How Native-Speaker Translations Are Different From the Rest
Communication is About Connection. Sometimes What Really Matters About a Text Can Literally Get Lost in Translation.
We communicate because we want to connect with other people. For instance, maybe the goal is to inform, describe, impact, or persuade the people with whom you’re communicating. There’s always a reason behind why we communicate, something we’re trying to achieve.
The clarity of what we say matters (good grammar, precise vocabulary, proper syntax, etc.), but also how we say it makes a huge difference (tone, context, knowing the audience). It’s how we say things that moves an audience to see you, your company or your brand as trustworthy and credible.
As an example, take a look and something I just mentioned.
I said, “For instance, maybe the goal is to inform, describe, impact, or persuade the people with whom you’re communicating.”
The truth is, most people don’t speak this way in their daily lives. When is the last time you heard someone say “with whom” out loud? Probably never. However, grammatically it is the “right” way. As the rule goes, “never end a sentence with a preposition.” For a professional audience which may have a few self-proclaimed Grammar Police among them, using this more grammatically accurate and formal tone will create credibility and connection.
However, a more common way to say that phrase may be, “For instance, maybe the goal is to inform, describe, impact, or persuade the people you communicate with.” While technically this phrase is grammatically incorrect, it’s more relatable for a casual audience. Hence, with them, it will create more connection.
I share this example because most translators may get the right words on paper in the right order with total precision. And yet they can still fail to interpret the material in a way that helps their client connect with the reader in the way they intended.
When a translator fails to interpret the text well and loses that desired connection, it becomes a little less compelling. As a result, the reader is a little less persuaded. Maybe one odd phrase somewhere in text makes the reader unsure of you. They begin to doubt if you said what you actually meant to say, and that seed of doubt stays with them as they continue reading. With a less than skillful native transition, the trust of the reader breaks down, and the strength of the connection and impact of the text fizzles.
In my experience, really great translations are always done by native speakers who understand the subtleties of a language and can interpret them skillfully through the translation.
Native speakers take contextual significance into account to translate for the author’s intention effectively. Good translations shouldn’t be a word-for-word vocabulary & grammatical copy of the original. Good translations must be thoughtfully and skillfully interpreted into the second language so that the connection is made with the audience in the way your original text intended.
Common Mistakes a Non-Native Speaking Translator Frequently Make & Their Impact on the Reader
Four major mistakes happen in translations that a native reader notices immediately.
The first is syntax which is just a fancy word to describe the way the words are put together. As I mentioned before, if the translator isn’t a native speaker they may not have a deep enough relationship with the language to understand how it should naturally flow. They’ll get the message across, but in ways that feel distracting for the native-language reader.
The second, staying too close to the original text by not taking a step back to understand the original intention of the author. As a reader, you notice this happening when you see that you intellectually understand the text but don’t feel any emotional connection with it even when you’re pretty sure you’re supposed to.
A third is less of a mistake with the translation and more a mistake of a translator. It’s being afraid to check in with your client about how you’ve interpreted certain parts of the text. A translator often has to make judgement calls about the best way to translate, or interpret, the author’s intention into a new language. There are often several ways to go about that.
Sometimes we don’t always make the right call when we do it on our own. So I’ve found that it is very important to mark these places in the text with an explanatory comment to let the author know there are a few options about how it may be translated. I also let them know how these different options could be received by the reader. Then, together with the author, the translator can decide what the most accurate translation will be according to the intention of that particular text.
Finally, there are often mistakes around the tone. The best writing mimics how we speak. Think about it. Readers, such as yourself in this moment, are using your own voice in your head to read the text. You’re reading it “out loud” internally so to speak. If a text reads very differently than how we ourselves talk, it can impede the understanding and connection that the text is meant to create. Writing, in general, and translations, in particular, should be done as close to how we actually speak as possible, in whichever language that may be.
Insight into My Experience in Translation Work, Specifically with the Flower Industry
For almost two decades now, I’ve been using my skills & my energy as a business management consultant to help companies improve their operations and grow to scale. To tell you how I got started doing translation work, let me backtrack just a little bit first.
As a consultant, I’ve really enjoyed serving executives and teams in different industries, including Agro-Industry (flowers & cacao), primarily in the US and Latin America. I’ve also served other industries including Legal, Ed-Tech, and Non-Profits, but I always joke that if there’s anything worth dedicating one’s life to, it’s flowers and chocolate.
I got into translation work because, through consulting, I started to develop some technical expertise in the flower industry. My clients started asking me for help translating some things into my native English just as a favor. When they saw how much it helped to have my support, and the results that it helped them achieve with their own audiences, this eventually became another service I offer.
Over time as more and more work came in with different requirements, I’ve expanded the team to include professionals who are native Russian speakers, French speakers, and Spanish speakers to produce the same quality of work I do in English in these other languages. I supervise & give feedback to the team about some of the more technical terminology the flower industry uses. We have our own internal process for assuring the total quality of all of our work in each of those languages.
What I love about working with the flower industry is really how much importance people place on relationships. I think that’s true to what the product is about too. Flowers are there during all of life’s most special occasions when people are connecting meaningfully with one another. I see that same sentiment come through in the relationships between actors in the value chain as well. For me connection and authenticity are important, and it’s something I see reflected in the flower industry that I really appreciate.
When Getting Native-Speaker Professional Translations Really Matter
Maybe some folks don’t think that professional transitions are always necessary. I agree, not always. However when it's something really important, then it is. Having a professional translation makes a huge difference in creating that impactful connection you want to establish with your audience. When a person or audience can read a really important text in their native language in a way that generates that connection & confidence for them, it’s a game changer.
You may still be able to get your point across when someone reads a text in their second or third language. Maybe you even go so far as to get a translation done by someone who knows the language “good enough.” Sometimes that’s sufficient.
But, when you want to really effectively compel a reader to be persuaded, inform them in a way that gets them emotionally involved with the idea, or make sure that they see your brand as credible and competent to build trust, delivering the content through a translation that is really well done is critical. As I mentioned earlier, when you speak to your audience as they speak, which means as a native speaker would, the communication is going to ultimately be much more effective.
When thinking about when you need a really skillful translation done and when you don’t, choose wisely. For instance, consider getting professional translations by native speakers for the documents that can make or break business relationships and partnerships. Those that are related to creating value in the value chain (certification guides for instance). Also those that are directly related to marketing & sales. These particular types of communication really matter because they’re about relationships, or maybe even compliance, and ultimately lead to making or losing money.
My Team and I Offer Fast, Affordable & Accurate Professional Native-Speaker Translations in English, Spanish, French & Russian that Connect with the Audience the Way Your Original Content Intended.
Although our mighty and tight-knit team serves clients in many industries, we’ve specialized in the flower industry. The expertise I’ve earned over the years by learning about the industry and its actors, products, processes, and more really, believe it or not, helps us do a better job with translating because we’re injecting our understanding of the industry into how we do the job.
It really shows up in the quality of the translations we produce because we kind of know where the author is coming from and understand their intention clearly.
Do you need professional translations done in English, Spanish, French or Russian?
You can get instantaneously generate a quote for your translations here: www.jamie-jenkins.com/flower-translations
This blog was created for an interview with Jamie Jenkins and FloralDaily to be released in late 2022.
