Spanish is the home language of millions of people not only in Spain but also in Latin America. It's widely spoken in other countries too, notably ones with large Latin American immigrant populations, such as in the USA. Being able to address these people in their mother tongue will be a great boost for your business but for this to work, you need to find the best person to translate English to Spanish.
The first requirement for a good translator in the language pair is that the person should be fluent in both languages. For a translator, it's always best to translate from the language he or she is less confident in to the language he or she speaks most fluently. In other words, you need to look for someone whose first language is Spanish.
It's also very important to take your target market into account. There are different variations of Spanish and you need to decide whether your texts will be geared toward readers from Spain or from Latin American countries. In order to ensure that you'll be addressing your target market in their own language, not only linguistically but culturally too, it's preferable to choose a translator that comes from the same cultural background and will be able to use local phrases.
Forget about trying to save money by using translation computer software. These programs are good for looking up separate words, like you would with a bilingual dictionary. However, they ignore context and phrases and give you an end product that is at best inaccurate and at worst completely unintelligible.
Translation is a very specialized skill. Just being able to speak the language does not make a person a good translator. Translators need to be able to use a wide range of reference materials rather than just a single bilingual dictionary. They should think about the text they're working with and pay attention to idiomatic expressions. They also need to be creative and good problem solvers.
A great starting point when trying to find real translators is to see whether they belong to any kind of professional translators' association. These groups don't allow just anybody to become a member but use stringent tests to decide whether someone's work is of a high enough standard before granting them membership. Another good indication of whether someone will be up to the task is to see whether they have any experience of translating for the publishing industry, which also has very high standards.
It's perfectly acceptable to ask a candidate to provide you with a sample translation first. In fact, it's often a good idea to do this in order to see that the person is the right one for the job. Have the sample checked by several Spanish speakers. It may even be worth asking a professional editor to go over the sample.
A great way to separate the wheat from the chaff is to look at the rates the different candidates quote. Low rates are often an indication that the person is an amateur with no idea of the going rates for translation work. Don't be tempted to go with the cheapest person because, like with everything else in the world, you get what you pay for.
The first requirement for a good translator in the language pair is that the person should be fluent in both languages. For a translator, it's always best to translate from the language he or she is less confident in to the language he or she speaks most fluently. In other words, you need to look for someone whose first language is Spanish.
It's also very important to take your target market into account. There are different variations of Spanish and you need to decide whether your texts will be geared toward readers from Spain or from Latin American countries. In order to ensure that you'll be addressing your target market in their own language, not only linguistically but culturally too, it's preferable to choose a translator that comes from the same cultural background and will be able to use local phrases.
Forget about trying to save money by using translation computer software. These programs are good for looking up separate words, like you would with a bilingual dictionary. However, they ignore context and phrases and give you an end product that is at best inaccurate and at worst completely unintelligible.
Translation is a very specialized skill. Just being able to speak the language does not make a person a good translator. Translators need to be able to use a wide range of reference materials rather than just a single bilingual dictionary. They should think about the text they're working with and pay attention to idiomatic expressions. They also need to be creative and good problem solvers.
A great starting point when trying to find real translators is to see whether they belong to any kind of professional translators' association. These groups don't allow just anybody to become a member but use stringent tests to decide whether someone's work is of a high enough standard before granting them membership. Another good indication of whether someone will be up to the task is to see whether they have any experience of translating for the publishing industry, which also has very high standards.
It's perfectly acceptable to ask a candidate to provide you with a sample translation first. In fact, it's often a good idea to do this in order to see that the person is the right one for the job. Have the sample checked by several Spanish speakers. It may even be worth asking a professional editor to go over the sample.
A great way to separate the wheat from the chaff is to look at the rates the different candidates quote. Low rates are often an indication that the person is an amateur with no idea of the going rates for translation work. Don't be tempted to go with the cheapest person because, like with everything else in the world, you get what you pay for.
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