand that translators have ‘dominant languages’ and it is usually in the best interest of both parties that translators stick to their specialty.
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