Not many people think of translators until they either need one or they find something that has been mistranslated. Let’s be honest, many don’t even know why we need translators. Some, when looking for translation, don’t think beyond selecting the cheapest or easiest translator with no real consideration of their subject matter expertise and quality.
Translators are silent superheroes. You may not realize it, but everyday they quietly go about the business of saving lives, saving businesses and saving face in this ever-shrinking global economy.
Here are just a few examples of translators as superheroes and why they are important to any global industry.
Planes fly all over the world, and planes have engines. Perhaps you may not have thought about it, but engines are highly technical, as are all the other related equipment that works to keep them flying. These engines and equipment need maintenance and sometimes even repair, and they are worked on worldwide by speakers of all sorts of languages.
Translators translate the equipment manuals and other documentation used by aviation mechanics and engineers worldwide to keep planes in the air (Something to think about the next time you are white-knuckling those arm grips during your next takeoff or landing). People fly every day, blindly trusting that the plane is going to function properly and that any equipment manuals were translated correctly (hopefully by native language aviation experts) to ensure the plane is safe to fly.
In the course of developing any medication, new drugs must go through clinical research. Clinical trials are performed across the globe and take a lot of time and money. One error in one word can mean that an entire clinical trial must be scrapped. This can mean further delays, loss of funding or that a viable drug may never make it to market.
We were recently contacted by a major clinical research organization that had relied on a translator who mistranslated one word that cost them their entire research project and millions of dollars. They were starting over again from the beginning and looking for translators who were also specialists in their field to translate all of their materials going forward. They had learned the hard way that what seemed like savings at the beginning of their project ended up costing them in the end.
Translators translate questionnaires, instructions and testing results, helping to ensure that medications are safe and to bring drugs to market.
Translators who translate prescription and medication information save lives everyday, though chances are, we may never hear about it.
It is said that if you are aware that you are reading a translation, then the translator did not do a good job. We have all had a chuckle at marketing campaigns or product launches into foreign markets that flopped because of mistranslation.
Translators bridge the gap enabling you to communicate in languages and cultures that are literally a world away. Translators translate your companies marketing and product materials to your global audiences. Translators also translate the documentation required by international regulations to bring your goods and services into markets worldwide. Translators ensure seamless integration into new markets.
The next time you think about your translation needs, remember that translators are silent superheroes doing a very important job. Also, be sure the translation team you select for your next translation project is truly super.
Translators Keep Planes In The Air
Translators Bring Medicines To Market
Translators Save Lives
Translators Seamlessly Communicate Across Language Barriers To Connect People and Ideas
Remember Translators are Superheroes