Translation & Interpretation FAQs
Q: What is the difference between a translator and an interpreter?
Q: How do I pick the right translator or interpreter?
Q: Should I look for an individual or a translation company?
Q: Why should I hire a professional instead of using a free service like Google Translate?
Q: What is a certified translation?
Q: I want to become a translator/interpreter. What should I do?
Q: How can I get ATA-certified?
Q: What is the difference between a translator and an interpreter?
A: Translators transfer ideas and concepts expressed in writing from one language to another. As a rule, professional translators work into their native or dominant language from a foreign tongue.
Interpreters use the spoken word to transfer meaning between languages. Interpreters work both into and out of their native tongue.
Translation promotes your business overseas (or at home, to a market that speaks a different language) and helps you gather vital information on customers, technology, and new developments in your field. One example of translation's importance in today's economy is localization, the process of adapting a product or service to different cultures and markets. When software is localized, on-screen text and icons, help files, and user's manuals are translated to fit the target audience. A technically skilled translator will help you design websites for global communication and e-commerce, so your customers overseas feel like they are actually at a "local" website. Customers are more likely to buy from you if you speak their language.
Interpreting is often used in a small group setting ("consecutive interpreting") such as a legal deposition, medical consultation, or business meeting. "Escort interpreting" is a form of consecutive interpreting used during site visits and travel with delegations. "Simultaneous interpreting," most often used in a large conference setting, requires the rental of audio equipment (soundproof booths, headsets, microphones, etc.).
Q: How do I pick the right translator or interpreter?
A: Skills and qualifications. Translators and interpreters bring a unique combination of linguistic and subject-area expertise to the job of conveying your message accurately and completely to a foreign reader or listener. Much more than just "switching words," the job really involves the transfer of concepts into another cultural context.
Translators are skilled in writing, editing, research, and terminology. Typically, translators have resided in a country where the source language is spoken and are familiar with its culture, business practices, and legal system.
Interpreters must be fluent in both languages and possess excellent memory, listening, concentration, and analytical skills. They convey both the meaning and tone of the original statement clearly and accurately, and must be quick-witted, often literally "thinking on their feet."
Knowing two languages perfectly is not enough to translate or interpret professionally. In addition to their training in translation or interpreting, competent language professionals usually specialize in a particular area (such as law, medicine, finance, or technical fields). One sign of a translator's professional competence is certification by the American Translators Association (ATA) (although many foreign-born linguists will have earned their credentials abroad). The United States has no national licensing or certification process for translators, making ATA certification an important service for assessing a translator's qualifications. Interpreters may be certified for court interpreting at the federal level in some languages. There are also examinations in some states for court and medical interpreting.
Q: Should I look for an individual or a translation company?
A: Both offer advantages, and only you can decide which best fits your needs.
The strength of an independent, or freelance, translator or interpreter lies in specialization, continuity, and personal service. Choosing a translator or interpreter who specializes in your field, and working with the same individual from project to project, lets you deal with a known quantity who caters to your special needs. Be sure to ask for references and inquire about professional qualifications and experience. Translators and interpreters also commonly work in teams on larger projects.
The strength of a language services company lies in the breadth of resources on which it can call. By working with networks of independent translators and interpreters skilled in different languages and areas of specialization, companies are able to meet a wider variety of needs. The oversight and coordination they provide can be invaluable for large projects which involve many translators, interpreters, and editors working into multiple languages. Translation companies also add value through desktop publishing or typesetting and furnish specialized equipment for interpreting assignments. Be sure to ask for references as to the company's reputation for consistently delivering high-quality work on time and honoring its cost estimates.
Q: Why should I hire a professional instead of using a free service like Google Translate?
A: As impressive as Google Translate and other similar services are beginning to be, they still cannot do what a human can do: understand a text with all its nuances of meaning and re-create that in just the right words in another language. All Google Translate will do is match words and phrases with previously translated words and phrases in its database. It cannot research the right term for a technical document, find the right play on words for a newspaper article, or craft a message that resonates with a different target audience for an ad that will be used in a different market.
If you want a polished text that you can be proud to put your or your company's name on, you want to work with a professional translator. And if you have ongoing translation needs, that person can prove an invaluable advisor to help you efficiently manage your documents and your budget. For more info, take a minute to read ATA's free guide for translation buyers: http://www.atanet.org/docs/Getting_it_right.pdf.
Q: What is a certified translation?
A: In the US, a certified translation is one that is accompanied by a signed statement from the translator attesting that it is complete and accurate. Many people also like to have this statement notarized, but that is something to be decided and specified based on your needs.
Q: I want to become a translator/interpreter. What should I do?
A: The American Translators Association offers two great resources for aspiring translators and interpreters: Getting Started: A Newcomer's Guide to Translation and Interpretation and How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator. Both are available at http://atanet.org/publications/index.php.
You may also want to enroll in a translation and/or interpretation degree program in the US or abroad. Options range from certificate programs (e.g., New York University) to Master's and PhD programs (e.g., Monterey Institute of International Studies, Kent State University).
Q: How can I get ATA-certified?
A: NCATA hosts two certification exam sittings a year in the DC area, and other sittings are held across the country throughout the year. For information and registration, visit http://atanet.org/certification/index.php.
Q: I have an announcement that I think would interest NCATA members. How can I share this information?
A: It is the general policy of NCATA to email only announcements of the following categories:
- Current, specific language-related employment opportunities, including independent contractor work, located in the Washington metropolitan area, or which can be accomplished without requiring the translator/interpreter to travel outside the DC metro area
- Language-related events being held in this area
- Training and continuing education opportunities for language professionals being offered either in the DC area or via the internet
- Announcements from our Corporate Members
If you are not a Corporate Member, there is a limit of one announcement every three months. Exceptions may be made by decision of NCATA’s Board of Directors and we reserve the right to refuse any announcement.