Who do you think the best translators are? They’re people with an appropriate education and plenty of experience. They understand that languages are different and take these differences into account when translating to avoid the following common risks:
1. Client loss caused by word-for-word translation.
One of the most frequent mistakes unprofessional translators make is word-for-word translation. They preserve the sentence structure of the original language and translate the individual words.
While in some cases this may work, when dealing with marketing texts, the outcome is just sad. Instead of promoting a company or a product, they create a text with an unclear purpose. As a result, companies lose potential clients.
Professional translators adapt the text to the target audience, considering its purpose, and translate the meaning, not the words.
2. Loss of profit due to the usage of English loanwords.
English is the global language. Many English words appear in Russian, such as брендинг (branding), тренд (trend) and саммит (summit).
While these words are understandable to younger generations, older generations won’t be able to make sense of them. Many Russian people don’t speak English and have no clue what it means when they see a sign reading “happy hour” on a restaurant’s door.
Some translators use words loaned from English without even trying to find a Russian analogue. When Russians don’t understand the meaning of a commercial, they ignore it, and the company suffers losses. A Russian translation service will prevent this problem.
3. Major mistakes in translation.
An English word can have plenty of meanings. Take the verb “to get.” According to the ABBYY Lingvo dictionary, it has 37 different meanings. It can also be a noun. It’s hard for an inexperienced translator to find the most suitable meaning for such a word.
Mistranslated words make the resulting translation unnatural and lead to major misunderstandings. You definitely don’t want mistakes in your translation, do you? Especially when it’s a work contract or another important document. To avoid this situation, collaborate only with professional translation services.
4. Language differences.
Word order in English sentences is fixed, while in Russian, it’s flexible. That’s why English constructions like “there is” should be translated into Russian from the end. Amateur translators may not know this.
Now think about this: There are 12 tenses in English, but only three in Russian. English words don’t have varied endings, while Russian ones do, not to mention articles that simply don’t exist in Russian. Translators must deal with all these problems. Beginners may meet the challenge, but they can’t guarantee quality.
Work with professionals
As a customer, you want to get the job done without wondering whether your translator can handle it. You have an English text and you want it translated into Russian, or vice versa. And the translated text should achieve the same goals as the original. Work with a professional Russian translation service. Our translators have the experience to satisfy your translation needs.