It takes more than just the ability to understand two languages.
Professional translators and interpreters have the education, experience, and expertise to understand the nuances in one language and transfer them to another.听The right professional will have solid knowledge of your industry and will know how to culturally adapt your content for the target audience you are trying to reach. You only get one chance to make a first impression, so make sure it counts.
Can I afford to hire a professional?
You can't afford NOT to.听Getting your message wrong can cost money, ruin your image, and even cost lives. Whether you鈥檙e having a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign translated or need an interpreter to communicate treatment options between a doctor and patient, it pays to hire a professional to get the job done right.
Instead of hiring a professional, this restaurant used machine translation and did not realize the result was an error message.
Understanding what鈥檚 at stake
ATA publishes articles to illustrate why it is critical to hire qualified translators and interpreters.
What’s the Difference Between a Translator and an Interpreter?
If you鈥檙e looking to hire a language professional, the first thing you need to ask yourself is whether you need a translator or an interpreter. Although the terms are often used interchangeably, they are very different jobs for very different situations. If you didn鈥檛 know this, you鈥檙e not alone. The nuances of the language industry are all Greek to many.…
Read More5 Steps for Translating Official Documents
If you鈥檙e starting the U.S. immigration process, applying to an American university, or considering a career opportunity in the United States, you will need certain legal or official documents translated into English. These may include birth certificates, academic records, financial statements, and property documents, just to name a few. You might be wondering where to start when it comes to…
Read MoreHow to Avoid the Pitfalls of Free Online Translation Tools
Ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Chinese authorities conducted a city-wide correction campaign to fix embarrassing translation gaffes. The mistranslations included signs labeling people with disabilities as 鈥渄eformed鈥 and wet-floor warnings advising to 鈥渟lip carefully!鈥 While the press had a field day with the story, many translators were left shaking their heads. Why? Because we鈥檝e seen it before:…
Read More6 Reasons to Subtitle Your Social Media Videos for Better Engagement
I鈥檝e been a subtitler and translator for well over a decade, working with streaming giants like Netflix and businesses of all sizes to help make their video content more engaging and accessible to their audiences. Through years of experience, I鈥檝e learned how subtitles can make or break the success of your social media videos, particularly when it comes to boosting…
Read MoreHow to Avoid Misinformation: Cross-Border Strategies PR Pros Should be Thinking About
At a time when misinformation and fake news are running rampant, communication, and more specifically the written word, is arguably more important than ever. The last thing public relations (PR) pros want to do is jeopardize brand image by miscommunicating to a critical audience. The fact that PR budgets are down and advertising dollars are in short supply due to…
Read More25 Million Americans Don鈥檛 Speak English: Translators and Interpreters Essential in Pandemic
At the time of this writing, millions of Americans are have been ordered to stay home, instructions that are hard enough to grasp if you speak English鈥攅ven harder still for the eight percent of Americans considered limited English proficient (LEP). As new updates and guidelines are issued by the day鈥攊n English-only communication, for the most part鈥攚hat happens if critical messages…
Read MoreWhy Hire an ATA Member?
ATA members have a commitment to continuing education and are held to the highest professional standards. Feel secure knowing if you鈥檙e hiring an ATA member, you鈥檙e hiring the best in the business.
