Spanish Translation

Spanish translating services are useful for any Spanish-translation project as they translate web content and all types of documents to and from all formats.

While most Spanish translation services specialize in English-Spanish translation, they generally translate Spanish to literally any language using native, industry-specific, professional translators. The translators have a good command of the Spanish language in addition to specific industry expertise. Some services also offer English-Spanish desktop publishing services, Spanish editing, and English-Spanish proofreading services.

All Spanish translators specialize in different fields such as legal, financial, technical, medical, and others. The areas of industry expertise in Spanish translation broadly include advertising, aerospace, automotive, business, chemical, defence, e-learning, education, entertainment, energy, financial, government, immigration, globalization, litigation, localization, manufacturing, marketing, media, medical, patents, religion, retail, software, technical, telecommunications, user manuals, and websites.

Most Spanish translation agencies have skilled software engineers and quality-control Spanish editors who can localize any software product or a website. They translate websites of all genres, whether it is a static HTML website or an advanced C++/ASP.NET-driven website. Professional Spanish translators specialize in high-volume English-Spanish translations performed by select teams of English and Spanish translators. There are several benefits to using Spanish-translation services. For one, all translated materials undergo an editing process that assures absolute accuracy and fine quality. In addition, the translated version can be formatted for printing or online publishing before being returned to the client.

Each assignment is consigned to a team of native Spanish translators, on the basis of their areas of expertise.

These translators work with terminological glossaries and supporting background material and endeavor to express all aspects of the original source in the final translations.



Translation provides detailed information on Translation, Translation Services, Free Translation, Spanish Translation and more. Translation is affiliated with Freelance Writers

Portuguese Translation Into English Of Basic Phrases

In this article I will introduce cover some basic expressions in Portuguese with translation into English. Italian translation of some basic expressions into English. I hope this article will help those trying to learn the Portuguese language as well as those planning a trip to Portugal.

The Portuguese Alphabet

In order to be understood when you speak Portuguese you must get the pronunciation right. Please refer to this Portuguese alphabet for the pronunciation of the words:

A- ah
B- bay
C-say
D-day
E-eh
F-eff
G- zhay*
H-?Er-gah
I- ee
J- zhoh-ter*
L- ell
M- emm
N- enn
O- oh
P-pay
Q-kay
R-err
S-ess
T-tay
U-oo
V-vay
X-sheesh
Z-zay

The letter K, W and Y are not in current usage unless they refer to foreign names.
*zh is pronounced like the s in the English work pleasure.

Portuguese Translation of Basic Greetings:

Hello -Ola
Good bye -Adeus
Good morning -Bom dia
Good afternoon-Boa tarde
Good evening / night-Boa noite

So lets start with a few translations of English into Portuguese:
Essential English Portuguese Translations:

Yes-Sim
No -Nao
Please -Por favor
Thank you - Obrigado/a

Portuguese Translation of Polite Phrases:

How are you?- Como esta?
I am well, thank you-Estou bem, obrigada/o (obrigada for a womens reply, obrigado for a mans)
Not at all; its okay- de nada
See you later-Ate logo
See you tomorrow- Ate amanha
Sorry-Desculpe
Excuse me (trying to get past someone)- Com licence

Portuguese Translation of Introductions:

I introduce to you?????.-apresento-Ihe??..
It?s a great pleasure-muito prazer
Likewize-igualmente

Portuguese Translation of Name Question:

My name is ??.-Camo-me ???..
What is your name? (question to a man)- Como se chama o senhor?
What is your name? (question to a woman)- Como se chama a senhora?
What is your name? (casual ?you? for either sex)- Como se chama voce?

Portuguese Translation of where your are from or live

I am Portuguese -Sou portuguesa
Are you English? (question to a man)-O senhor e ingles?
Are you English? (question to a woman)-A senhora e inglesa?
Where do you live? - Onde mora?
I live in Surrey -Eu moro em Surrey

I do hope you have enjoyed my introduction to Portuguese and the translations English / Portuguese translations provided. On the net you will find a growing number of articles by me on Portuguese life, Translations and Languages. Enjoy!
The author works at the translation agency Axis Translation http://www.axistranslations.com where he deals with Portuguese translation projects.

Free Translation

Free text and web translators are best for getting the general idea of foreign text. A person can translate text by typing or pasting the source text into the "Translate a block of text" text box, selecting the language pair from the list (for example, Spanish to English), and then clicking the "Translate" button. The translated version will appear. To translate a web page, a person has to enter the URL of the web page to be translated into the "Translate a Web page" text box, select the language pair from the list, and then click the "Translate" button.

The specialized dictionaries integrated in translation software are continually updated and are comprehensive. The Webmaster monitors usage of the dictionary for untranslated words and updates it at regular intervals with the top fifty untranslated words. The translate box provides an option of using an onscreen international keyboard (World Keyboard) to type accents or special characters.

However, the results of free translation services may not be completely precise. Services provided by free translations are intended to give a general understanding of the source text; it allows the person to grasp the general idea of the source text and does not attempt to construct a polished translation. If the translation is intended for publishing purposes, it should be professionally authenticated before publication.

The maximum size of content that can be translated in free translation software is limited and varies with each software program or website. If the source text exceeds the character limit, both the source text and the translated version will be cut off. It is recommended to break the text into small sections and translate each section separately.

As they are mechanical translators, free translators work best when the source text uses correct grammar. Use short sentences and avoid slang, idiomatic expressions, and superfluous synonyms for best results.



Translations provides detailed information on Translation, Translation Services, Free Translation, Spanish Translation and more. Translations is affliated with Freelance Writers

The Shrinking World: New Techniques for its Translation

As technology has improved the mobility of individuals to travel and do business on a world-wide scale, many opportunities are now available that were never even considered a possibility. Companies reach out all over the world serving and employing people from almost every continent. However, with the great increase in possibilities come significant obstacles as well. One of these obstacles is basic communication. The world is full of thousands of languages and dialects which complicates universal methods of marketing such as the Internet. This article will explore several techniques businesses can follow to fully utilize their interpreter or translator, making the global market even more profitable. These techniques include general translation, website translation and interpreting.

General Translation

The translation industry has changed significantly in the past few years developing its efficiency and accuracy. For example, with the countries like China becoming increasingly open to commerce and business it is vital to have a powerful Mandarin translation service to meet the expectations of your client. In the past, translating a document could be extremely expensive because it required a native speaker who would translate each word of the document. Now, translation memory databases can be set up to work through documents saving the translator time and the client money. A key factor in translation is preserving not only the meaning of particular words but the cultural references as well. To compensate for this need, companies like The Big Word use vast teams of individuals who translate documents into their mother tongues, ensuring that translations do not just transfer words from one language to another.

Website Translation

One of the best ways to optimize the use of the global market is through the Internet. By offering the site in multiple languages (specific to the cultural and social practices) any businesses reach will be further, meeting the needs of their potential clients. In addition to a strong translation team, those looking to translate their website should also ensure that the company or organization they choose will protect their html code and formatting. This will raise both the quality and efficiency of the project, all while protecting your private information and infrastructure. In addition, it is important to use a text encoding which can support the wide range of character sets that you want to express. Many English speaking developers use ASCII or the Windows 1252 character set by default, however, a better choice is UTF-8 which can support Mandarin, Japanese and other difficult languages while maintaining backwards compatibility with ASCII for English text.

Interpreting

As with anything in the business world, there are many different types of interpretation needs depending on the situation and audience. For example, you might need a highly skilled interpreter for large conferences or gatherings, someone that can quickly provide simultaneous interpretation in one direction from one language into another. On the other hand, in a more formal setting than an ad hoc translation (training sessions, negotiations, etc) you'll want a consecutive interpreter who translates after the speaker pauses. Make sure you properly prepare for the particular situation getting just the right interpreter.

The marketplace is limitless as technology simplifies and shrinks the world. However, in spite of this growing commodity cultural values must be maintained in order to make the materialization of true relationships a reality. Many of the problems in the cultural divide can be solved by thoughtfully considering the needs of a client by performing more accurate translations and interpretations both in written content and interpersonal interactions.

This article was written by Trent Williams, a Client Account Specialist at 10x Marketing. If you are looking for an Interpreter or Translator contact The Big Word Translation Services Company.

ToolBook Translation System

The need to create content with international audiences in mind has never been more important. Left unchecked, the cost and time involved in producing information for a global audience can get out of hand.

ToolBook Translation System is a ToolBook localization solution that simplifies the translation of ToolBook content into foreign languages and reduces the cost, time, and complexity of developing international ToolBook content and applications. ToolBook Translation System empowers authors with a technology that assist the creating of content for a global audience.

Product Highlights:

* ToolBook Translation System's authoring component identifies translatable elements of your ToolBook course and extracts them - maintaining the integrity of all formatting, color information, hypertext information, and other data - into a database.

* Your Translators can focus on what they are best at - producing the best content for your global audience. Translators don't need to know how to use ToolBook; instead, they use the included Translator application that is designed to make it easy for language experts to translate the ToolBook content to different languages. The translation is done outside of ToolBook and your Translators don't even need to have the ToolBook authoring system installed. Workflow features enables the translation process to occur quickly and smoothly

Different people can do these steps, for example, steps 1 can be done by a ToolBook developer, while a professional translator can do step 2. This allows you to have a ToolBook localization workflow that fits in with how you work. The ToolBook developer can have as much or as little involvement in the localization process as desired.

Click here to download ToolBook Translation System? PDF document SumTotal Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUMT) is the largest provider of talent, learning and business performance technologies and services. SumTotal deploys mission-critical solutions that align learning, talent and knowledge with organizational processes and business goals to generate significant bottom-line results.
www.sumtotalsystems.com

The pros and cons of personnel in the translation business

To be or not to be: operate as a freelancer or as an employer?

Are you planning to set up a translation business? Then there are two or three fundamental questions you will need to consider if you want your business to be a success. One of these, and in fact the most obvious one, is how to attract clients. However, the marketing effort and insight needed to tackle the issue of client acquisition is the subject of another article. In this specific issue I would like to concentrate on a fundamental dilemma that many self-employed translators will face: to work as a freelancer or to take staff on board.

The answer to this question depends in part on you ambitions as a translator. If translation is a job on the side for you, if you are able to combine your translation work with a host of related business concerns, from technical to administrative, and if you don't mind working in solitary confinement, then it is probably a good idea for you to set up shop as a freelancer. From that position you will be able to work for translation agencies and specific clients alike, decide for yourself how much work to take on and when to take days off. One drawback is that you will not always be able to satisfy your clients, especially in terms of volume, forcing them to also engage the services of other translators who may be more specialised or have more capacity. Another drawback is that you will generally be working on your own, without the company of colleagues to chat with or consult. Most of the people you do get in contact with will probably never be known to you other than as a person at the other end of the telephone line. In addition, you will always be responsible for all the aspects of your business, without having the possibility to delegate tasks to people who may be more suitable for them than yourself. This means, for example, that you will have to generate your own business and find ways of attracting clients. On the upside, however, if your translation work is of good quality and you acquire a reputation as a reliable partner, even among a few clients, then you may soon find that business generates itself.

If a freelance existence does not appeal to you, one alternative is to hire people - translators or other specialists - and to become an employer, rather than principally a translator. This strategy offers a number of obvious and significant benefits. The most important advantage is that by setting up a team you will be able to generate far more turnover than as a freelancer - provided that you generate sufficient business to keep the team running. By multiplying your translation capacity you will be in a much better position to land large-scale orders. If you also manage to find high-quality marketing & sales specialists, moreover, you will be able to convince bigger, high-profile companies of your professional approach and ensure them of the continuity of your business, even when you are not there yourself.

There is an adage that says that big companies prefer to do business with big partners, and even if there are many exceptions to that rule, there is no denying that highly reputed global businesses will obviously tend to select high-profile suppliers for whatever it is they might want to purchase. Even so, you don't need to be a mega-employer to provide translation services to major industry names. In the commercial translation business, individual agencies with five employees already count and those with twenty or more are the major players.

Of course, employees are a mixed blessing. They will need to be seen to. Employees need attention, encouragement, and guidance. Even if no problems occur, you may find that you are spending more time sorting out employee-related administrative matters than working as a translator - unless of course you hire other employees who can look after employee issues. As long as business is booming - which it may well be if your agency is run effectively, because demand for translation services is immense - there is a risk of ending up in an employment spiral. The dialectics of progress rule that the more you grow, the less benefit your growth will bring, so clearly this is a situation you want to avoid. Carefully controlled expansion is crucial.

In summary, a freelance business offers a great deal of personal freedom but imposes clear and inevitable limits to the scope of your work. Another downside is that it condemns you to a solitary and essentially domestic career. If you prefer a more dynamic business environment and do not fear employee issues or serious competition, you might consider setting up an agency and taking on people to work for you. The size and success of your business will ultimately depend on your professional and commercial ambitions.

Fester Leenstra is co-owner of Metamorfose Vertalingen, a translation agency in The Netherlands. visit: VERTAALBUREAU
Medisch Vertaalbureau
Technisch Vertaalbureau
Juridisch Vertaalbureau

Spanish Translation Translates To Higher Profits

According to TNS Media Intelligence, marketers invested 10.5% more in America's largest minority in 2005 than they did in 2004. In the U.S. market overall, marketers invested a mere 3.4 percent more from 2004 to 2005. Does this mean that this sector has been overworked? Not at all. On the contrary Synovate (a global market intelligence and research company) reported in 2004 that over 43.5 million U.S. Hispanics make up almost 15 percent of the U.S. population - a percentage growing 5 times faster than the general population, which is more than a 70% increase in the last 10 years. By the year 2020, which is only 14 short years away, 1 out of 5 Americans will be of Hispanic origin. This source also tells us that the net natural growth of the Hispanic population (births minus deaths) surpassed immigration as the main source of population growth in 2004. Over 1 million children will be born to Hispanic mothers this year and for the foreseeable future. Have you ever wondered how companies will market to them?

Hispanics are becoming increasingly affluent: 64% percent are now firmly within the nation's middle class and more than half are buying their first homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Hispanics are entering cyberspace at high speed with over 14 million U.S. Hispanics online. Yet the companies successfully targeting Hispanics online in the direct response arena are few and far between.

A marketplace of this size and yet marketers are failing to capitalize. One of the biggest errors is that many are taking a one-size-fits-all approach to the Spanish language. There are many different variations of the Spanish language and you must first consider to whom you are marketing.

Delia Huffman, president and CEO of Bull Market, an Indianapolis consulting firm, said efforts to tap into the Hispanic market shouldn't end with translating marketing materials. "The cultural piece of marketing is always what people miss," she added. "To capture that market, you're not just translating. You need to put some effort into learning the culture."

This is true, but which marketers have the resources to learn so much about another culture that they can learn localized expressions, cultural hot buttons and humor? The answer is almost none. The best partner for marketers are Spanish translation services companies who have human resources from all major Spanish-speaking markets that can act as cultural translators and not just linguistic ones.

Does a Mexican American consumer laugh and cry at the same expressions as does a Cuban American? Are they offended by different language or ideas? Consult a market-specific Spanish translation specialist to make sure. You should be one click away from a sale not one click away from the door.

Marketing to Spanish speakers is not just a front-end project. Fulfillment practices are also an important issue that companies just aren't getting right. Consider this example. Company XYZ has just launched their Spanish-language site complete with a catalogue of their fine widgets, a shopping cart and third party processor to handle all of their transactions. There is even an autoresponder to do all upselling automatically. XYZ tests the backend and it works seamlessly. Then somewhere in their finely-tuned system something goes wrong - a widget breaks and their customer needs to contact them. Having a FAQ page doesn't cut it and their client needs real customer support. Does XYZ have the bilingual staff in place to handle these day-to-day crises? No, they don't. You would be surprised how many companies fail because of this. There are cost-effective, bi- systems out there to respond to bilingual customer service chat, email and telephone issues.

There is no doubt that translation is a cost. Perhaps, however, companies would be better served to think of creating a Spanish-language website, for example, as an investment for the future rather than an expense. For 20-plus years, the Hispanic market has shown growth in both market size and purchasing power. Companies can no longer ignore the cost of not doing business with 44 million Hispanics.

This includes yours.

Peter LeSar of http://www.ispeak.net makes it easy to buy human translation services of the highest quality and at the best price. For your Spanish translation quote or more information, visit http://www.ispeak.net/Spanish-translation

Choosing a Spanish Translation Provider

Why a Spanish Translation?
Over 350 million people in the world speak Spanish as their first language. If we include the number of people who are fluent in Spanish as a second language, the total number of Spanish speakers in the world is well over 400 million people. The Hispanic market is today the most rapidly expanding market in the United States. It is estimated that by 2050, there will be 56 million Hispanics/Latinos; by 2050, 30% of the entire U.S. population will be Hispanic.

Human Translation vs. Machine Translation?
Machine translation (MT) is a form of translation where a computer program analyses the text in one language -- the "source text" -- and then attempts to produce another, equivalent text in another language -- the "target text" -- without human intervention. Although this system can help with specific words and some phrases in much the same way as a dictionary, it shouldn't be used to replace a human translator. Computers do not have the ability to deal appropriately with the complexities of a language such as ambiguity, syntactic irregularity, anglicisms, false cognates, context, etc. A machine translation is similar to the one made by a human who lacks a deep knowledge of the target language.

Translation agency or independent translator?
Spanish Translation agencies provide a number advantages, and services that individuals cannot:
Screening of translators: While some Spanish translation companies maintain an in-house team of native Spanish speakers, others create a network of freelance translators who they employ on a per-project basis. As long as the projects are coordinated and managed efficiently, this allow a Spanish translation company to match projects with translators who have relevant knowledge or experience.
Proofreading: Most agencies have a proofreader other than the translator to review the translation prior to delivery at no extra cost. In this way, you can rest assured that the target document is error-free and is thoroughly checked for uniformity.
Meeting tight deadlines: Because of their pool of translators, agencies have the resources to take on complex projects and deliver them in a timely manner.

Things you should keep in mind when selecting a Spanish Translation Agency
There are thousands of translation agencies and identifying a good English-Spanish translation supplier is a big task. Translation clients usually don't know what they are paying for, especially when they don't know the target language (the language into which a text written in another language is to be translated).
Are translations handled by Spanish Native Speakers?
The language translator should always translate INTO his or her mother tongue. Only a native speaker can come closest to creating a translation that "sounds" so natural that the reader is not even aware that it is a translation. Mistakes can have ruinous consequences.
Two Examples:
When Chevrolet introduced the Nova to the South American market, sales were dismal. Intended buyers in these countries were perplexed when the car went on the market because "No va" in Spanish means "it won't go" An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I Saw the Potato" (la papa).
How much will the translation cost? Translations are usually charged per word. Be sure that the Spanish translation provider charges the job based on the number of words in the source text. Many companies give you an estimate and the final quote is based on the target document. With this method you never know the final quote until the job is done and this may lead into abuse on the part of the translator as he/she can use longer sentences on purpose, degrading the quality of the target text and increasing your price.
References and samples Don't be afraid to ask for references or samples. References are perhaps the most important way to ensure a quality job. If you have knowledge of the target language or know someone who does, samples may also be good. A reputable agency will not hesitate to give you references and show you samples of previous English-Spanish translations.

Transpanish provides English-Spanish Translation Services at competitive prices. Our team of professional English and Spanish translators has an extensive experience in providing high quality English-Spanish translations. http://www.transpanish.biz

Online Tools Make Translation (Chinese/English) Easier

 We will introduce several online tools that our team frequent use. These all may help to do translations, especially in Chinese (traditional and simplified) and English.

1. Google
http://www.google.com.hk

Yes. The first one to introduce is Google. Google is not only a search engine; it is also a simple but good enough translation tool. In the search box, type "fy apple" and press Search. You can obtain 蘋果 (apple in Chinese). Similarly, type fy 橙, you can get Orange in return

2. Yahoo! Dictionary
http://hk.dictionary.yahoo.com/

Yahoo! The dictionary is also a good Chinese and English dictionary. Besides the basic explanation, it has the synonymy character, and also provide sound file to read out the word.

3. Kingsoft Free Online Dictionary
http://push.cb.kingsoft.com/index.htm

Perhaps you get know about KingSoft, it is a famous dictionary software. Actually it also provides online version. Its explanation is very details, and it attaches the explanation from different dictionary. It also has the many short phrases model. It is a good reference, but you should notice that it only provide simplified Chinese interface.

4. www.answers.com
http://www.answers.com

This is not only a dictionary. It is an encyclopedia actually. For example you input lemon, it provides the explanation of lemon. It also provides other information about lemon, the picture and different language translation. Also you can try inputs Hong Kong. It will provide detail information about Hong Kong, like the population, geographical information, and the map, even the currency exchange. It has everything expected to find, and it is absolutely a good reference tool.

5. Google Language Tools
http://www.google.com/language_tools

Google again. It has the different language search and the translation. One item is quite special, "Translate a web page". It transforms the entire homepage. For example, the simplified Chinese translate to English.

6. On-line Chinese translation tools
http://www.kanhan.com/tdc/tools3.html

This is a Traditional/Simplified Chinese transformation tool. More than that, it can translate the Cantonese glossary into the standard spoken Chinese glossary. For example "的士" will transform to "計程車". It's really helpful. Also the followings are about the standard spoken Chinese on-line tool.

http://www.kanhan.com/tdc/tools1.html

http://www.kanhan.com/tdc/tools2.html

We hope that you may find helpful with these on-line tools. If you have other useful tools, you may email us to share.
 

Will technology ever replace human translation services?

The Internet has connected translation technologies with consumers at a pace that feels threatening to many of the million plus linguists around the world. Will they lose their role in globalization?

Imagine a world in which you speak or write your language, and the rest of the globe could instantly understand you in theirs.

While linguists tremble at the thought, perfect software-performed translation (known as "machine translation") would save governments and businesses many billions of dollars a year. With enough platforms and distribution, it would increase productivity and add perhaps trillions more of value to worldwide GDP.

Some even believe that frictionless communication across languages would help different cultures and religions to see eye to eye, helping to bring about peace on earth (i.e., read as "no more war in Iraq").

So the first key question on the minds of many is whether or not technology will ever replace human translation services?

The short answer is...drum roll please...not in our lifetime, if ever.

Why? Because software can only produce perfect output when it receives perfect input; and humans almost never communicate with perfect usage of the rules of grammar and terminology upon which software relies to translate one language into another.

The job of building and updating a database of literally billions of exceptions to the rules of language, and then matching them between hundreds of languages and thousands of dialects, would require more humans than will ever be economically feasible. And, let's not forget the countless new words and expressions that we invent every single day.

I suggest that you carefully read this paragraph and imagine how software, which is rigid and pitiful in the face of human subtley, could possibly translate it with both figurative and literal accuracy. You see, language is not a science, but an art. As is translation. And art is a human endeavor.

Okay, so we are all relieved to know that the livelihood of individual linguists and translation services is not at risk. But what about our second question...

Will translation technology increase the ROI on globalization and produce social benefits that we only dare imagine in today's rocky world?

My friends, I am happy to say that cultures, businesses, lovers and even religions are already being brought together by these technologies. The effects in our lifetime will be monumental.

And, in my subsequent two columns, I will tell you how. Hasta luego amigos!

Peter LeSar makes it easy to buy human translation services of the highest quality and at the best price. For your quote or more information, visit www.ispeak.net.

What to Look for in a Spanish Translation Dictionary

A Spanish translator's most prized possession is and always will be his or her Spanish translation dictionary. There are all sorts of dictionaries available for translators to choose from, and in fact, translators will very often have a number of different kinds of dictionaries to help them in their translation work.

In choosing dictionaries to use, one of the first questions that Spanish translators ask themselves is whether or not they should give up on printed Spanish translation dictionaries and only use online or electronic dictionaries, or whether or not they should use a combination of the two.

In reality, most professional translators will use some combination of printed and electronic Spanish translation dictionaries.

So what is a good combination of dictionaries to have? Well, it's important to remember that translators are usually specialized, meaning that they more often than not translate documents that are specific to one field or industry. At the same time, however, translators are often asked to do work outside their field of specialization and so will often take on more general jobs.

That then being said, the best thing a translator can do is to have both specialized dictionaries as well as general dictionaries, and to have both bilingual and monolingual versions of each. It is important to have both monolingual and bilingual dictionaries because the bilingual dictionaries usually only give you the equivalent word in another language, while the monolingual dictionaries will give you the definition of the word, in case you're not sure what it means in either language.

The other thing to consider is whether or not you should use electronic dictionaries or print dictionaries. Well, there are positives and negatives to both. Printed dictionaries have often been put through more extensive research and editing than online dictionaries, and while this is a good thing, it very often takes a longer time for printed dictionaries to be published than it does for online dictionaries to be posted on the web. Also, online dictionaries can more easily be updated with terminology, whereas printed dictionaries are not updated quite as often.

With online Spanish translation dictionaries, you should always know that there is a possibility that you could lose your connection to the Internet. What if you're in the middle of a very big translation and all of a sudden you lose access to your online specialized dictionary? Well, in that case, you wouldn't have to worry if you had a printed version right there at your desk that you could access.

So in the end, it's important to have both printed dictionaries and electronic ones, and to invest in both specialized and general Spanish translation dictionaries.

Clint Tustison is a Spanish <--> English translator interested in helping businesses and translators better understand the translation industry. If you're interested in how to improve your translation business or your relationship with translation companies, check out his website at www.spanish-translation-help.com.

7 Ways to Market your Translation Business

Marketing your freelance translation business is just like marketing any other business. What it comes down to is making sure people actually know about the product or service that you're offering and then making sure they have a positive experience with that product or service.

As a freelance translator, you are providing people a service and a product. You are providing a service by translating their materials into a different language, and you are also providing a product because what you give back to them is something that you have essentially created (it just happens to reflect what they gave you, albeit in a different language).

So how should you go about getting people to know about your business? Well, here are seven steps for marketing your freelance translation business:

1) Tell everyone you know that you are a freelance translator. Nobody will ever know if you never open your mouth to say anything about it. Make sure that when you do tell people that you are confident about your abilities. Act like you've been doing it for a long time and people will trust you more with their work.

2) Contact local businesses and let them know about your services. There are a ton of local businesses that could use translation services every once in a while. Theses businesses do not often deal with translators and so when the time comes that they need one, they go to the phone book or they find someone they know. Be the person they know.

3) Volunteer. There are a ton of volunteer opportunities either in your community or online where you can provide translation services for free. This will get your name out there and eventually give you more exposure. Check with your local United Way or other non-profit groups in the area to see if they know of anybody in need of a translator.

4) Get online. OK, you knew this one was coming. If you're not able to find enough work in your local area, you might need to expand operations. Get online, create a website and let people know you're there. This article isn't about getting online, but there are plenty of articles written that can help you with that.

5) Ask former clients for referrals. If you've done a good job for a client and they were happy working with you, try and hit them up for either more work or the name of somebody that might need some work done. People are willing to pass your name on as long as you've been professional with them.

6) Get a business card. This goes along with the first couple of tips. You can tell people until your blue in the face about your new freelance translation business, but when it comes time for them to find a translator, they'll have forgotten who it was that was telling them about their translation business. By always carrying your business card, you can give something concrete to people, and they will have something to refer back to.

7) Don't stop. A lot of translators might do a couple of the steps outlined above, get some translation work, and then stop marketing themselves. As a translator, you should spend part of your time each day marketing your freelance translation business. The minute you stop doing that is the minute you start losing translation contracts. Better to spend a few minutes each day marketing rather than try to play catch-up every couple of weeks.

By using these tips, you'll be able to increase the amount of work you're getting as a freelance translator and build your freelance translation business.

Clint is a Spanish<->English translator and Spanish translation consultant specializing in helping others become better translators. His website can be found at www.spanish-translation-help.com

Online Translation Ordering System

We are pleased to present you our online translation service where users can instantly obtain a quote and a delivery date for document translation services. The order is processed online and users can track the order and download translated files from their online accounts. Our online web-based translation management system simplifies all aspects of the translation project cycle beginning from order placement, through translation and proofreading process, to project delivery. With this unique solution, we are able to provide unmatched quality and service to our valued customers.

The process of document translation is automated and controlled by a dedicated project manager. The project manager selects the best qualified translators for the translation task out of a pool of thousands of professional translators categorized in the registry by languages, specialties, country of residence and much more. The home-built project management system suggests the best translators for the task based on the project criteria and the details of the translators. Each translator has a previous work history and his performance is tracked with an integrated feedback system. When the translators complete the translation, the files are reviewed by the project manager who makes them available online to the client. Clients are notified when the document translation is completed and can download the translated files directly from their accounts. The system makes it really easy to request additional changes to the translated documents to ensure 100% client satisfaction.

In order to receive a free instant quote you need to select languages and upload the documents. Customer can upload existing documents one at a time or in bulk to obtain quotes. File formats supported for instant online estimates are: DOC, PDF, XLS, PPT, HTML and TXT.

After clicking on "Get a free quote now", you will obtain the quotation along with the delivery date. Clients can include their comments and additional requests in the box provided. In order to go forward with the order you need to click on "Continue" button.

The automated online translation process provides very fast delivery of the translation, eliminates any possibility of human errors and provides very competitive pricing by employing thousands of freelance translators spread out around the globe. The system saves time and money to companies and individuals requiring professional and fast document translation services.

Verbumsoft (http://www.verbumsoft.com) is a leading provider of professional services via network of global high-quality service providers. Verbumsoft provides an easy way to outsource projects via http://www.translatorsbase.com and http://www.directfreelance.com websites as well as provides tools and services to manage translation, writing and graphic design projects. Verbumsoft's unique translation service management system

VerbumSoft and Salesforce.com Announce VerbumSoft Translation Service for Salesforce.com's AppExchange

VerbumSoft the leading provider of translation services and salesforce.com the market and technology leader in on-demand customer relationship management have announced VerbumSoft Translation Service for Salesforce.com's AppExchange.

Built on the AppExchange on-demand platform, VerbumSoft Translation Services for AppExchange is available for test drive and deployment at www.appexchange.com. This online web based translation management system simplifies all aspects of translation project cycle beginning from obtaining an instant quote for document translation service, order placement through translation and proofreading process to project delivery in one easy-to-use solution that seamlessly integrates from within salesforce.com.

"VerbumSoft continues to advance Internet translation services with new technologies and features to provide seamless experience for translation service consumers. The salesforce.com integrated online document translation solution allows customers to centrally manage their translation orders from salesforce.com account." said Marian Marcinkowski, President of VerbumSoft. "With AppExchange, salesforce.com customers now have access to new applications that bring the benefits of salesforce.com to an entire business extending and optimizing efficiency along with effectiveness of translation service".

With this unique solution, VerbumSoft's and salesforce.com's technologies combined deliver premium services and unmatched quality to the global translation customers. Easy online ordering system allows customer to obtain an instant quote for document translation service and place convenient translation orders online using the fully featured online tools. All orders are processed and managed by dedicated project managers. Project managers use project management system which suggests the best-qualified translators for each order and allows them to assign the translation task to a specific pre-screened translator. A project manger monitors each step of the translation process. The system allows salesforce.com customers to track the progress of the order and retrieve translated documents online and makes it easy to manage files with the build in version control and email notification features. Once the translation is completed, the customer is notified by email that translated documents are available for download from salesforce.com account. Clients can review the translation online and request changes to the translated documents if a need arises.

This advanced document translation solution guarantees fast document turnaround, sometimes in matter of hours from the moment of placing the order on saleforce.com. The file exchange happens online which excludes file handling problems as well as eliminates any room for human errors. This solution can handle text from a vast majority of languages in a variety of file formats.

The translation services ordering process, with the integrated billing system saves time and money. Customers can easily add funds to their salesforce.com account to simplify the ordering process.

VerbumSoft Translation Service for AppExchange is one of more than 150 applications created by salesforce.com. VerbumSoft Translation Service offers businesses powerful and valuable insight into their customers' needs providing on-demand platform customized translation service solution. Verbumsoft Translation Service application can be found at https://www.salesforce.com/appexchange/detail_overview.jsp?id=a0330000000vRrkAAE

Verbumsoft is a leading provider of professional services via network of global high-quality service providers. Verbumsoft provides an easy way to outsource projects via http://www.translatorsbase.com and http://www.directfreelance.com websites as well as provides tools and services to manage translation, writing and graphic design projects. Verbumsoft's unique translation service management system allows customers to place orders online.

Add Google Translation To Your Website And Become Truly International

Add Google Translation To Your Website And Become Truly International

Is your website optimised for International visitors? You should never assume that although you yourself only speak or read English, your visitors might not. There is a free solution from Google Translation Services that can solve this problem for you, so why not use it.

I myself had indeed built my own website thecorner4women.com without ever realizing, or giving much thought to anyone but English speaking people. It never even occurred to me at the time, as I busied myself with the usual HTML struggles all webmasters and website designers go through. Although the common international unwritten language rule on the Internet is undoubtedly, web pages constructed in English, and indeed many sites will not accept postings in any other language. The Internet itself is expanding exponentially, into more countries, the infrastructure and availability through libraries, Internet cafes and the increase in home Telecommunication Systems with cable, dial up and the faster Broadband, all offering greater access by visitors globally. China, being a newly developing Internet country with its millions of eager nationals, all wanting to visit western websites.

INTERNET DEVELOPMENT

The Internet was originally founded in the late 1960's, and indeed established by English speaking people, notably the USA with its universities, being instrumental in its invention and future growth and development. Libraries, scientist's engineers and the US Government Departments were its main users, plus a lot of computer nerds, the innovative 60's "Whiz Kids" who formed the backbone of Internet Development, and indeed many of the original Internet Business's and other computer enhancements. So it was only natural that English was the first and only language used, with what after all was basically a text based infrastructure, which was not very stable or user friendly at the time, but it all played a vital roll in the birth of the Internet we all love/hate and know it today.

WHY OFFER OR ADD TRANSLATION ANYWAY?

As mentioned above I'd built my own website thecorner4women.com assuming every visitor could naturally read English. Oh! How fickle I was, and I happily continued building page after page without a care in the world. Then one day my partner and editor Luella May received an e-mail from a lady visitor from Spain saying how she had loved our site. Now this may seem strange to most, but the concept of my humble site actually being visited by a person whose first language was Spanish and not English, was mind blowing to say the least, and it was at this single point in time that I truly realized how international the Internet really was. It also showed me a fundamental flaw in my otherwise perfect (well in my eyes at least, LOL) website design. Luella May in fact originates from Cuba and speaks and reads Spanish, everything suddenly making complete sense. My site was not optimized for none English speaking/reading visitors. Indeed I also realized that non-English speaking/reading people were in every country throughout the world and not just confined to their own country of origin. I needed a solution, and I needed one fast.

THE GOOGLE TRANSLATOR CODE

After extensive searches I decided to use Google's Translation code snippet to add a good reliable and trusted service to my website. I've included the link to a text file below, with a small selection of languages to get anyone started, save it to your computer as a .txt. Simply copy and paste this code onto the page, using your html editor, where you'd like it to appear. There are lots more languages available from google http://www.google.co.uk/language_tools?hl=en and by modifying the option value lines you can easily include a larger selection. http://thecorner4women.com/DOCUMENTS/Google-Translator-Code.txt

IN CONCLUSION

By offering simple translation on your own website pages, you open up another area of potential visitors who would otherwise find it difficult to fully understand your site. Your website would be better optimised in the process and be offering a more valuable service to your potential visitors from the Global Internet community. Many sites continue as they are and fail to comprehend the benefits for everyone, and neglect to capitalize on the non-English speaking/reading people of the world. Offering translations allows you to become a true International entity on the Internet.

John Elliott Aka Oaky Wood is currently the Agony Uncle and Co-Founder of The Corner 4 Women.com ?2006 Is a Poet, Writer, Artist, Webmaster and Designer. He is also the owner of the Oakwood Grafix ?2005 group of websites.

Translation of Italian Recipes: Localization?

Translation - Translation is mostly about the conversion of a document from one language to another. The document is kept as it was originally intended and written, therefore having the same meaning.

Localization - Then translation may involve localization. This is when the translation is completed 'and' adjusted for the target audience. The meaning remains.

Now let's talk about Italian food. Generally when I want to try an Italian recipe, I look for a version from where the recipe is from. Why? Because recipes get localized too!

The Italian people keep to strict recipes. They also know that certain regions of the country are best for certain foods. For instance Naples for Pizza and Genoa for Focaccia.

So why do any recipes get localised?

4 Reasons for Recipe Localization 1) To meet the tastes of the new market - The original blend of flavours is not quite to the tastes of the country where it has been adopted. 2) Unable to find the ingredients - Maybe the ingredients just do not exist in the new country. Or maybe they are prohibitively expensive. 3) Unable to obtain the ingredients with the same flavours - The meat is not as salty perhaps? 4) Time - Let's face it; people are always looking for ways to make things faster and easier.

Italian recipes are not designed to be speeded up. The pasta should often be 'al dente' not stodgy like in a Pizza Hut. Italian food is generally a few simple 'good quality' ingredients. It's the quality of those ingredients, the ability of the chef and of course the pallet of the consumer that make the difference.

For me, the localization of recipes should only be carried out if you are unable to find the ingredients required and then it becomes a different dish. The Indian dish 'Chicken Tikka Marsala' is a good example. It was created from the available ingredients 25 years ago in Birmingham. Not a localization of an existing dish. Ironically, the dish can now be found in restaurants in India.

I believe that recipe translation is all that is generally required. So the next time you are searching the web for a recipe, please consider whether you want to search a little harder and try the real recipe.

For more information visit 'http://www.axistranslations.com

The author has worked internationally for many years and is now co-owner of the translation and interpreting agency 'Axis Translations' where you can find assistance with a wide range of language matters. His interests include all things Italian, especially the food. For more information visit 'http://www.axistranslations.com

Don?t Let Your Kanji Tattoo Get ?Lost In Translation?

Thinking of getting a kanji tattoo or kanji jewelry? Then arm yourself with this information before you buy anything. It may be the difference between being cool and national humiliation.

What? National humiliation? Well OK, national humiliation is an unlikely outcome, but an article in the March 1st, 2005 Washington Post Express shows that the possibility is there. "Lost in Translation" looked at the real dangers facing the unwary consumers who get kanji tattoos.

I am not joking when I say ?real dangers?. But neither am I referring to unhygenic tattooing practices. What I am talking about is toe-curlingly appalling linguistic blunders. Specifically, I mean kanji combinations like these:

Extremely Military Affairs Stopping
Crazy Diarrhea
Weird (tattooed on one B. Spears)

Yes, these are phrases that real people (yes, Britney Spears is a real person) actually have had tattooed into their skin.

To be honest, I am not entirely surprised at these and other errors. After all, I have seen many reversed images of kanji being offered for tattoos, and kanji jewelry that simply did not mean anything like it was supposed to.

One necklace, I remember, had the kanji for ?road? on it - although the poor owner had been told it meant love. I guess her love hit the road and didn't come back no more, no more, no more, no more....

As Tian Tang puts it in the Post:

"People ask, 'I got the tattoo, can you tell me what this means? And I'm like, 'Why didn't you do this before you got that tattoo?'"

Yes, you would think that would be the obvious thing to do ? especially if you are getting something permanent like a kanji tattoo. So how can you make sure you don?t end up a national laughingstock?

First of all, make sure you know something about the Japanese language. Check out the copious information at sites like http://japanese.about.com and in five minutes you will know more about kanji, hiragana and katakana than most of the people already walking around with it tattooed into their skin.

Next, remember that there is often no such thing as an exact translation. Basic nouns are one thing ? a table is a table is a table, after all. But abstract concepts, like Semper Fidelis (the motto of the US Marine Corps), can be notoriously difficult to translate well.

Once you have grasped this background material, you are ready to meet with the tattoo artist. That?s right ? meet. Don?t get anything done yet. At first you just want to talk. Specifically, you want to find out how familiar he or she is with the issues mentioned above. If after an hour or so on the internet you know more about Japanese than your tattoo artist, then you need to be very careful about kanji she suggests.

So what can you do if your tattoo artist doesn?t know his kanji from his katakana? How do you go about getting the kanji yourself?

Well if you are confident in your new-found kanji knowledge, then there are a number of online dictionaries such as this one http://kanjidict.stc.cx/dict that can help.

Otherwise I would recommend getting a translation from a site like the one I run - http://www.japanese-name-translation.com/ . A good translator will be able to offer you a number of different options as well as explaining the exact meaning and pronunciation of the different kanji. They should also be able to offer you a number of different styles, from basic kanji calligraphy fonts to genuine Japanese shodo calligraphy.

At the end of the day, how you decide to go about getting your kanji tattoo is up to you. Just remember that preparation is the key to making sure your kanji tattoo doesn?t get ?Lost in Translation?.
Stephen Munday lives in Japan. He works for Provide Cars (http://www.providecars.com/), who buy cars at japanese car auctions and sell them to japanese car importers around the world. This article is (c) Stephen Munday 2005. Permission is given to reproduce this article in whole with the URLs correctly hyperlinked.

Translation Of Internal Reports and Communications

In today's global economy, it is not only trade that is international. It?s the companies and their employees too. Therefore it?s increasingly common to have companies with a variety of languages spoken in the divisions. So perhaps we should expect that translation of internal reports and communications is a regular occurrence?

I have worked at some pretty large international companies and from my own experience most businesses have not adapted to the language needs of the company. In fact most have not localized and translated their mission statement.

What seems to happen is either: 1) the company informally states that there is a single core language of the company and therefore the translation of internal reports and communications is not required. 2) An internal effort is made to ?translate? information on an as requested basis.

Let us consider these in turn:

Single Language Company ? Trying to pretend that you have a single language company when you don?t, is a ?head in the sand? approach. This can lead to some of the following issues:

1) Alienation of staff and divisions.

2) Staff turnover ? In addition to (1) the career track of an employee will be linked to their ability to speak the core language rather then whether they are the best person for the job.

3) Poorly communicated objectives. If the objective is not fully understandable by all involved, then how can you expect a 100% fulfillment of the objective?

4) Lack of a common business culture.

Internal Translation ? Internal translation is certainly better then no translation at all. But this has its own potential issues:

1) Is the translator capable?

2) Are all the documents translated? And are they translated in time? If the translation of internal reports and communications is a secondary task, does the translation always get carried out on time? /at all?!

3) Confidentiality ? Jungle drums (informal communications) always beat strongly inside a company. I have seen that some tasks are more confidential when carried out externally.

4) Is the internal translation carried out at the expense of time spent on another core activity or objective?

When you consider the cost of quality you should consider the costs of not having quality. I believe that the cost of translating internal information and communications should be considered the similarly. For some organization the issue of translating internal reports will be less important then others.

But when it is necessary, perhaps the cost is lower then first thought. The translation of internal reports and communications is a regular task and therefore discussion of this with the translation agency should allow improved service agreements to be agreed. Providing pricing that is below what is attainable for one off translation projects.
The author has worked all over the world and is co-owner of the translation and interpreting agency Axis Translations where you can find assistance with a wide range of language matters. Including translation of internal reports and communications. http://www.axistranslations.com

What to expect from free online translations

There are tons and tons of sites out on the web right now that offer free online translations between different language pairs. It's even gotten to the point to where people are forgetting that there are human translators that professionally translate for a living.

Regardless of that, however, is the fact that while free online translators can be useful in certain situations, it's important to understand that these online translators often leave plenty to be desired. You don't want to be using a free translator you find on the web to translate some important documents for your business.

As I mentioned earlier, though, free online translators can serve a good purpose when used how they are meant to be used. These online translators were never meant to replace human translators (OK, maybe there were some engineers who envisioned such a world, but they're long gone). In fact, they are usually not even good enough to help give translators a rough-cut pretranslation of a text they might be working on.

So then what are they good for? Well, online translators such as the ones you can find at Google or Babelfish are meant to be used to give very rough translations of fairly simplified text, which means that they work better on shorter texts and documents with less complex language. A couple sentences will translate better than a 40 page whitepaper, and a short social email with translate better than a legal contract.

Another issue to understand when using a free online translator is that they all offer different language pairs to translate. Most of them provide translations between languages such as English, Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese; more and more translators are also providing translations into Asian languages such as Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. So if one of these languages interests you, then you'll be in luck. However, if you're looking for free online translation of Quechua or Guaran?, you might be disappointed.

Finally, remember that they are free and usually in this world you get what you pay for. Don't expect too much from them and they won't disappoint you. Rather, they'll probably make you laugh with their often hilarious, sometimes ridiculous output.

So, what do you need to remember when using free online translation programs and websites? 1) They're far from perfect, 2) They usually work better with simple and short text, 3) They often only include the world's most widely-spoken languages, and 4) They can really make you laugh with the translations they give.

Clint is a Spanish->English translator and Spanish translation consultant specializing in helping others become better translators. His website can be found at www.spanish-translation-help.com.

Expending Client Base In Interpretation And Translation Services: Have You Ever Thought Of Working With A Speech - Language Pathologist

Networking with another professionals and companies is the key to grow freelance translation or interpretation business sector. It is also very challenging to develop steady cooperation with perspective clients since the market is overwhelmed with any type of translation services. However, if one possesses creativity, and knows which domains are demanding, and less competitive, he or she may find networking and self-promotion easier to conduct. By brainstorming an interpreter or a translator may discover, for instance that a Speech- Language Pathologist will need his or her services.

What does a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) do? SLP evaluates, diagnoses and treats individuals who exhibit speech, language, voice, fluency, and swallowing disorders. Now, you may wonder why this professional needs your interpretation or translation services. SLP who works in culturally diverse areas such as Australia, Canada or United States (USA), he/she finds working face-to-face with an interpreter necessary. For instance, according to the U.S. Census Bureau there are approximately 50 million people in the USA who speak a language other then English at home. (American Community Survey, 2002). In Los Angeles, one of the most diverse cities in the USA there are 150 languages spoken in public schools, and many cultural communities such as: African American, Armenian, Chinese, Korean, Polish, Russian and other. When working in US public schools, SLP is required by the law (Special Education Legislation) to conduct assessment in student's native language.

That's when an interpreter or a translator plays an important role. An interpreter can be involved in many different tasks such as participating in process of evaluation, diagnosis and treatment when collaborating with SLP. One of the responsibilities is to translate spoken words from one language to another when SLP performs the standardized or non-standardized testing, and gives instructions to a patient. In addition, an interpreter will be involved in some type of analysis that will help SLP to distinguish between language difference and language disorder.

An interpreter therefore, will not only interpret words but also pay close attention to the production of sounds, language competence such as grammar, pragmatics of given culture and cognitive behavior of a patient. An interpreter will help SLP to determine if a mother tongue of a client is deviant, and if the "errors" that occur in second language are due to interference of first language. Moreover, an interpreter will be needed during an interview when SLP collects background information from a client such as medical, developmental history, speech/language acquisition history, and family and social history.

Furthermore, an interpreter may be needed during treatment when SLP or a client decides that therapy in native language is necessary and beneficial. A translator may offer his/ her services to SLP since the questionnaire forms, consent forms, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment and progress reports should also be presented in native language of a client who may not be able to read in his second language.

How can I network with those professionals? First of all find places that are cultural and linguistically diverse. Promote your services by contacting or even visiting public schools, private practices that offer speech/language therapy, hospitals, local clinics, rehabilitation centers, nursing care facilities, colleges and universities, state and local health departments, state and federal government agencies, home health agencies. Also, visit ASHA (American Speech Hearing Association) website. The author Marian Marcinkowski is the President of http://www.verbumsoft.com He is the owner of http://www.translatorsbase.com and http://www.directfreelance.com http://Translatorsbase.com it is a global provider in translation solutions, providing translation services via network of professional freelance translators and translation agencies.

VERBUMSOFT LAUNCHES an AUTOMATED ONLINE TRANSLATION SERVICE

Verbumsoft, privately owned company has launched a new online translation service (www.translatorsbase.com) where users can instantly obtain a quote and a delivery date for document translation services. The order is processed online and users can track the order and download the translated files from their online accounts.

The process of document translation is automated and is controlled by a dedicated project manager. The project manager selects the best qualifying translators for the translation task out of the pool of thousands of professional translators categorized in the registry by languages, specialties, country of residence and much more. The home built project management system suggests the best translators for the task based on the project criteria and the details of the translators. Each translator has a previous work history and his performance is tracked with an integrated feedback system. When the translators complete the translation, the files are reviewed by the project manager who makes them available online to the client.

Clients are notified when the document translation is completed and can download the translated files directly from their accounts. The system makes it really easy to request additional changes to the translated documents to ensure the 100% client satisfaction.

The automated online translation process allows for a very fast turn around of the translation, eliminates any possibility for human errors and provides very competitive pricing by employing thousands of freelance translators spread out around the globe. The system saves time and money to the companies and individuals requiring professional and fast document translation services.

Marian Marcinkowski is the President of VerbumSoft. He is the owner of http://www.translatorsbase.com and http://www.directfreelance.com Translatorsbase.com it is a global provider in translation solutions, providing translation services via network of professional freelance translators and translation agencies located around the world. Directfreelance.com it is a directory of freelance professionals