The English Language and Translation
English translation is the process of taking an English text (the source language) and transforming into a non-English text (the target language). English translation embodies subtle details, nuances, industry-specific lingo and much more behind-the-scenes knowledge than the layperson and freshman translator understands, making professional translation a wise decision.
In general, translation is usually produced from other languages into the translator’s native language. It is considered to be partially an art and partially a science, as translators deal with a spectrum of specialized work and challenges. As is quite obvious, translators are the largest and most important aspect to a translation company.
At The Translation Company, our English translators have thorough knowledge of English and non-English languages. They only work on translations which they can apply their multilingual expertise. Examples:
- Portuguese to English translators only translate into English
- English to Mandarin translators only translate into Mandarin
- English to Spanish translators only translate into Spanish
They are also immensely familiar with the subjects of the texts they are translating. This occurs in translation in such fields as technology, science, law and business. In fact, industry standards for quality translations requires translators to have expertise in their field of translation.
The Importance of English Translation
English translation has played a fundamental role (though it often goes unnoticed) in human communication for hundreds of years. Machine translation is presently very inadequate in its ability to handle important linguistic features, which has increased the demand for human translation in the last five years.
It is thought that English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, as it is used for political, legal and all major communications. Numerous companies in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia want their documents and websites translated in order to effectively enter the foreign market.
The English-speaking market is considered to be very far-reaching because it is spoken in every continent in the world. This has given English translation immense status. Because of this, the demand for English translation is quite high (into and out of the English language).
English As a Global Language
English is considered a global language. If one travels to another part of the world, they will most likely end up seeing English signs and advertisements somewhere in their region. Numerous hotels and restaurants in foreign cities understand English and provide English menus. This goes to show that the English language is becoming more and more universal. When a language becomes universal, it means that they have achieved an affluent status, which usually means an increasing demand for translation in that language.
The English language and English translation has now taken on a special role in many countries all over the world. Many companies around the world will produce their content first in English and only then translate into other languages. For instance, some companies based in Japan choose to write their content in English and then hire medical translation services to get their content in over twenty languages.
No other language in the world has achieved this status. There are many reasons why a country would choose a language to receive status. Some of these include historical tradition, political usefulness, and also for more commercial, cultural, or technological communication.