Raquel Hurtado, native Spanish translator

A multicultural upbringing

I have always lived in Barcelona, but my parents’ will to make a world citizen out of me, had a large impact on my love for languages. I started learning English, French and German when I was just a child, and a strong friendship was the perfect guide to Italian. There is still room for more knowledge, there always is. When it comes to words, cultures and communication, I just can’t get enough.

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Laura Dixon, native English Translator

My name is Laura.  I’ve always loved languages.  From the day I started learning Spanish at school, I knew I wanted to work in this field.  I studied Spanish and Human Resource Management at the University of Leeds, falling in love with Spain and all things Spanish, especially when I spent my Erasmus year in Alcalá de Henares, near Madrid. After graduating I was lucky enough to qualify and work as a teacher of English as a foreign language in Palma de Mallorca.

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Non-native translators? Don’t risk it!

In this age of translation software and quick and easy automated cheats, including the dreaded Google Translate, it is tempting to believe that professional translation services are no longer necessary. Surely technology and modern advances in automated linguistics have rendered human beings unnecessary in this field, right? Wrong!

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The easiest and most difficult languages to translate

As English speakers we are really spoilt, as pretty much the whole world is trying to learn English, and where large parts of the world have not yet fully succeeded in the endeavour, they are well on the way. So this takes the pressure off as native English speakers, which might be seen as a good thing.

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What Happens to the English Language Now?

For native English translators and language undergraduates, one of the main points of concern in the aftermath of Brexit has been the prospect that English will now cease to be an official EU language. It is claimed that this scenario would result in English becoming far less in-demand, reducing the overall status of the English language in terms of business, culture and international relations.

What happens to the English language now?

For native English translators and language undergraduates, one of the main points of concern in the aftermath of Brexit has been the prospect that English will now cease to be an official EU language. It is claimed that this scenario would result in English becoming far less in-demand for European institutions, putting the jobs of language graduates in danger and reducing the overall status of the English language in terms of business, culture and international relations. This would all seem to make sense, given the fact that Ireland and Malta will be the only remaining countries in the EU with English as an official language. However, there’s reason to believe that things may not be so simple.

La Langue Universelle?

A quick scan of history shows that it wasn’t the presence of the UK which gave English its status as Europe’s lingua franca in the first place. When the British joined the EEC along with Ireland back in 1973, the official language of communication within the EU institutions was French. This was partly for historical reasons, and partly because the institutions were located in predominantly French-speaking cities: Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg. The priority given to French was therefore justified, and the incoming UK and Irish officials alone were not numerous enough to make a difference to the language arrangement.

Native English Translators| BigTranslation
Native English Translators| BigTranslation

Things started to change about 20 years later. With the arrival of Sweden, Finland and Austria in 1995, English was used increasingly and was used to draft legislation, as it was the first foreign language of a growing number of new officials who required a common language for consultation purposes.
The 2004 enlargement of the European Union was its largest single expansion to date. 10 new countries became members, nearly all of whose national education systems offered English as first foreign language, not French. As a result, English became the most obvious common language of communication of new member states and therefore, by extension, the European Union as a whole. Now the EU works with 24 official languages.

Native English Translators still in High Demand

This is why even without Britain’s continued membership of the EU, one would suspect that English will continue to have a central role in communication between member states – at least for the considerable future. The Lithuanian official will still have to use English to communicate with her Dutch colleague, who will then be required to relay the information in English to his Czech boss. For English speaking language graduates, the image of this very common scenario may represent some light at the end of the tunnel.

In terms of translation post-Brexit, it is still the case that English-speaking officials, both administrators and clerical assistants, are in great demand. This puts translators from the Republic of Ireland, Europe’s largest remaining English speakers, in a rather advantageous position. Future selection competitions for recruitment, without competition from British nationals, should therefore favour Irish nationals slightly more than in the past.

Importance of Native Translators

Contrary to what those outside of the industry may think, translation is not a simple process. The art of translation can only be mastered when one develops an in-depth understanding of communication and the idiosyncrasies of language and culture. This is why it is of vital importance for translation companies to employ in-house native professionals in order to bridge the gap where nuances and specific cultural references occur.

Art of Translation

Contrary to what those outside of the industry may think, translation is not a simple process. The art of translation can only be mastered when one develops an in-depth understanding of communication and the idiosyncrasies of language and culture. That is why it is of vital importance for translation companies to employ in-house native professionals in order to bridge the gap where nuances and specific cultural references occur. This definitely rings true in certain translation fields, for example when translating a literary text or a promotional text for the retail industry, the main aim is to induce the same feeling in the target culture audience as in the source culture. This can prove to be a challenge when the source text contains many deep-rooted cultural references, therefore the job of the translator is to balance staying faithful to the author’s original text and adapting it to their target culture. Again, a native translator is always the best solution for this kind of job. BigTranslation hosts a team of native professional translators who specialise in various different translation fields. By doing this we ensure efficiency and can offer a reliable service to our clients, day in day out.

Several aspects are particularly important in effective translation efforts: proper localization which takes into account culture and nuances; experience in the specific subject matter, affordability and total quality management. Most translators would agree that they feel more comfortable translating into their mother tongue than into their target language, and are therefore more likely to provide clients with a more efficient translation. Having in-house natives will ensure that your company is able to meet these requirements, and consistently deliver high quality translations. Not just for translation; proofreading is also a service which benefits greatly from natives. At BigTranslation we always ensure that translated documents have been proofread by our native translators before delivering them to clients.

Bridging Communication

If your Native translators | BigTranslationteam is full of natives, it also opens up a variety of business opportunities for your translation company, as you will have personal networks in many different cultures. Your native professionals can inform you of the current business affairs and popular trends in their country which can help form connections and ideas.

Of course, just being a native speaker is not enough to be a successful translator. You also need specialized (linguistic, technical, legal, etc.) education and experience. You have to be a good writer. You must have an extremely thorough knowledge of your native language and culture, not to mention of the culture you translate from. Many would agree that the translator is essentially a writer, recreating the text of the original author. For this reason, BigTranslation carries out exhaustive selection processes in order to find the best native translators. Only then can we guarantee perfection in the services we offer to our clients.