The post Quality Translations: Driving the Automotive Industry appeared first on London Translations.
]]>From localising marketing messages for best impact, to ensuring flawless translations for safety manuals, London Translations has the experience and personnel to guarantee your automotive business is accurately represented on an international stage.
When dealing with an international audience, it’s important that your message reflects your business in every country it is found. This obviously requires more than just a word for word translation of your text; it needs a deeper understanding of the context and intention of your company. The only way to do this is through an international understanding of translation and a global network of professional linguists. Whether you need subtitles for adverts and promotional videos, need world class interpreters for auto shows and conferences, or just an insight to a country’s culture, you need to have faith in your translators.
Of course, one of the best ways to connect with potential customers is to meet them in person at live events and autoshows. Not always possible given the worldwide situation, but there are still options available to help support your live events, such as video remote interpretation. However, to make the most of these events, it’s crucial that the interpreters are experienced with different video platforms while also providing high quality translations, particularly during simultaneous interpretation.
Even more importantly is flawless technical translation for safety manuals. Your customers rely upon your expertise for maintaining their cars, even a slight deviation can have severe consequences. Much like legal translations, technical manuals can be a language all to themselves, one that requires years of experience to properly understand. This is why it is so important that translators also have industry knowledge and experience, so that the full context of the manual can be properly conveyed, and technical mistakes can be avoided.
London Translations has a proven track record of excellence when it comes to translation for the automotive industry. With our network of over 9000 accredited linguists based around the globe, we can provide your message with the international appeal needed to resonate with any audience. We have the international structure in place to support any event worldwide, be that for live simultaneous interpretation, remote video interpretation, or just insight into a foreign culture, and provide your message the cultural nuance needed to resonate with your target audience.
London Translations pride ourselves on being able to find the best linguist for each project. We understand that for translations, there is no one size fits all approach. That’s why we take the time to understand your project, working with you to ensure that that the linguist can provide the best possible translations. This might mean finding a translator with a minimum of 5 years within your industry to ensure clarity for technical manuals, or an interpreter who specialises in remote video interpretation to enhance a live event. Whatever your project needs are, London Translations can find the translation solution that best fits you.
For more information on how we can help with your project, contact us for a free quote and consultation.
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]]>The post Upgrading Events with Remote Video Interpretation appeared first on London Translations.
]]>When engaging international audiences, events such as conferences, conventions, or workshops are a great way to showcase your company. For the best impact, you need to communicate with your audience in their native language. That’s where interpreters come in, allowing you to accurately communicate to customers and prospects. Traditionally this would involve a number of hurdles to overcome to provide a high-quality service that doesn’t interrupt the event, particularly for simultaneous interpretation. However, that doesn’t need to be the case anymore.
As Zoe Fraser, Head of Account Management at London Translations, explains, “Technology is swiftly developing to accommodate new event environments, making it the most effective means of interpretation regardless of distance. There has been a rapid demand for remote virtual interpretation in the last few years as it makes use of technology platforms already in place, such as smart phones and video calls.”
The world is adapting to a more digitally focused approach to events and business meetings and the cost effectiveness of Remote Video Interpretation is becoming apparent. With no specialist equipment needed to set up, no travel expenses to account for, and no accommodation to be arranged, remote video interpretation provides professional translations for a fraction of the price. This is because the only expense with remote video interpretation is owning a device capable of video calls. This makes the service substantially less expensive while also expanding the pool of interpreters available. With the only restriction being time zones, the best possible interpreters can be found from around the world for any online event.
This is why video platforms, such as Zoom, are adding interpretation features to their services, allowing businesses to take full advantage of remote video interpretation. By providing multiple audio channels to the call, meetings can be interpreted simultaneously into multiple languages without disturbing the proceedings, allowing businesses to seamlessly reach new customers
It is also more effective for the interpreters. By utilising remote video interpretation, the linguists have their own, reliable set up. As Zoe Fraser explains, “Interpreters are getting a more consistent experience as more events move towards remote video interpretation. It removes much of the variables and gives them an environment that they can control and are familiar with.”
London Translations has years of experience in providing highly qualified interpreters via video, even before video calls were easily available. Now, with video calls a part of everyday life, London Translations has access to a world-wide network of experienced remote video interpreters, all meeting ISO 9001:2015 quality standards.
This expertise in remote video interpretation means London Translations can confidently provide their interpreters at a moment’s notice, even for complicated language combinations, and for any video platform.
To find out more how London Translation can help enhance your events and meetings, get in touch to discuss your requirements.
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]]>The post Translation of legal documents appeared first on London Translations.
]]>The actual act of translating such technical documents is not something that can be left to automated tools. In any situation, you want to be as accurate as possible with your translations, but in a legal environment this can be magnified exponentially – thousands of court cases are adjourned due to poor interpreting.
The only way to avoid such situations is to ensure you are hiring the best. At London Translations, we ensure we only hire translators of the highest quality, with as a minimum of five years of professional translating experience, as well as five years of industry specific experience.”
It’s not just human error that provides a barrier to effective legal translation. Trying to force a single document to mesh two different cultures together has a wide margin for error. As Deborah Cao mentions in her research paper Legal Translation, “The most important general characteristic of any legal translation is that an unusually large proportion of the text is culture-specific.”
She explains that there are ideological concepts missing between cultures; ideas and understandings we take for granted may not exist in other countries, which is then reflected in their legal systems. It is therefore vitally important that a translator working with legal documents is not just excellent at translation, but also familiar with the different cultures. With London Translations’ vast network of translators (over 9,000 in over 140 different languages) we can promise that our translators are not just fluent in the language, but in the culture as well.
The extra caveat that comes from translating legal documents is trying to make sense of two legal systems, both equally valid, but often contradictory. To navigate such a situation requires an in–depth knowledge of law for both countries, as examined in this study looking at the types of translation errors in Taiwan legal documents. It concluded that one of the main causes of translation error was “failure to consult reliable law databases”, and an “insufficiency of legal knowledge”.
During the legal battle between Christian Louboutin and Yves Saint Laurent over the selling of ‘red soled’ shoes in 2012, lawyers were presented with an awkward situation: both companies were based in France, but the case was tried in America. The conflicting legal environments made many of the legal processes nearly impossible, particularly during the ‘discovery phase’ – France has extremely strict privacy laws limiting access to important documents, while the American courts required extensive evidence. It was a translation agency that offered the solution, creating a ‘silo system’ that adhered to France’s privacy laws but still allowed the courts access to all important documents.
This is why London Translations’ expansive network of industry specialist translators is so important. It ensures that whatever your needs, regardless of specific laws or countries, we have the tools, network, and people available to provide the quality service you need.
Make sure that the best possible translator is working through your legal documents. Contact us for a quote and sign up to our free newsletter for news and updates.
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]]>The post Getting the most out of multilingual video conferencing appeared first on London Translations.
]]>At the start of 2020, video conferencing apps saw a download increase of 90%, in part as a result of the lockdown measures taken to counter the outbreak of COVID-19. Conference calls are more popular than ever, as businesses can continue hosting the all-important meetings without having to leave their homes or offices. But with this added technology comes a new set of rules you will need to follow to get the most out of your video conference.
Much like a regular meeting, it’s helpful to have a clear plan of what needs to be discussed during a video conference. If there are other members of your team who will be joining the call, brief them with your own plan so they have time to prepare any questions or concerns. If you need to use an interpreter for your meeting, you should also brief them about the subject in advance so they’re prepared for the conference.
Keeping to a schedule is one of the biggest challenges faced by remote workers as it becomes far too easy to overwork yourself. You should also be punctual to your virtual conference and, if it’s an initial meeting, take the time to introduce yourself and other members of your team that may be tuning in. Keep introductions short and specific so you can go straight into the matter at hand. Following a timetable makes it easier to maintain a work-life balance, so it’s important to stay punctual for the benefit of everyone else’s schedule.
While you may be a pro at face-to-face meetings, virtual conferences are a little more difficult to master from the get-go. Find a nice, quiet space with good lighting, so your associates can clearly see you on camera. If you’re about to take part in your first virtual conference, take 5 minutes beforehand to ensure your technology works.
Your microphone will be able to pick up any noises happening around you, including those in other rooms. So even if you are in your own room or office, there’s no guarantee that everyone else in your house or building will be quiet enough to avoid being detected on the mic. You might also find yourself making other ambient noises without realising it. So, unless you’re actually speaking, keep your microphone muted.
Video chats tend to offer some sort of lag or delay, even if only by a small second. This makes it easy for participants to talk over each other accidentally, which can get awkward in the best case scenario and come across as rude at worst. Slightly raising your hand or a similar gesture can serve as a signal to make others aware that you have something to say, so they know to pause or wrap up what they’re saying. This provides a level of structure to the meeting, while giving everyone the opportunity to speak. If you have an interpreter for your meeting, signalling also gives them a chance to keep up with who’s speaking, and who is about to talk.
Video interpreting, sometimes known as video remote interpreting, is the act of translating a conversation between two or more speakers, and in two or more languages, over a live video feed rather than in person. While interpreters traditionally translate conversations and meetings by physically attending them, video interpreting allows for instant translation to take place over any internet-enabled devices. Through London Translations you can arrange an interpreter prior to your meeting: a brief introduction on the attendees and the meeting purpose, will prepare the interpreter and will facilitate a smooth conversation while conducting your virtual meeting.
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]]>The post Guide to Video Conference Interpreting appeared first on London Translations.
]]>Interpretation is the act of translating the spoken word, most frequently via mediating conversations between two or more languages. Traditionally, the interpreter would need to be physically present with their clients in order to give an accurate interpretation, allowing a conversation to flow even if the meeting attendees don’t speak the same language. However, thanks to video conferencing technology, it’s no longer necessary for the interpreter to attend meetings in person.
As a business owner, remote interpretation offers a range of benefits, including reduced costs and organisation stresses, as well as increased availability. To have an interpreter attend meetings in person, you need to cover expenses for travel and accommodation, on top of the interpretation fee. But if they can work remotely via video chat, you won’t have to worry about these additional costs. This also reduces the carbon footprint associated with your business, which is a growing concern among entrepreneurs around the world. And because the interpreter can work remotely, they’re able to save time on commuting and may even be able to take on more jobs in a day as a result, making it a more lucrative way to do business for themselves.
Video interpretation is fairly simple to understand, and works similarly to real-life, consecutive interpretation. The only difference is that the interpreter will need to watch the interaction on-screen, but this also means they can pick up on non-verbal communication cues, such as facial expressions and body language, which accounts for up to 93% of all communication.
It’s important to note that the meeting should continue on as normal, even with an interpreter involved. So whoever is leading the meeting should begin by introducing themselves and everyone else, and start the meeting off. Whenever it’s your turn to speak, remember to try and be as clear as possible, making it easier for everyone to understand what you’re saying.
There are different types of interpretation, including consecutive and simultaneous. In consecutive interpretation, the speaker and interpreter take it in turns to talk, giving each the time and space to say their piece. While this offers clear communication, it can be a lengthy process, and take twice as long to hold the meeting. Simultaneous interpreting is much quicker, but requires much more skill, requiring the interpreter to listen while whispering the interpretation to the client.
During a time when remote working is rising in popularity, it makes sense that video conferencing is also becoming more commonplace. And it can be used in place of most face-to-face meetings that are typically associated with businesses, including:
For international meetings, you simply need to add the appropriate interpreter to the conference call.
Having up-to-date technology is crucial for video chats on a business level as, in these instances, communication is key. It also means that audio and video must be synchronised. It’s important for you and the interpreter to gauge subtle non-verbal cues. as well as clearly hearing and understanding what is being said. Crackly microphones or low-resolution cameras, for example, hinder communication, which could be disastrous for your business.
This makes it easier for the interpreters to understand what is happening in the meeting, and also means their interpretation will make sense for the participants. All parties involved should have a clear understanding of what’s happening in the meeting, which is crucial in the business world.
This is beneficial for interpreters, as it allows them to see non-verbal communication cues, as previously mentioned. This provides a better understanding of what’s being said, letting them accurately convey the meaning to their audience.
If there are any documents that will be referenced in the meeting, they should be sent to the interpreter ahead of time. This allows them to translate the text and get a better understanding of what will be happening in the meeting, which can affect the overall quality and content of their interpretation.
For more information about our video interpretation services and how they can help your business, get in touch with our expert team at London Translations.
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]]>The post Business use for an English-to-French translation app appeared first on London Translations.
]]>There are many things that English to French translation apps won’t ever come close to achieving compared to professional human French translators. Here are several scenarios where you should not turn to technology for your linguistic needs (as well as a few examples where a simple app can help you!).
Perhaps the biggest problem with English to French translation apps is how little the output resembles natural conversation. The software is incapable of considering the nuances and intricacies of human language, and even though the algorithms have improved, AI still tends to favour word-for-word translations. Not only will these often read rigidly and awkwardly, but this method also ignores important cultural and contextual factors that professional human translators are trained to take into account.
For example, English to French translation apps struggle to comprehend idioms. “Caught between a rock and a hard place” translates figuratively to “pris entre le marteau et l’enclume”, or “caught between the hammer and the anvil”. While a professional translator would replace this saying with a suitable French alternative, a language app would totally dilute the meaning in a way which would be intelligible in either language.
However you’re communicating with French businesspeople, it will be incredibly difficult to sound convincing or confident when you’re using an English to French app. You’ll struggle to convey a reputable, businesslike image if your written correspondence is littered with mistakes, with the potential to be confusing and possibly even offensive in worst-case scenarios. The same goes for conversations by phone or video chat, which could quickly become uncomfortable if you are having to pause for automated app translations after each sentence. In these cases, professional interpretation services offer a much better alternative.
When you aspire to grow your business internationally, you have to prepare a significantly higher number of deals, meetings and documents in other languages. And if you’re planning to expand into Francophone countries, even the best English to French translation app won’t be designed for usage on this scale.
For example, all legal paperwork must be accurately translated and fully understood by your French collaborators, clients and customers. Such an undertaking can never be left to an unreliable English to French translation app, particularly when it is unlikely to parse complicated legal terminology and concepts. Just one unfortunate mishap could do great harm to your business, which is why you should always have your documents translated by professional legal linguists.
Translation apps aren’t particularly useful at documenting important conversations either. Recording and then replaying the French parts of a conversation to an app would be extremely inefficient and time-consuming, and you can’t know for sure whether the software even understands the words as they are intended. Professional translation agencies, on the other hand, can typically offer transcription services which guarantee 100% accurate write-ups of all vocal business communications.
French customers will immediately recognise a poor translation, and may be put off engaging with businesses who seemingly can’t be bothered to communicate with them properly. However, an audience will engage with content that is not only accurate but specifically tailored to them. English to French apps won’t help you here either, as they can’t give you any insights into the country’s culture. Luckily, professional translators do have this knowledge and, therefore, a better understanding of your business’s markets and core demographics.
For example, many translators also offer localisation services, which means adapting the translation to a particular location. As culture and context varies between different places, a piece of content translated for your Parisian customers will not be the same as what’s offered to those living in Bordeaux, Nice or Lille. English to French translation apps, however, will make no distinction between the specificities of various demographics and dialects, so these translations could feel less relevant to readers in different parts of the country.
If you are emailing a client to briefly check-in, or for any other casual purposes, it’s appropriate to use an English to French translation app. Your messages won’t be perfect, but the recipient should be understanding, seeing as they know you aren’t a French speaker. Just ensure these exchanges don’t involve any important business details or decisions, as a professional translator will definitely be more appropriate in those cases.
Once you do business with French organisations, you’ll probably have to travel to France for meetings and negotiations. Whether you want to translate words on a map or ask passersby for directions, in these circumstances, an app is a handy tool to help you navigate a new city.
It’s recommended that you bring a professional interpreter if you’re meeting a client over a meal in France. Though you should rely on them for the majority of the conversation, there’s no harm in turning to an English to French translation app for help with ordering your food and drink. At least that way, your business companion can see that you’re taking control and making the effort to engage with the French language where you can.
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]]>The post Context is King: Translating English To French appeared first on London Translations.
]]>If you were to use a free translation tool, such as a Google Translate or a Translation App to translate “pleuvoir des cordes” into English, you would receive the “raining cats and dogs” response, thanks to the ever-trending ‘in context’ options, which are often community-verified. But this still isn’t a good enough replacement for a complete English to French translation service, especially where your business is concerned.
French is counted as an official language in 29 countries, with around 300 million speakers worldwide. But the version of the French language spoken in France itself differs from how it is spoken in Canada, Belgium, Switzerland and Rwanda. This comes as a result of the cultural differences between these Francophone countries, leading to pronounced changes in regional dialects.
Language naturally evolves over time, which is what has led to slight differences in how people speak around the world. This change is perhaps best proven by the regional differences in the English language across the UK. Even though the root language is the same, certain words and phrases spoken in London are different from how people speak in Newcastle, Edinburgh or Northern Ireland.
To get an accurate French translation, you will first need to identify where in the country your audience is from, and what dialect is spoken there. This process is known as localisation, which requires a far more in-depth, real-life understanding of the language spoken in that region than translation does.
As previously mentioned, translating idioms comes with a cultural barrier, and given that both the French and English languages are littered with these funny sayings, it can quickly become confusing for a novice translator or algorithmic language tool. The phrase “avoir les chevilles qui enflent”, for example, translates to English as “to have ankles that swell”. But this doesn’t mean you have swollen ankles — rather, it’s a euphemistic way of saying that someone is big-headed.
The added cultural differences between French-speaking countries make translation much more difficult. Having localised knowledge of the language, and the target audience of your translated text, is crucial to getting the tone and meaning right. For example, the French Canadian saying “attache ta tuque” is used to build anticipation in the same way of the English phrase “get ready”. But the word “tuque” is unknown to the French. A tuque is a knitted cap worn in Canada, which isn’t necessary for the warmer weather in France.
The French language, in general, takes up around 15%-20% more characters in its written form than the English language. While this isn’t necessarily a problem for articles, letters, and contracts, it can get tricky for advertising materials and website navigation menus, where space is limited. In these instances, every character counts, so it’s important to get the message across in as few words as possible. Automatic translation tools can’t take this limited space into account in the same way as human translators.
Professional translators, who are skilled at providing the appropriate context for a text, will be able to offer suggestions for words and phrases in order to fit the space, while still ensuring the copy makes sense. This often means that, although translation isn’t always exact on a word-for-word basis, the tone and context will remain the same.
Get in touch with our translation team to find out more about how we can help you translate between French and English.
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]]>The post Can I Auto-Translate My Site? How Not To Translate A Website appeared first on London Translations.
]]>Once you’ve given your business’s website an attractive design and some compelling English-language copy, it might seem logical simply to translate that text verbatim when you’re bringing your services to other countries. Unfortunately, this attitude can be dangerous for your brand. You need to consider your English-market website as less of a blueprint than its own market, which means that copy for other territories should be created relatively independent of your original site.
It’s very easy to make serious errors of judgement when it comes to translating your site, and not just because doing it badly will present your company or product in a way that is unappealing—or is possibly even repellent—to your target audience. Here are some of the ways that you might be taking the wrong approach to website localisation and translation.
Consumers and businesses alike should be aware through first-hand experience that machine translation is rarely 100% accurate, and certainly not acceptable for creating marketing copy. Your website content needs to be free of grammatical and spelling errors, or else potential customers will be turned away by an unprofessional appearance.
Using auto-translation may also lead to penalties from search engines if you haven’t taken the time to review the copy before publishing it. As Webmaster Trends Analyst for Google, John Mueller, notes, “low-quality machine-generated gibberish’y [sic] content” would likely cause a site’s rankings to drop, even with the improving quality of web translation services.
Beyond the words themselves, using the likes of Google translate does not consider any changes to the amount of text. While the majority of languages will require little to no alterations to the design of your website, localisation to some territories might lead to some vital tweaks being made. According to IBM, translating paragraphs from English into other European languages requires around 30% more space on a page, so localising your website will need to accommodate this additional space in its design.
In short copy, you might need to come up with a new slogan so that your current strapline doesn’t become overlong or meaningless in translation. Longer paragraphs, however, can vary hugely in size when localised, which could be a serious problem if your web designer has set static sizes for text boxes. Images and videos will also need to be altered and optimised. Video content will need subtitles added, while text-based images will also need translating and reworking to reach the new audience, and will again inform how your localised website will be designed. However, you should also ensure that the images and videos themselves are culturally sensitive to your target international audience.
It isn’t machine translation alone that poses problems for businesses looking to localise their websites. Even if a website’s copy is grammatically perfect, it can still be second rate if the translator hasn’t taken into account cultural differences in the target market. The nuances of both the relevant language and the business itself need to be considered, which often makes hiring freelance translators unsuitable for performing these tasks in bulk.
They may also be lacking in the SEO knowledge required to help push your business’s website up the search engine results pages. Chances are your localisation efforts will be conducted as part of a wider strategy, including revising the overall structure of your site to adhere to localised customs in your target markets. As well as translating your onsite content, revising elements in the back end of your website, such as your title tags and meta descriptions, allows you to accommodate localised keywords and set canonical tags on any pages which could be flagged up as duplicate content.
Considering the sheer amount of work freelancers get through, particularly if they offer low or competitive rates, it is highly unlikely that they would be able (or willing) to take the elements outlined above into account. In order to ensure that these translations are up to scratch, you will almost certainly have to spend additional funds to have them checked over by a professional translation provider, which is an unnecessary and expensive extra step to take.
To successfully translate a website for multiple markets, hiring an expert team to localise your content is the best way to improve your chances of conversions. Professional translators will be able to give you an accurate website translation price in advance, based on whether clients require a simple text translation or deeper localisation efforts. These could involve a change of content, colours, and design to make the website more appropriate to your target market.
It’s important that before beginning a website localisation project, you familiarise yourself with the relevant legislation in the target market, no matter how trivial those regulations might appear. Otherwise, you could be risking a legal challenge, not to mention damaging consumer trust by neglecting the requirements of their lawmakers.
Website localisation may seem daunting, but it can easily be informed by market research and the collective knowledge of the staff in the territories to which you are expanding. Making use of a professional translation service can ensure that your onsite content is sensitive to the cultural nuances of your target markets, while still being linguistically accurate.
The post Can I Auto-Translate My Site? How Not To Translate A Website appeared first on London Translations.
]]>The post How Can I Translate My Website Accurately? appeared first on London Translations.
]]>You will find it far more difficult to sell your services to international clients without communicating in their language, and the more precise and nuanced the quality of your translations are, the more likely you will be to reach bigger audiences, increase conversions and help the usability of your site. And since this initial process of translation is so important, you will need to carefully consider how and where you get your translations from to ensure the utmost accuracy.
Machine translators like Google Translate may initially seem appealing as a cheap, quick solution to companies’ linguistic needs, but they don’t offer anywhere near the same level of accuracy as a human linguist. As advanced as artificial learning algorithms currently are, they still don’t understand the intricacies of full sentences and idioms, which can lead to wider contextual meanings of text getting lost in translation.
For instance, if your website is written in a humorous style, this tone may not be picked up by a machine translator, removing this aspect of your brand voice from the translated text, and causing it to be lost on international users. Human translators, on the other hand, can instantly identify the correct tone of voice in any text, and ensure that the translated content will maintain the personality your business intends to convey.
Businesses should never skimp on having their content translated, primarily because the process involves revising and proofreading the text to guarantee maximum accuracy. A professional can translate an average of 3,000 words each day, though more time may be required for particularly complex or technical texts such as legal documents.
Here at London Translations, all of our linguists have at least three years’ experience in the industry they’ll be translating for, which means they already know all the sector-specific terminology. They also do their best to keep their international professional vocabulary continually updated, to ensure they can use the most up-to-date accurate technical terms. Taking a shortcut with a machine or amateur translators allows far more room for error, so your text won’t be as accurate as needs to be.
Website localisation also plays a crucial part here as, instead of translating text word-for-word, localisation will consider the cultural understanding of a client’s audience as a key aspect of the translation. Beyond the context, it also involves things like design and formatting, such as currency, time and date formats and units of measurement. These elements will not be accounted for when using machine translation, which is why London Translations only uses mother-tongue translators who know everything about their target language.
Professional human translators are the best way to ensure your website translations are accurate and precise, helping your business to make a good first impression wherever your potential clients are in the world. Website translation requires rewriting pages in another language, but this may affect the overall design of the site, whether by extending the amount of text required on a page, or changing the layout to accommodate for the direction in which the language is read.
Different colours, symbols and numbers can also have different connotations around the world. For instance, white represents purity and cleanliness, while in China and Korea it represents death and mourning. With that in mind, our expert linguists at London Translations can translate your content into over 140 languages, and make sure your website is accurately localised by collaborating with your design team to give you the best chance of connecting with international customers.
Get in touch today to translate your website and boost your business’s global reach.
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]]>The post Simultaneous vs Consecutive Interpreting appeared first on London Translations.
]]>However, people often fail to differentiate between the two, which makes it all the more important to understand how and why each type is effective, in order to correctly use each service. Here we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of simultaneous and consecutive interpretation so that you can make an informed decision about which one will best suit the needs of your business.
The main thing that sets these two types of interpretation apart is the time it takes to do the job. A consecutive interpreter is someone who interprets speech after the original speaker has paused or finished speaking, while a simultaneous interpreter works in real-time, speaking without any pauses.
Working as a consecutive interpreter requires no specialist equipment, such as high-quality microphones and headsets. All that is needed to perform the job is a notebook and pen for making notes of what the speakers are saying. Using fewer accessories also helps you save money on interpretation services.
This method has its functional benefits too, particularly as it gives interpreters more time to accurately communicate the speaker’s message. This is beneficial because any speech can be conveyed more fluently, and with appropriate emotion, as interpreters will have more time to mentally prepare their intonation and melody of each sentence, without losing its message. And since they don’t need to simultaneously listen and speak, giving them the time to figure out the most suitable way to translate, the standard of consecutive interpretation translation will be higher.
The process between interpreter and speaker is extremely stop-start, which extends the amount of time the process takes, and could be distracting to the person speaking if they lose their train of thought. The same message will be expressed twice, first in the source language, then in that of the target audience, meaning that events will take twice as long to see through, which might not be ideal for busy participants. Speakers must also be aware that they are being interpreted, otherwise they won’t remember to pause to allow interpreters to do their job.
Consecutive interpreting only allows for one language at a time to be translated into another. This would require multiple interpreters, as it is too hard to manage more than one language at a time, and speakers would have to allow even more time between segments. This would also interfere with the speaker’s concentration, because they would have to wait and remember where they left off each time.
Simultaneous interpretation offers fewer distractions for speakers, as they will be working from a sound-proof away from the event to improve focus. This allows interpretation to happen in real-time, letting events run as if all attendees speak the same language. By removing any delay, it saves time for everyone, and can reduce the cost of hiring a meeting venue.
As the interpreter immediately relays what the speaker has said, ideas can be translated almost instantly, so none of the messages are lost, which ensures greater accuracy. There’s also no limit to the number of concurrent languages which can be interpreted at the same time, as there are often multiple simultaneous interpreters working at once. This allows delegates to simply select their preferred language on their headsets.
This method of interpreting comes at a greater cost, because at least two interpreters will be needed for each language. A simultaneous interpreter can only work in twenty to thirty-minute bursts, as the high level of concentration the role requires necessitates regular breaks. As a result, you will have to hire multiple interpreters so they can alternate, which will put the cost above simultaneous interpreting services.
The equipment this form of interpretation requires is also expensive, as simultaneous interpretation involves hiring sound-proof booths, headsets for delegates, microphones, and wiring. The accessories required will also depend on where the booths are placed — for instance, if they’re in a different room from the conference then cameras and screens will be necessary for interpreters to get a full view of the speakers.
A simultaneous interpreter has to work very quickly, so their translations may come across as awkward or halting. This is because the interpreter has to translate a sentence before hearing the end of the idea, which may prevent them from finding the most suitable word, increasing the likelihood of small mistakes and awkward constructions.
The form of interpretation that you require will depend on the event you’re holding. For instance, a consecutive interpreter will be required for medical settings, court interpreting and on-site facility tours, as there will be many opportunities for natural pauses in the conversation. They will also be suitable for small meetings, such as interviews, HR meetings and parent-teacher conferences, and any type of situation which allows for breaks in speech.
On the other hand, conferences at which there is one speaker will need a simultaneous interpreter, because they will require quickly translations aimed at a large group. This form of interpretation is also necessary for international events where more than two languages are spoken, as well as in presentations and lectures where a lot of information is conveyed, and any other scenario which demands a quick relay of data.
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