One of the great services we offer here at AZ World is website translation.  And today we’re going to talk about some of the great benefits a multi-lingual website can bring you.

The Benefits

The most significant benefit of translating your website is obvious; a bigger audience and more visitors.  This is not only due to the fact that non-English speaking users will visit your site, but also because multi-lingual sites rank higher in search results.  While duplicated content on your site does not help search engine optimization, translated content doesn’t count as duplicated content and will.  This means that you will even get more English users as a result of the new translated pages.

A translated webpage can help you get more bilingual users to prefer your site.  Even if the user is completely fluent in English, if they’re mother tongue is, for example, Spanish, they will use the Spanish version.  A site in a user’s preferred language will become their preferred site.  It makes that user feel more at home, like you are accommodating their specific needs.  Creating that emotional connection can be the greatest draw to your site.

In addition to bringing in more users, multi-lingual websites also lend a site the appearance of a global audience.  In today’s business world this can be a huge selling feature, especially if you provide business services.  Your prospective clients want to know that your company is forward looking with a variety of different clients, and a multi-lingual site can give you that look.

Machine or Human Translation?

There are a lot of services out there like Google Translate or Yahoo’s Babel Fish that offer website translation for free.  And those translations are worth exactly what you pay for them.  Get human translators with experience working with websites to do your site and the payoff can be great.  Consider also consulting a SEO specialist who knows about key search terms in other languages.  Say you have a site which sells handmade tables and you want it translated into French.  An SEO specialist can tell you what French word for table your competition uses and then you can specify which word you would like the translator to use.  This combination will make your translation as effective as possible.

Ironically, the AZ World website is not yet translated; we’re hoping to get that done this September.  Nonetheless, we still have plenty of experience translating websites and can help you take your site global.

Well we missed it by a couple weeks… but it was on January 7, 1954 that computer translation was first publicly demonstrated at the Georgetown-IBM Experiment.  60 Romanized (Put into the standard Latin alphabet from the Russian Cyrillic) Russian sentences were translated by the specially designed computer.  The corresponding paper published said that computer translation was a solvable problem, within 3 -5 years.

Well its 58 years later and Translation Telephone still turns, “Make love not war” into “We love war.”  Perhaps recently announced military funding for machine translation will make the difference?

On the other hand, human translation is over 4000 years old, and human interpretation is no doubt older than that.  There are artefacts of partial translation of one of the earliest pieces of literature, the Sumerian “Epic of Gilgamesh” from around 2000 BCE.

So maybe in the year 6054 machine translation will be on par with human translation today, but until then AZ World will be happy to meet any of your interpreting and translating needs.

One of the best parts of using AZ World as your preferred translator is our use of translation memories, or TM’s.  A translation memory is a database of words and phrases used in your documents, files or software.  It is best explained with an example.

Say your company, Initech, releases weekly Human Resources bulletins that must be translated into Spanish so that employees in both New York and Sao Paulo can read them.  Assuming Initech, uses a standard format for each of the bulletins, there are probably words repeated each week.  These can be things like company slogans or mottos.  For example, “Is This Good for the COMPANY?”  Instead of paying full rate for translating “Is This Good for the COMPANY?” every week, Initech would only have to pay full rate once, then that phrase would enter into Initech’s TM and every subsequent translation would charge that phrase at a significantly lower rate.

This system rewards customer loyalty by providing our clients with a lower rate the more they use AZ World, but it has another benefit for clients as well.  The TM is the property of the client and will be provided to them if they request it.  The client then still has a database of translated words they can take to a new translator should they choose to leave AZ World.

The way the TM actually works depends on the specifics of the translation software used, but it can be useful to think of it as a sort of find and replace function.  And this is where people become confused about the two.  Eventually, wouldn’t all the words that a client requires be in the TM and then the translator would be obsolete?

This is where it is important to point out the difference between using translation memories, TM’s, and using machine translation, MT.  MT uses a general database of words and simply replaces all entered words with their translated equivalent.  While MT software is getting better and better at detecting context and finding equivalent verb tenses, it is still nowhere near as good as professional translation.  While MT uses a general database, TM’s are client specific databases that contain the words that best fit that client’s needs and environment.  The TM also isn’t used for every single word in a project.  Large bodies of text cannot be properly translated with a TM, but technical and specialized words within a body of text can be.

The biggest difference between MT and TM’s is the human presence.  A professional translator is always present when using a TM to make sure that what the TM does is coherent and relevant.  TM’s allow translators to be quicker and more effective and consistent.  They take the best parts of MT and combine them with the human touch to provide clients with the best possible translation at lower prices.

A while back we posted about a neat single serving site called Translation Telephone, which pointed out the flaws in relying on Machine Translation.  Another single serving site, points out a complexity in the translation business.  ”Words With No English Translation” is about just what it’s called.  Push a button and see a new word with no English equivalent.

Languages aren’t just lists of words which correlate nicely with one another.  Translators can’t be swapped for a find and replace function and this great site shows one reason why.

Check it out at:

http://lab.cogdogblog.com/nowords/

The Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council, CTTIC, recently launched CTTIC EDU.  It’s a way to improve the Canadian language industry.  CTTIC EDU provides online courses and videos to help translators, interpreters and terminologists adapt and improve their business.  CTTIC Members get the services at a discounted rate but all the courses are available to the general public.

CTTIC EDU was made possible by Federal Government’s Canadian Language Sector Enhancement Program, an $18 million effort to improve the Canadian language sector and takes the form of both scholarships in translation and language related fields, as well as helping private industry develop.

CTTIC EDU seems to be a step in the right direction for the language industry and can definitely help individual translators and interpreters.  What are your thoughts on this new direction for the CTTIC? Tell us in the comments below!

Read about the Canadian Language Sector Enhancement Program here:

http://www.btb.gc.ca/btb.php?lang=eng&cont=1045

And CTTIC EDU here:

https://www.cttic-edu.ca/about.aspx

We talk a lot on the blog about how translation is not simple, it’s not just transcribing between two different languages, as is often assumed, and I think a recent event illustrates this well.  Four weeks ago the Catholic Church released the latest translation of the Roman Missal, and I’ve read mixed reactions to it.  Some are in favour of the changes, saying that in tumultuous times it reaffirms and focuses one’s faith.  Others are opposed to any changes, claiming that their faith was with the old words, even if they were less “accurate.”

I’m sympathetic to both views.  But what the existence of any differences really demonstrates is the power of language, and how different wording can have a different impact.  Sure some of this is due to the fact that there was a pre-existing translation which people had become accustomed to in a very deep sense, a religious sense really.  But even if both the new and the old had been released at the same time, and Catholics were to choose which one they preferred, it is unlikely that many people would remain indifferent, or be unable to tell the difference.  The two are different, even if not in meaning or intent, then certainly in style, which has a real impact on the way people relate to and interpret the words.

Style has impact on the message, choice of words has impact on the message, and translation determines this message.  Of course businesses are very busy and it’s incredible appealing to just send the files to the translator and forget about it, but that attitude can have consequences too and you may end up with false economies.

US Citizen of Thai origin, Joe Gordon was sentenced to spend 2.5 years in Thai jail for translating and posting sections of a banned biography of the popular Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej.  The book, The King Never Smiles, written by American journalist Paul M. Handley, is highly critical of the King and contradicts his carefully crafted public image.  Gordon translated and distributed the translations online back in Colorado, before he visited Thailand in May of this year, when he was first arrested.  Gordon pleaded guilty and as result received a lighter sentence.

While this may offend many Western ideas regarding freedom of speech, or even the justness of prosecuting a non-Thai citizen for breaking Thai laws outside of Thailand, there is historical precedent for translators being punished for translating materials critical of the powers that be.  In fact it goes back almost 500 years to the Protestant Reformation.   William Tyndale translated the New Testament and much of the Old Testament but was ultimately executed for opposing Henry VIII marriage to Anne Boleyn.  Ironically four years later Henry approved four English translations of the Bible all of which were based on Tyndale’s work.  And the most famous version, the King James Bible is said to be primarily composed of Tyndale’s translations.

In these cases of course the translators were opposed to the powers that be and did not act neutrally in translating these materials.  Gordon is said to have also published articles alongside the translations which were critical of the Thai King.

Find out more at:

http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC111208-0000143/Thailand-jails-US-citizen-for-translating-banned-book-on-king

China Daily recently reported on a prize being given out to exceptional translations from French to Chinese.  These translations were apparently exceptionally difficult and the article describes the lengths to which the translators had to go to ensure a high quality and contextual translation.  The two books selected were in the areas of literature and social sciences, one being a novel, Dans le café de la jeunesse perdue, and the other being a major guide to the Enlightenment.

The translators had to do extra work to get a proper translation.  Jin Longge lived in Paris on a scholarship while he translated to get a better sense of the world of Dans le café de la jeunesse perdue.  In addition to this Jin also had to do extensive biographical research to determine what time period the novel takes place in, apparently it’s not evident.

The three translators of the Enlightenment work had to do even more.  They read related books and in some cases had to spend two or three days determining the best word to use as there weren’t any comparable books already in Chinese.

The article is definitely worth reading and it really highlights that translation is not merely transcribing but is instead a far more holistic endeavour.  Even in the simpler business related translations that make up the bulk of translation work, context matters.

The article can be found at

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-12/04/content_14209185.htm

In areas where the quality of a job is harder for customers to determine, many consumers rely on certifying and governing bodies.  Memberships in these organizations are meant to indicate a certain standard of quality and good practice in that field.  Translation and Interpretation are great examples of one these fields.  Customers usually cannot tell when a translation is well done or not as they likely don’t know the target language.  Because of this a poor translation is not discovered until it is too late and this can result in some serious embarrassment, see our previous posts on some notable mistranslations.

To get around this problem there exist organizations like the Society of Translators & Interpreters of British Columbia (STIBC) and the Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council (CTTIC).  These non-governmental bodies certify members who pass their exams and agree to their codes of ethics and standards.

However what consumers need to be aware of is that translators and interpreters can be members of these organizations without being certified by them.  These people are known as associate members and you can become one just by applying online and paying the fee.  They may be in the process of becoming certified but they have not yet passed any of the STIBC or CTTIC certification exams and cannot be considered certified by those organizations.

So if you are looking for a translator or interpreter and someone tells you they are a member of the STIBC or CTTIC make sure they are certified by those organizations as well.  It’s not fraud for them to say that they are members, it’s just misleading. Caveat Emptor.

Of course here at AZ World we only use certified translators and interpreters.

Courtroom interpreters are essential to fair and balanced legal proceedings where not all parties speak the same language.  With the stakes so high, it is important for courtroom interpreters to be as impartial and accurate as they can.

Many people fail to understand, as we’ve discussed before, the nuances of interpreting in general and sometimes literal or “word for word” interpretations do not accurately reflect the meaning of the statement.  This is where problems can arise as colloquialism translated literally may give a contrary meaning.  An example would be in some Northern African languages, “rape” is often referred to as “robbing” in the sense that one is robbed of one’s honour.  If this was interpreted as just robbing without explanation then the meaning of the testimony would be quite different than intended.  This means that not only must a courtroom interpreter be fluent in the language, but should also have the right cultural awareness to properly interpret these idioms.

It is important for an interpreter to be impartial as well, this can be difficult as defendants often view their interpreters as the only one in the courtroom “on their side” due to their common language.  When professional interpreters are unavailable family members and children are often called upon to interpret for witnesses and this is fraught with ethical and legal troubles as these biased interpreters may skew the witness language in a more favourable and less honest way.

A defendant must be able to understand and be present in all courtroom proceedings and courtroom interpreters make that possible. Cases are often thrown out and verdicts overturned if it is revealed that there was any discrepancy in the courtroom interpreting.  One need only be reminded of the high profile case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn to realize how key proper interpretations are.

AZ World is often willing to help you with any of you courtroom interpreting needs!