With so many types of translation available, it’s not always obvious which one your business needs. But we’re here to help.
As a premier international language translation company, we can mean a lot of different things when we talk about the types of translation in our industry. Types of translation might refer to human or machine-led projects — in other words, we’re describing the methods we use to generate work.
However, the types of translation might also refer to the specialised services that we provide — from document translation to terminology creation and everything in between.
Today, we’re unpacking what all of it means brick by brick before sharing how our translation services take shape in specific industries. Keep reading to learn about the types of translation available today.
Two Overarching Types of Translation Services
Speaking in broad terms, any project can fall into one of two possible categories that inform our approach to the translation: human or machine-led translations.
These two types of translation methods also determine your project’s cost, turnaround dates, and quality of work, so it’s important you know how they differ.
1. Machine Translation services
Machine translation is what happens when you run your document through sophisticated translation software. These programmes use powerful algorithms to make translations automatically with very little human intervention.
These automated translation tools are capable of processing large volumes of data at impressive speeds, making it a faster, more affordable alternative to human translation services. However, technology has yet to mimic the sensitivity of a human linguist when it comes to tone, highly specialised subject matters, or unique objectives.
In other words, automated translation tools give you the general gist of a basic document, but it may lack a more nuanced understanding of the original text. Our machine translation services may not be suitable for every project, but it is helpful for large projects with strict deadlines and informational or internal use.
2. Human Translation
As its name suggests, human translation involves human translators to ensure accuracy and consistency in the translation style and terminologies. These translators are highly experienced in their relevant subject matter. They can spearhead a variety of projects, manually converting text from your source language to your target languages.
Unlike machine translation, humans are better at detecting subtle changes in tone and style, and they can account for context, slang, technical jargon, and cultural perspectives when creating their translations. This means our translators create technically flawless, eloquent work that suits client-facing communications, ad copy, public documents, and documents that are required for distribution purposes.
Specialisations: Finding the Right Type of Translation for Your Project
Now that we’ve covered a general overview of the two most common types of translation, it’s time to zoom in on the specialised work we produce for unique projects and industries.
Below, we’ve put the many different types of translation services under a microscope to give you a better understanding of how we can help with your next project — whether it’s with a human translator or our automated translation tools. These specialised types of translations concentrate our efforts in unique ways.
Document Translation
Document translation refers to the process where we convert your source text into your target languages. This definition is purposefully vague, as it can involve translating text in all its forms, including legal case files, legal documents, marketing brochures, annual reports, medical or clinical documents, etc.
Many types of translation projects fall under this subsection, including human and machine translations. Industries of all shapes and sizes enlist our document translation services to convert the written word into as many as 120 languages.
Transcreation
Transcreation takes our document translation services to another level. Our document translation services tend to provide a letter-perfect copy of the original in its target language, meaning you’re getting the most accurate reproduction of the source. Transcreation, on the other hand, often produces an entirely new work.
Transcreation captures the style, tone, and intention of the original and repackages it for global audiences, taking into account their unique dialects and cultural point of view.
Since it requires a good deal of creativity, machine translation is not suggested for these tasks. Instead, transcreation requires an experienced copywriter who is able to transform the message in a creative manner.
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Localisation
Localisation is similar to transcreation, but the main difference is that it focuses on your website to ensure your site flows smoothly for global visitors.
Our localisation services take your visitor’s location into account when updating your website’s content. It can be as subtle as updating the correct currency and local contact information, or it can be as involved as making new landing pages that highlight geographically and culturally relevant information.
We also can apply the same tailored approach to localise any software, app, or other multimedia you need to launch in another language.
Terminology Creation
Terminology creation is just like creating a glossary of keywords and a relevant style guide. The purpose of this exercise is to document client preferences to use certain keywords in their preferred manner.
We create this prior to any project that goes out for distribution. This way, we can reflect properly on the terms to be used and refer back to this document to maintain a standard of language and style when talking about your business, goods, or services in another language.
The Different Types of Translation Services Favoured by Our Top 3 Industries
Now that you know how our translation services can differ, let’s see how they unfold in practice. Below, you’ll find some of the most common industries we help on a regular basis.
1. Law Firms
Many types of translation projects fall under the legal industry, which is a broad field that includes both boutique law firms and multi-national firms spanning immigration, civil, criminal, commercial, and arbitration law.
Due to the breadth of this industry, our professional legal translation services have a wide scope of focus. For example, we often provide document translation of contracts, wills, agreements, expert reports, and evidence of legal litigation support. There’s even a growing need for machine translation to help convert foreign language documents and create glossaries under a tight timeline.
*It would be better to consider the qualifications required for legal translation
2. Healthcare Services and the Life Sciences
The healthcare and life science industries are diverse fields that include a variety of organisations and business, comprising of private practices, hospitals, charities, research labs, equipment manufacturers, and pharmaceutical companies. These businesses require our document translation services to convert medical records, clinical trials, brochures, drug instructions, and many more projects.
While these examples may have diverse content and objectives, these types of translation projects all require a single-minded focus on accuracy.
3. Financial Institutions
Once any organisation is ready to expand globally, they often come across the need to translate their communication related content into different languages. They can enlist our financial translation services to help them in all facets of this expansion.
In the past, this has included helping IPOs achieve compliance by converting financial filings, generating sustainability translated reports in multiple languages for global shareholders, and translating documents such as equity research, audit reports, and disclosure agreements.
Reach out Today to Learn More
After today’s spotlight on the types of translation, it’s clear that language translation services can help with a variety of industries on a wide selection of projects. If you still aren’t sure which one would best suit your goals, get in touch. One of our helpful reps can direct you toward the correct language translation services that align with your translation needs.
The types of translation methods and processes we use at LingArch may vary from client to client and project to project, but all of them share one goal. In every translation, we concentrate on creating accurate, technically flawless work so that you can understand foreign language documents or share your message to global audiences.