A translation is a version of the original text written in another language. For instance, a document that is originally written in English could have a German translation, a Spanish translation, a Chinese translation, and so on. What is important in every translation is to ensure that it retains the same meaning, intent, and tone of the original text.
A translation is achieved through the process of translation. This can either take the approach of human translation or machine translation.
In human translation, a person or group of people with adequate language proficiency in both languages converts the text from the source language to the target language. These translators must be highly knowledgeable in both cultures.
Human translators can rely on digital tools and online resources to ensure that the result is accurate and precise. They typically use different techniques to achieve translations that align with the client’s goals, including:
Direct translation: A translation that is almost the same as the original text. This technique is ideal for documents where it is crucial to preserve the meaning, like legal or medical texts.
Oblique translation: A translation that maintains the meaning but does not necessarily achieve an equivalent of the original. In this process, a translator can apply tricks like transposition, adaptation, substitution, reformulation, and more. An oblique translation is ideal for creative works such as marketing materials and literal documents.
Machine translation: An automatically converted text to another language using machines. Machine translation technology relies on machine learning and AI algorithms to convert text to another language. Its major advantage is speed, making it useful in batch texts and cases where finding a human translator is a challenge.
