Looking back, the art of translation has changed dramatically over the last 27 years since MTT has been in business. The advent of the Internet age and the speed of modern communication have made the translator’s job easier in many ways but they have also massively increased time pressures in what is still a highly labour-intensive profession.
Modern translators use the web for research and for updating current technical terms, for the quick return of urgent documents or for downloading images to assist with highly technical translation projects.
It's a different world to when MTT began 27 years ago. Documents were sent in the post or if urgent, hand delivered or couriered. Most translations were typewritten (on a typewriter) or some were even handwritten. Phone calls were the only way to do business unless you wrote a letter and found a post box.
Now most of our work is handled by email – huge files delivered in seconds. Most documents we deal with are electronic, with the few exceptions of a handwritten witness statement, a letter or a birth certificate perhaps.
For example, we regularly process huge technical manuals or contracts into a wide range of languages - French, German, Spanish, Italian Norwegian, Chinese and Japanese – translated and proofed, then typeset and printed with ease - within half the timescale you would have anticipated when I first began working in this profession.
Translation today has become a much more immediate world, linking suppliers and clients around the globe with our office in Kidderminster at the touch of a button. We’re able to offer many more languages than before, with quicker delivery and better accuracy thanks to the internet.
Beware a potential danger of the Internet though - the free translation sites!
They’re great for getting the main gist of a short text, but never rely on them for communicating with clients or suppliers abroad. Their output is non-grammatical, contains incorrect terminology and the end result is generally more misleading than a pure guess at what the original text said in the first place.
We’ve seen companies use this type of free service for translating their entire website, which just makes them look highly unprofessional. Isn’t it better perhaps to have just your homepage professionally translated for a small sum and make the right first impression?
Take a look at
Our Quality Page to see what kind of credentials your translation agency should have. Make sure your language supplier has this kind of quality record before you trust them with your image.
The internet has changed the way we all work and do business – it’s a great asset to a company like MTT and I hope that this new blog will prove another way that we can keep you all up to date with the fascinating world of translation.
This blog is written by Sue Clark, MD of MTT – it’s my own personal viewpoint.