translation
Reach a wider audience and get the right message across with a professional translator.
WHY SHOULD YOU HIRE A
PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATOR?
Machine translations may be cheap and fast, but they only get you so far. While many automatic translation tools possess a broad vocabulary and are continuously improved, they cannot (and will never) replace a professional human translator.
Why are machine(-only) translations unreliable?
- The level of accuracy is often quite low (which can be both very costly and extremely dangerous)
- Machines can’t translate context
- Machines fail to pick up on the linguistic nuances of both languages
A professional translator is an expert linguist with native or near-native skills in both the source language (the language a text is translated from) and the target language (the language a text is translated into). He or she must:
- possess excellent writing skills in the source and target languages
- know the nuances, idioms, proverbs, sayings, figurative language, metaphors, and jargon of both languages
- understand culture-specific aspects (e.g., customs and value systems)
- capture the meaning of the source text instead of simply translating words
- maintain the style and register of the original document
- be well-versed in the subject area of the text and its specific terminology (if you come across a translator who is willing to translate any text from any subject area, it’s a red flag!)
Ideally, a translator will spend time in both language regions and keep up to date on the latest developments—because languages continuously evolve.
Find out about my translation and translation editing services below.
TRANSLATION (DE–EN/EN–DE)
TRANSLATION
(DE–EN/EN–DE)
Have you written a manuscript or thesis in German and must now provide an abstract or summary in English (or vice versa)? That can be tedious, especially if you’re not well-versed in the other language or simply don’t know the specific terminology in your subject area in both languages.
Or maybe you’re a business that needs to translate its website to reach a wider readership and client base. You want to convince any visitors to your website that your products and services are exactly what they’re looking for! You will also want them to find accurate and attractive product or service descriptions so that your visitors become clients.
Or perhaps you find that you don’t have the manpower to have your company’s monthly newsletter or business report translated by in-house employees.
With several years’ experience as an in-house and freelance translator, I can offer professional translations for the following subject areas and document types:
- Science and social sciences (e.g., anthropology, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, conservation, Earth sciences, ecology, environmental studies, forestry, geography, zoology)
- Medicine
- Business communication (e.g., newsletters, conference minutes, and business reports)
- Marketing texts (e.g., product descriptions and promotional content)
- Websites and blog posts
- Creative fiction (depending on type and genre)
- Other texts upon request—simply get in touch and tell me more about the translation project you have in mind. If I don’t believe 100% that I can provide a high-quality translation of your text that you will be satisfied with, I won’t accept the project but will be happy to refer you to a qualified colleague (see also My Five Promises).
Naturally, I will give your final document a thorough proofreading to catch any errors (spelling, typos, grammar), ambiguities, and inconsistencies that may have snuck in while I was focused on getting the translation just right.
If you want to find out about my 6-step translation process that I use to craft professional translations of my clients’ texts, read this article I have written on the topic.
Upon request, I am happy to provide you with a translation certificate (see the PDF example on the Resources page). However, please note that I am not a sworn translator in Germany and therefore cannot provide notarized certified document translations.
You can find my rates for a translation service here.
If you want to save money by translating your own work, my translation editing service might be your best choice.
TRANSLATION EDITING
In a translation edit, also called a translation revision, I will closely examine the original and the translation to make sure that the target text is accurate in both content and tone and contains no ambiguities, omissions, or additions. I will also verify that the document is well-adapted to the target audience and culture.
I will start by reading your translated text to see if it is logical and coherent, and to pick up on any awkward phrasing. At this stage, I am just checking to see if the meaning is clear. The next phase involves comparing the source text with the translation and make adjustments where necessary. The third and final step in my translation editing service involves a complete proofreading of the document to catch any errors (spelling, typos, grammar), ambiguities, redundant spaces, and inconsistencies that may have slipped through the cracks.
Simply provide me with your source text (the original) and the translation, along with any instructions or additional information (e.g., a style sheet) that you would like me to consider while I revise the translation.
Upon request, I am happy to provide you with a translation certificate (see the PDF example on the Resources page). However, please note that I am not a sworn translator in Germany and therefore cannot provide notarized certified document translations.
You can find my rates for a translation editing service here.