A Few Tips from our Expert Spanish to English Translator

The easier the language, the faster the service. The more unique the language, the more difficult it is to select a competently qualified translator. Thus, it may take longer to finish a translation assignment.

In the US market, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean or French translations to name a few are common in-demand languages and much easier to provide. Samples of harder challenging languages to translate are Finnish, Hungarian, Swahili and Mongolian.

We decided to use the expertise of our professional translators and interpreters to give us their take on the language they specialize in. We will ask their opinion on subjects that you may find interesting and helpful. 

This is done in a Q & A format with our various translators and we start with one of the most in-demand language translation, Spanish Translation Services.

1. What is unique about the  Spanish language as it relates to Spanish to English Translations?

Spanish uses more words to express the same idea in English. We generally talk of the “verbosity of the Spanish speaker” when it refers to the many more words a similar translation in Spanish will have as compared to English. This is so cause we tend to use more adjectives and adverbs to express an idea that maybe in English will be given by a single verb.

2. What are the challenges you encounter as a translator/interpreter?

As an interpreter, the main problem is the time frame. An idea in English could be expressed in two words or seconds, while you will require a longer time or greater amount of words to express that same idea in Spanish. Another problem is the “false cognits”. These are words that sound very similar in Spanish and English but in fact, have different meanings. For example- ”Actually” is “En realidad” while a Spanish speaker will tend to think it means “Actualmente” which is “Nowadays” in English.

3. What can be done to eliminate potential problems in your job as a translator/interpreter?

Double-checking, many times

4. What kind of translation work do you specialize in?

I tend to do all translation work but I love any kind of work which will imply doing research and learning from what I am translating. Thus, I would say IT and engineering is the main domain.

5. What is your opinion about machine translations like Google Translate and will it ever replace you?

I do not tend to agree with this. I think it is impossible to replace the processes of reading, deciphering, processing, understanding, ciphering and writing we translators do. It is a social process that cannot be replaced by machines.