What Are the Qualities of A Good Spanish Translator
A good translator is professional, knowledgeable, and has an excellent sense of timing with regard to how long it may take a document to be translated. A Spanish translator must have these attributes and more because Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and depending upon what country, Spanish can be very different, so the translators have to be twice as diligent in order to provide quality translation services.
What it takes to be a great Spanish Translator
A Spanish Native Translator
The Spanish translator has to be a person with Spanish as his or her mother tongue. There is a fundamental principle in any language translation that the target language to which the translation is being done must ideally be the mother tongue of the translator. This gives the translator the chance to correctly understand and suitably translate the subtle nuances in the Spanish language for the Spanish audience to understand and appreciate.
Specialized knowledge
Most Spanish translators also have a specialization in at least one field. This is a smart move, as it will expand the projects you can work on, as well as the cost you can charge. From medicine to legal, IT to business, being able to understand the specific jargon within the language is crucial. Not just anyone can translate legal documents, technical texts or scientific reports.
Having a degree or a certification in a specific field will give you access to higher profile clients and even make you an authority in the specific area.
Professionalism
When first talking with the client about a project, the Spanish Translator will have to ask a series of questions. Is what needs to be translated Spanish from Spain or Latin America? It does matter as pronunciation and words are different. After this the translator will let the customer know which language they specialize in. The same goes for a translation agency, and our project managers ask such questions in order to get as many details about the project.
Language knowledge
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, we need to know what country the document is from. So a knowledgeable Spanish translator would know what region of Latin America you’d be looking for. Is the document in Mexican Spanish? Or is it from Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Uruguay? It is definitely a question of knowledge, etc. A Spaniard cannot translate correctly something that was written by and for a person in Costa Rica, the languages are different enough to cause complications.
Soft skills
An excellent translator is more than just a skilled linguist – he or she is someone who is ready and able to be a good, kind listener. Translation situations can be intimidating for non-native speakers, and a translator should try to make the experience as comfortable as possible. Second in importance to outstanding language skills is the ability to connect with a wide range of people. These valuable connections are a necessity for any good Spanish translator.
Accuracy
This quality is pretty self-explanatory. The results must be accurate. It could determine the difference between life and death in some conditions, avoiding mistakes, or at the least between pleasure and pain. You will find many similarities in the language from one Spanish-speaking country to another, but at the same time, there are some differences. An essential aspect of the service provided by a translator should be the flexibility of choosing what nation you are in and receiving a consistent response including local dialect. Accuracy is crucial in any translation.
And last, the translator, be it a Spanish translator or another, if they are good at what they do, they generally know how long it is going to take to get the document translated based upon the density, the complexity and origin of the document. And whether or not they can translate it or if another Spanish translator with the necessary skills is needed. These things may also affect the total cost that will be calculated based upon these factors.
Who Should You Rely On?
Whenever you come across a word of a foreign language, you will open up Google Translate to find out what it means. However, if you speak a less common language and search the meaning of its words on the application, you will get hilariously inaccurate results. The reason behind that is simple; lesser-known languages are not that easy to handle for online tools. However, when it comes to machines, even a famous language cannot be translated accurately. If you need linguistic service for an official document, you can’t turn to an online tool. They won’t be of any use to you when you need certified translation.
When you need to reach out to a new target audience, you will have to proceed with caution. One misstep can ruin your relationship with them before it has a chance to begin. You can’t get reliable English to Spanish translations from an inexperienced professional or a machine that has no idea about culture’s impact on languages. Nothing in the life of a society can be viewed separately. Everything is interconnected. This is why all the vernaculars get affected by different factors. Spanish in Europe is not the same as the one spoken in the Americas, and it is the culture that makes the two different from each other.
A good translator knows that accurate English to Spanish translation is the only way their client can get through the immigration process or form a connection with the target audience. But sometimes clients themselves forget the importance of accurate linguistic assistance. They fail to understand the time and effort each linguistic expert has to put in before they can get good at their jobs. Each expert has had to practice for years before they could translate flawlessly.
Whenever someone needs assistance with a government document, they cannot settle for anything less than the best. They must not rely on online tools or algorithms of Google Translate to give them the best results. They will have to get in touch with a native Spanish speaker if they wish to achieve the desired results. A Spanish translator who understands the cultural aspects and has been speaking the language since they were a child is better suited to handle it than a machine.
The higher the stakes, the more experience a linguistic expert should have. Whenever you need a translation that needs to be presented to a government body or will be used to reach out to an audience, make sure that you hire the right experts. Those who have been in the field for years and understand the value of translation will be able to help you out in the right way. You can only rely on an experienced translator who ticks all the right boxes.
There are many more attributes that one could look for in a good translator, but the ones listed above seem to be the most important. And with the emphasis on the translator for Spanish, these attributes are even more necessary as you wouldn’t want to get the Spanish from the different countries mixed up and have a botched translation now, would you? So good luck to the Spanish translator as he or she has a job that is a little more complex than perhaps a translator of another language.
