The truth behind the most common translation myths and misconceptions

The truth behind the most common translation myths and misconceptions

When I told people I was studying for a master's degree in translation, I came across several surprising reactions.

"Are you bilingual?", "Do you have Russian origins?", "Do you speak three languages only?", "Why do you translate into French?", "Do you think you'll get a job in this field?", "Why would a company need a translator if they can use machine translation?".

Let's have a look at the most popular assumptions and debunk some translation myths.

Translation and interpreting are the same thing

Many people assume that translation and interpreting are synonymous. Even though these two professions have similarities such as an excellent knowledge of both the source language and the target language, they are nevertheless very different. Translators deal with written communication while interpreters behave in oral situations acting as intermediaries between two or more parties that communicate verbally in real-time. Thus, translation and interpreting do not involve the same professional skills. Interpreters are required to produce accurate translations in a very short amount of time, therefore thinking clearly and quickly is a fundamental skill for them. On the other hand, translation is a process that requires more time and thought. Moreover translators have the advantage of being able to use tools like dictionaries or corpus and check information if they have doubts.

Any bilingual person can be a translator

Speaking several languages fluently does not make you a translator. Translation is a recognized profession that requires academic qualification and professional experience. It is not just about exchanging words in one language to their equivalent in another language. Being a translator demands a thorough understanding of languages but also the cultures of the people who speak them, as well as skills in writing, critical thinking and research. Translators must convey the meaning of a source text into the target language while keeping the appropriate tone and style for the intended audience. As translation is something you have to learn, not any bilingual person has an innate ability to translate accurately. Many companies still make the mistake of entrusting non-professional people with translations of documents because they want to cut costs. A bilingual employee might be well-intentioned but that should not be taken as a guarantee of quality and it could lead to unintended consequences for the company. The rule is simple: if you need a professional translation, always trust a professional translator!

Translators can translate between languages in any direction

Another assumption that can be made by anyone who does not know the field of translation is that a translator is able to translate between their languages in both directions. Even though a few translators are comfortable with that, the vast majority of them work only in one direction, which is from the source language to their mother tongue. A translation made by a native translator will be more natural as they master all the nuances and subtleties of the target language. They can use the proper turns of phrase, idiomatic expressions and puns in their language to get the original message across in a way which is naturally understandable by the target audience. The actual usage of a language is what distinguishes a good translation from an excellent translation. When reading a well-translated text, you are not supposed to perceive the original text behind it. Therefore, the best way to obtain a quality translation is to trust a professional native translator.

Human translators are no longer necessary

The main controversy about translation today is that machine translation is able to replace human translators. This idea has emerged because of the recent development of free online machine translation tools such as Google Translate or DeepL. Everyone has already faced a situation where using this kind of tools was useful and in fact, machine translation (MT) is not to be shunned completely. It remains convenient to translate simple sentences or get the gist of a text but for professional purposes, MT happens to be very limited. Online translation websites are powered by algorithms which provide a word-for-word translation. It will never be able to grasp all the subtleties of a language that depend on context and cultural background, among others. There is too much nuance and ambiguity in a language, even in formal and technical documents, for a machine to fully master the art of translation. In an increasingly globalized and interconnected world, translators are not about to disappear as complex and confidential documents will always need to be translated by trustworthy professional translators.

 Written by Clara M.