If you don’t already speak Finnish and don’t have a lot of time to learn it, and need some documents translated into Finnish, you will probably just want to go ahead and have a professional service translate them

“Why?” you ask. Because professional translators will handle your work in a way that will make you more efficient and worry-free.

Why not learn Finnish and translate the documents yourself (Of course we are joking!)?
Because Finnish is one of the hardest languages to learn, especially for English speakers. In fact a recent list of 9 languages that are hard to learn on the matadornetwork.com put Finnish in fourth place of the hardest languages for English speakers to learn! Only three languages were placed higher, as being harder to learn than Finnish: Arabic, Basque and Cantonese. Of all the languages you can pick to learn, Finnish may be one of the very hardest! Will this turn people away from learning it? Yes, it will turn most away. They will click on the “9 easiest” or whatever link is associated with “easy” languages.

If you study it, you WILL ask “Why is Finnish so hard to learn?” The answer lies in a number of complex variables that are measured by various methods to take into consideration how hard a language will be to learn. With Finnish, one of the hard things is that there are almost no similar types of vocabulary, such as English has with Germanic or Latin languages. So you can’t just try to make up a funny version and it actually be right (for example, say “I(ch) haven ein problem” in Germany and they will know what you mean!)

To add to this dilemma, there are fifteen noun cases with small differences that denote whether you are in something, coming out of something, behind something, and so on.

Finnish may in some ways be harder to speak than Arabic or Cantonese, but did not rank as a harder language because of the Latin alphabet

At least a beginner can read phonetically and pronunciation may begin to come easier with time.

If all of this information doesn’t make your head start to spin, you should probably go for a career in linguistics. For most of you, certainly this short rehearsal of surface differences between English and Finnish will convince you to seek out professionals for any of your English to Finnish or Finnish to English translation needs. The complexities of moving between the two languages are not easily handled by mechanical translation or by amateurs.

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As a part of Europe and Scandinavia, Sweden has a long tradition of trading with partners around the continent and around the world

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Fuelled by IKEA and other now famous Swedish brands, there is more international trade going on with Sweden than ever before. Swedish people are known for their excellent command of English. Tourists visiting Sweden know that they won’t have a problem being understood or understanding others if they can get around well in English. This is a pleasant addition to touring a beautiful and well-kept country.

Official numbers put the percentage of proficient English speakers in Sweden at 90, one of the highest in Europe.

The official language of Sweden is still Swedish and any business wanting to market or have a presence in Sweden will certainly need to translate paperwork or media into the official language. What is the first thing many people think of when they hear Swedish? Most people who start searching Swedish in Google usually end up with meatballs or house mafia.

If you’re looking for Swedish translation, there are some things to which you should pay extra attention to ensure you are getting a quality service

You should always decide on a translation service that offers native speakers of the target language. If you are getting something translated from English to Swedish, you should have a native Swedish speaker to translate it and ideally you will get the service of a second native speaker who will proofread the text before they approve it and send it back to you as “translated.” Alternatives to this ideal will only offer higher chances of mistakes and problems which will cost money in the long run. Once you have decided on your Swedish translations and they are safe with professionals who know how to translate, you can move on to Swedish meatballs!

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Most people don’t think of translation as a life and death profession.

But, in many cases, it is exactly that. If someone is in need of medical help and they need to tell the doctor what is bothering them or where their pain is, that would be a life or death situation. This is a case where the life of one person or perhaps a few depended on good translation. However, there have been cases in recent history where the fate of the whole world has depended on the way that words and sentences were translated!

It may sound preposterous, but during the Cold War, for a long time there were no direct links between the heads of state of the countries with major differences. Often statements were made in speeches that were expressly intended for the president or leader of another nation. This still happens on occasion today, but the diplomatic services are much better developed now and communications can be had behind closed doors much more readily. In the early days, however, there were some “hotlines” set up that were tele-text machines that allowed for more direct communication. One detail that was overlooked in at least one case and probably in a multitude of others, was the qualification of the persons translating the message. In one case between the US and USSR, one KGB agent who was translating documents during the Cuban Missile Crisis had a basic grasp of English, but no training or vocabulary that qualified him to deal with documents about nuclear issues. This oversight could have led to World War III and the destruction of the world!

Your document or project may not endanger the existence of the world, but it may be very important for you to stay in business or to be able to visit a country.

Don’t make an oversight. Hire a professional translation company that has experience and qualification in the subjects that you need. Don’t send a bellhop to translate for a nuclear physicist.

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Lost in Translation: How to ruin your business prestige by using inadequate language

My wife and I had to laugh recently as we were taking a break in a foreign country. We were really tired from working a lot and we decided to go to the very best hotel we could afford. We chose a seaside hotel that we could get to without too much trouble. This hotel has a great reputation as one of the nicest hotels in the area. The hotel was magnificent. The room was very comfortable and spacious. The restaurant was phenomenal. The pool and exercise area were first class. The seaside views were gorgeous. This hotel was put together from top-to-bottom to be a world-class destination, and they did so successfully.

We had a nice laugh as we relaxed together in the spa. We entered the area and there was a sign that had something written in the local language and then below that were the words “Inevitable Showering.” We both smiled and then had a nice discussion about what that might look like. The funniest scenario was acting out the man who didn’t want a shower, but couldn’t resist the force, because here the showering was “inevitable.”

The funny thing is that this fun little mistake could have been avoided (which would have meant we didn’t get our laugh-so maybe it’s the not-funny thing?)

This hotel is a chain and certainly has signs for these things in other hotels and could have simply checked for the protocol from English speaking countries. They also could have and should have a translation company that double checks all their documents, signs, brochures and media that goes out in any language.

In this case, it is obvious that they made the sign in the host language first and then translated it back from that language into English. When they did that without the help of consultation from a translation company, they made themselves look a little funny. Will that keep me from staying there again if I get the chance? No. I loved it, but there are cases when using an inadequate language can be offensive. Like this one: http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/tadpole.asp

Is it ironic that after spending millions of dollars to look sophisticated in every way that they have a sign that makes them seem unsophisticated? Yes.

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Making a mistake in the way that we communicate may only cause us to laugh about it later

While trying to order lunch off a menu that was only in the local language, a couple resorted to sign language with the elderly waitress. The husband tried to order chicken with his arms flapping and all of them smiled. When the meals arrived, it turned out that the husband’s best charade impression of a chicken had convinced the waitress to bring them roasted duck. The meal was a little more expensive than expected and now the couple knows better than to say “kwa kwa kwa” for chicken.

But what if there is more at risk than a fowl-mix-up? Trying to have something simply translated word for word can be one of the biggest mistakes you can make

The simplest words can have completely different meanings or construction of sentences, even if the words are translated into a different language correctly. An easy example for translating from English to many other languages is the statements, usually about the weather: “I am hot.” or “Are you hot?”  In many other languages, if you are referring to the weather, you will always construct the sentence as “It is hot to me.” To say it the other way can only be taken to have sexual connotations.

Sometimes words seem so close that amateur translators assume they must have the same meaning

For example, “embarazada” in Spanish is often assumed to mean “embarrassed” in English. One pen company even advertised their safety pen as one that “won’t leak in your pocket and make you embarrassed” using the word. However, in Spanish, embarazada means pregnant. Nobody wants a pen that, if it leaks in your pocket, makes you pregnant! Whoever translated that marketing campaign was out of a job.

In today’s world there is no excuse for not finding a good translation company to translate marketing materials and legal forms or other important documents. It’s no laughing matter.

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There are many reasons why you may need a translator. If you are a business person and you have a great company, you probably strive for global expansion

Although, English is the established language in business, many people in the world don`t speak English well or at all. Those people prefer to work in their native tongue. So it is safer and easier to give them material in their language, to have good understanding and cooperation and in order to avoid misunderstandings.

The most important thing is to present your product in the most positive light you can

So there is no space or time for mistakes. To avoid all unnecessary problems, the best way is to hire a translation company. This is just the beginning. There are many more things you need to know. But the first step is the decision to hire a good translation company.

You should be well informed about the way translating companies work

There are many kinds of translation companies in the modern age, but you need real professionals. No matter if you need to translate a document or localize a website, you need professionals.

When you decide to hire a company, important considerations to keep in mind when making this decision are the type of project involved, the availability of translators in the language, the volume of work, the level of difficulty of the subject matter, etc. Of course you will have to check their credibility and confirm that their translators have certificates.

Why are all these things important to know? If you have a petroleum engineering company, for example, and you need the translation of a few hundreds pages of documents, and it has to be finished in a few days, then you certainly need a qualified translation company.

Just one translator can`t do it!

That is why you need a translation company, not just a translator, to get your documents translated on time at the level of quality necessary. That’s why companies have a team of qualified people. Your documents will be checked first, before publishing. Also, you don`t need just a translator, you often need a linguist, too. If you want to adapt your company to the challenges of conducting business overseas, and internationally, you must confront the all important issue of communication. These are some of the many reasons why you need to hire a translation company.

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Not everyone is faced with the need to translate important documents in life

When you don`t need translating services you just don`t think about how important they are. Many people think that it is an easy job, especially today, when everybody has access to the internet and “internet translators.” Translating is a very serious job, especially when you are concerned about documents for legal, medical, or pharmaceutical services.

Some programs can`t translate the meaning correctly in a specific dialect. Almost every country has different dialects in different regions, and very often, people don`t understand each other. One simple word translated incorrectly can cause a lot of problems. >u>For example, poorly translated instructions for use of something can destroy your device or even worse, incorrectly translated medical instructions can put your life in danger.

Robot translators can`t do the job right consistently

Imagine how much an incorrect translation of an important document could cost in medical instructions or instructions for using climbing equipment?! That`s why translation services exist where people can get professional help.

Localization is very important too

It is recommended that people get the translation in their language and specific dialect and context to truly understand what they read. Some countries have the same language but different words for specific meanings. If it is translated into the official language, some people may feel offended that it is not translated into their language.

You don’t want to offend potential customers with translations. It’s hard enough to get and keep customers without making simple mistakes! Sometimes it`s not only important, but it can be delicate too. Also, some people just don`t understand the other dialect, so for them the instructions or document is still not translated.

If you try to translate it yourself with the help of a machine translation service, most of the time people will not fully understand

You will lose valuable time and at the end you`ll need a translating service anyway.

Sometimes the process of waiting and getting documents translated can take a little longer than we expect if we use unprofessional people or a program. Sometimes it can take a lot longer or worse, we never get the translation from them. That costs us money, time and nerves. To avoid all these unnecessary problems, the best way is to do it correctly and right the first time.  Contact a reliable translation company. Let professionals do their job! They are here for you. Translation is a serious job.

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Business is becoming more global, so every business which is expanding to the world market needs translation skills

1. What Qualifications? You should ask if all the translators at the company are qualified. As mentioned above, you need professionals, not “self-proclaimed” translators. They should be able to show certificates, education level, number of years of experience, and their area(s) of the specialization.
2. Native Speakers? A very important question is do they have native speakers as translators? Inevitably, a translator who knows two languages is more proficient in one than the other. Because translators work in language pairs, it`s crucial to choose a translator who is a native speaker of the target language.
3. Subjects of Expertise? You should also ask whether they serve (i.e. have served) the target area of focus. If they don`t have experts for that area, or just can`t do the job, they should tell you. If they have previous experience, they should show you. An honest translator or company should admit if a task is above their ability and recommend someone else.
4. What About the Money? Another important question is how they charge: per word, per hour, per page, etc. The most common charging practice is per word, but sometimes if it`s an uneditable file, for e.g. a .PDF. , then they can`t charge per word. Before settling on a price, there is one more thing you should know. If you`re going to pay per word, you need to know that some languages use more words than others to convey ideas. So it is in your interest to agree on the rate per source words and not on the number of target words – where it can be helped. Also it is very important that you never agree to pay by the hour (unless it is for review work)! You could end up overpaying! The project or document might look very simple to you, at first glance. But it could be extremely difficult and need more time. Even worse, the translator may be inexperienced (another reason that you should choose a professional translation company) and therefore very slow.  Finally, to get your work done successfully, it is good to keep in mind a couple of good tips: 1) No one has time to waste! and 2) Time is money!

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Many of you who need translation services probably think that computer-program translation is not a bad option.

What computer or program can translate a great Shakespeare piece?! Translation needs spirit.

Translation quality is the main reason why human resources are so much better than computer programs or machines.

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We all know that good translation is desirable in any situation. But perhaps we don’t realize how badly things can go if good translation is not present.

Chinese translation proved difficult for Coke, which took two tries to get it right

Even if it doesn’t cost you money in solid terms, nobody likes their reputation to take a beating

In some cases, the translation is completely correct but the population has given words a new meaning that is not known outside the culture.

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