If you need a translation from English into French or from French into English, you may be thinking in terms of large language groups – French is French and English is English, to most people, after all. However, the reality is that languages differ considerably by region, which is one reason why you need a professional translation agency to handle this detail.
If you need documents translated from English into Spanish, for example, is the document headed to Spain or Latin America? It’s an important distinction, because the words and expressions in Spain are very different from those in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. The same is true for English into Portuguese translations; Portuguese in Brazil is virtually a different language than the Portuguese spoken in Portugal. When you decide to have documents translated, knowing where the documents are headed is important, since a translation agency can work on localizing your translated documents, ensuring that your documents are accurate and reliable for their intended target audience.
Even translating documents from Spanish, Portuguese, and other languages into English can be problematic – are your English-language documents for a British or North American audience? North American English speakers may not understand British terms such as “lift” Even within North America, differences in spelling between Canadian and American English can be significant. If your translated documents are for a Canadian audience, you don’t want to have American spellings, as they will look like errors.
You want to make your message clear, and for that to happen you need to work closely with a translation company that is equipped to handle localization. If you have important documents or marketing materials to translate, your message can become confusing or even offensive to your audience if localization is not taken into account. Good quality translation services, such as Vedia Translations, work closely with professional translators from different regions to ensure that your translations are completely accurate and clear for your intended audience.