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Translation Blog

Our language translators are always in the know about the latest industry movement and insights. By reading our translation blog, you can be too! Discover the latest blog articles from our language experts on topics such as translation services, language facts, business, marketing, culture, and anything in the language translation industry.

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Translation Mistakes

Brand Name Translation: Tips on Avoiding Translation Mistakes

Taking your business across the border is exciting, and most companies know they need to translate marketing materials into other languages. However, working internationally also requires brand name translation. Not investing in brand name translation is one of the biggest marketing mistakes. It is essential that a brand translates its name and tagline to succeed in a new market and appeal to its new customer base.

You might be confused about why brand name translation is crucial, and you’re not alone. Many companies believe it is just a translation of words into the language their new market speaks to capture the customer base, but this isn’t the case. This article discusses this issue thoroughly by examining key points necessary for brand awareness and avoiding translation mistakes.

 

What is Brand Name Translation?

Brand name translation is a method to transform your product portfolio from one language to another by keeping the brand’s original content. This process is considered when a company expands its business from the local to the international market.

The first thing to consider when you translate brand names is understanding the meaning of the brand name in other languages. To avoid marketing translation mistakes, you must ensure that it portrays a similar concept in another language. If you have a brand name that implies a similar concept in all languages, there is no need to alter it, or you may wish to perform a literal translation.

On the other hand, words that mean different things in other languages (known as lexical cognates) can be a nightmare for brand name translation. For example, the word “Mist” in English means humidity, while it means “Manure” in German. A British company selling essential oil diffusers with a brand name like “In The Mist” isn’t going to have quite the same impact in the German market.

Although this seems simple enough to get right, companies often make marketing translation mistakes while translating their brand names as they cannot understand other marketplaces’ language and cultural factors comprehensively enough. Therefore, it is essential to do thorough research and consider investing in professional brand name translation services.

 

How Can you Achieve it?

Translating your product portfolio and brand names into something favourable and in-line with the global marketplace is essential. You can hire a brand name translation agency to alter your branding if it has a different concept in another language. A translation agency provides its expertise in creative translation by modifying brand names, product portfolios, and your overall corporate image.

In the translation process, the marketing team comprehensively analyses the market and prepares a report to present a clear picture of the brand alteration. Your translators should pay attention to cultural values customers hold when buying a new product – alongside a deep delve into the language and literal meaning – when they translate brand names. This cultural factor in brand name translation should encourage the audience to buy your products.

If you don’t want to hire a translation agency, businesses can analyse the trends in the market themselves and pay attention to what their ideal customers like. If your customers prefer original brand names that portray your company image, then there is no need to change them. In this case, you can also do a creative translation (transcreation) of your brand that provides similar meaning but in a creative way better attuned to your new audience.

Similarly, if the customers are interested in product names written in their languages, you should advise your marketing team to work on the translation process. You should adopt a literal translation process to achieve this kind of scenario, but be careful to avoid marketing translation mistakes and never do a word-for-word translation. You need to ensure that the meaning is maintained.

 

Why do Companies make Marketing Translation Mistakes?

Brand name translation is not just translating your brand or product names into another language. Most companies fail to comprehend the cultural factors behind the translation process. Moreover, businesses do not consider the basic principles and techniques needed to translate brand names effectively. As a result, they badly failed to capture the customers’ attention.

To avoid marketing translation mistakes, you must follow four crucial principles of the translation process, or chances of a poor brand’s image will be inevitable. Here is a closer look at these four principles of brand name translation:

  1. Brand names should advise the customers to buy the company’s products through an introduction in their languages. In this case, you can use creative and literal translation methods to convey your product message.
  2. Brand name translation should focus on sales. The amelioration process has no value if the company does not imply product sales in its brand name. It is a common problem for companies to translate brand names without focusing on the sale of products.
  3. Brand names should always keep the original aesthetic value. This principle is based on creative translation, which means creativity in the brand names. You should consider an artistic factor, too, when doing a creative translation of your brand name into a new language.
  4. Brand name translation should be according to customers’ cultural beliefs, buying behaviour, psychological factors, and local traditions. The most important principle for changing the brand name must be considered for the business expansion process.

A translation agency can be perfect if your company wants to avoid being involved in the research process. A translation agency provides expertise in both research and planning applications to comprehend customers’ interests and needs related to the brand name.

 

Examples of Brand Translation Mistakes

If the companies do not consider the first principle above, there will be adverse consequences when they try to translate brand names and taglines. For example, KFC launched their popular fast-food chain in Beijing and poorly translated their infamous product slogan, “Finger Licking Good”, into a cannibalistic message. This negatively impacted their sales and their brand in the Chinese market.

The translation of product names is also vital. For example, In the 1970s, American Motor was among the manufacturers that made translation mistakes. American Motor changed its mid-size car name into the Spanish word “Matador.” It later turned out that matador meant killer in the Spanish language. This translation disaster hurt the company’s sales in the Spanish market.

Other examples of marketing translation mistakes include American car manufacturing giant Ford. They launched their product slogan into the Belgium market and wanted to present that “every car has a high-quality body”. However, it translated that “every car has a high-quality corpse”—not quite the brand name translation quite wanted.

 

Renaissance Translations’ Creative Brand Translation

Brand name translation is crucial when a company expands its business into an internal market. This article highlighted the critical factors involved in the process. It has also mentioned vital principles that should be considered before changing the brand or product name. Following these principles will prevent marketing translation mistakes when taking your business overseas.

For further reassurance that you will translate brand names accurately and effectively, hire a brand name translation agency. Renaissance Translations is a leading language partner that has worked with many top brands worldwide. We offer professional translation or transcreation services, and a highly creative translator works on content translation.

Don’t hesitate to contact our project managers today if you want to discuss your creative brand name translation. Our network comprises 10,000+ linguists specialising in a range of languages and industries, and we are an associate member of the Association of Translation Companies in England. We can help you translate brand names effectively and help you tap into whichever international market you have in your sights.

  • 2022-03-28
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Translation Mistakes

How Errors in Medical Translations Can Destroy a Life

Medical translations are one of the most essential language services offered by translation agencies. Our health is precious to us, and medical document translation helps healthcare professionals and non-English-speaking patients communicate. It follows that translation errors can have life-threatening consequences, highlighting the importance of accurate medical translations in the accessibility and effectiveness of healthcare worldwide.

This article looks at the importance of medical translations in more detail and uncovers the risks of inaccurately translated content. We also take a look at some real-world examples and why with the growing demand for translations, translation errors are becoming more common than ever.

 

The Importance of Medical Translations

Imagine you are injured or sick and cannot communicate with the doctor. Consider what you would do if you woke up from surgery to discover that you had undergone the wrong procedure. While these scenarios might seem far-fetched, they are possible for many due to translation errors or inadequate medical document translation. In fact, millions of people worldwide face such scenarios.

Let’s take the US as an example. The US Census Bureau states that about 25 million Americans don’t speak English fluently. In 2003, half of the Californian doctors surveyed said they were aware of language barriers affecting the quality of care provided. Without a multilingual doctor or effective medical translations, these 25 million people may not receive the healthcare they deserve.

This makes more sense when understanding how doctors make medical diagnoses. Approximately 70% of the information doctors base their diagnosis on extracts from the patient’s physical exam and history. These two information sources require effective interpersonal communication. Thus, providing healthcare solutions requires proper communication in the medical field.

The bottom line reveals a sad truth: patients who communicate effectively with their healthcare providers tend to receive more effective treatments, while those that struggle due to language barriers are less likely to see success often. Medical translations are crucial and can help improve these communications, but only when performed accurately.

 

The Risks of Errors and Repercussions

When providing healthcare to patients that don’t speak English, the most effective solution is to have language service provider to handle the medical translations. However, this isn’t always available. The demand for medical document translation significantly outweighs the supply. In lieu of professional services, ad-hoc solutions like bilingual staff or family members are typically enlisted.

While this might seem to be the answer, it is another reason why those in need of medical treatment cannot get the care they need. Since these individuals are not professional translators, they cannot give accurate translations. Their language adaptations are often full of translation errors, and even fluent speakers will struggle with translating technical medical terminology.

In a healthcare setting, these mistakes have severe repercussions. In worst cases, using the wrong cultural context or word could lead to someone dying. Relying on children or family members of the patient to translate medical documents also raises various privacy and ethical concerns. The simple fact is that there is a dire need for accurate and reliable medical translations worldwide.

 

Examples of Medical Document Translation Mistakes

One of the most famous examples of translation errors is the tragic case of Willie Ramirez, a young baseball player taken to hospital in South Florida. On arrival at the hospital, his family stated he was “intoxicado”. “Intoxicado” is the Spanish term used for the adverse effects of anything ingested. Doctors used a strict translation and mistook Ramirez as intoxicated due to alcohol misuse.

Ramirez was actually dealing with a brain bleed that went undiagnosed for days, causing Ramirez to develop quadriplegia. This is a form of paralysis that affects the entire body. The hospital failed to have a translation agency that offers medical translation services on standby. As such, they were liable for around $71 million in a settlement.

Another high-profile failure of medical document translation happened in a French hospital. An incorrect software translation caused them to administer radiation overdoses to patients for a year. The hospital also had cases where patients wrongly underwent double mastectomies or had kidneys removed due to inaccurate medical translations.

 

Concerns with Healthcare Translation Demand

Every hospital needs a translation agency that provides accurate medical translations. Proper communication can sometimes be the difference between life and death, and translation errors are arguably more important to avoid in the healthcare industry than anywhere else.

Unfortunately, the demand for medical document translation is bound to rise, creating other scenarios like those mentioned above. Using non-professional translators is a viable option, but this carries several major issues. Non-professional translators are usually unaware of patient confidential agreements, uninformed of insurance and legal matters, and struggle with complex medical language.

Another solution is to supplement the lack of in-person translation by having a phone interpreter. This phone line helps make up for a shortage of bilingual staff. However, the most effective solution is to have trained professionals on hand. By having trained linguists perform medical translations, the risk associated with poor language translation is negated.

 

The Future of Medical Translation Services

Medical document translation has to be done as accurately as possible to avoid translation errors. Something as simple as a word being out of place or a sentence omitted could result in a severe loss of life. Furthermore, evidence has shown that increased efforts in providing medical translation services can result in lower readmissions. Increased access to this language service can also raise overall patient satisfaction. This, in turn, lowers the chance of catastrophic errors happening.

Therefore, hospitals and healthcare providers must find a way to balance the demand for medical translations with available professionals from translation agencies. With the ever-growing diversity of countries across the world, the future of global healthcare may deteriorate if communication issues and language barriers are not addressed.

 

Renaissance Translations’ Medical Translation Services

At Renaissance Translations, we believe that translation errors can cause fatal disasters. For this reason, our language professionals are trained to translate medical documents with extra attention to detail. We have qualified translators in more than 120 languages with backgrounds in healthcare, able to easily translate the most complex medical terminology and diagnoses.

Our company is an associate member of the Association of Translation Companies in England as well as SDL LSP Partner Programme. If you think we could be the medical translations provider you’ve been looking for, contact us to discuss your project today. Don’t guess a medical document translation and put a patient’s care at risk—use our service instead. 

  • 2022-03-22
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Translation Mistakes

Types of Translation Fails and their Effects on Your Business

A low-budget translation may sound appealing, but a cheap translation fails in many areas. By getting a cheap translation, you’re always sacrificing quality. You are left with a bad translation that is inaccurate and unprofessional. Even a minor translation error can have significant repercussions for your business and result in major translation fails that destroy your brand reputation.

Think about it: having just one mistranslated sentence in an important document could hurt a company’s image and reputation. It can even cause a deal to fall through, harm your business or product, and cause legal repercussions. If your brand works in manufacturing or medical fields, translation fails could even place lives at risk or cause severe health implications.

There are just so many effects of translation errors that you need to be aware of. This article explains the main types of translation fails to be aware of and gives tips on avoiding a bad translation.

 

Objective vs Subjective Translation Errors

There are two types of translation fails to be aware of, both of which contribute to a bad translation. These are objective and subjective translation errors:

  • Objective Errors: An objective translation error is something such as a text omission, spelling mistake, or grammatical error. There are no arguments about whether a word is spelt right or a header is missing. They are blatant and – with the right set of eyes – obvious.
  • Subjective Errors: Subjective translation errors are harder to address as there might be numerous opinions on the “correct” translation. An example of a subjective mistake would be choosing the most appropriate synonym to convey meaning and tone.

To explain subjective errors more clearly, let’s look at an English example: you can use both automobiles and cars in a sentence. They both mean the same thing, and the one you select is simply down to your preference. Choosing the correct one could depend on the tone of the text. It could also depend on where you come from, your personal style, or the reading level of the recipient.

 

Most Common Translation Fails & Mistakes

Objective and subjective translation fails describe how matter-of-fact a translation error is. Here is a closer look at some of the most common examples of each:

  • Omission: This is where the translation leaves out some information or words, changing the message of the text. This leaves you with a bad translation that doesn’t deliver your intended message effectively and is a common objective translation error.
  • Mistranslations: Language is quite creative, and there are various ways to express the same idea. This can mean that text can be misinterpreted, resulting in a mistranslation. Sometimes this happens due to a lack of knowledge in that area. It could also be due to homographs, which are words spelt the same but with different meanings.

Of course, there are not the only mistakes that can result in a bad translation. Not considering the culture of your target audience, minor grammatical errors, or using the incorrect tone can all make your content ineffective. However, omission and mistranslation often lead to the most significant translation fails.

 

Effects a Bad Translation Can Have on Your Business

There are many impacts translation fails may have on your business. A minor translation error might make your look unprofessional, whereas an increasingly bad translation across your marketing materials might mean you don’t sell as many products or obtain as many clients. However, the biggest translation fails have significant impacts on your business transactions and brand:

 

1. Business Transactions

Cheap translation doesn’t only keep people from your business – a bad translation can impact your business transactions with partners and investors. If you don’t get professional translations, you are bound to make translation fails. Even a word that is missing or misinterpreted can alter the meaning of a message. One minor translation error can have a huge impact!

Accurate translations are thus always required when handling contracts. Basic phrases and words in the contract can create a misunderstanding when mistranslated. In some cases, it could create delays in the deal. It could cause the deal to fall through in the worst cases, even resulting in a lawsuit.

 

2. Poor Brand Management

No one intentionally makes a translation error, but even some of the biggest brands have made notable translation fails. A bad translation can be funny, if not a little embarrassing. But in worse cases, mistakes can be offensive and ultimately destroy your brand reputation.

Even if the mistakes in your translations are not offensive, they look unprofessional. People will always want to buy from a reputable company, and having cheap translations of your documents ruins that. Businesses seen as unprofessional are unlikely to get any patronage. Using cheap brand translation can turn your brand into a joke.

 

How to Avoid Translation Fails

Translation fails can happen as a result of human error. However, mistakes are much more likely when using an automated or machine translation. Machine translation, more often than not, disappoints. You are bound to get various translation errors as the system cannot grasp context and nuances. These translation errors will, in turn, reflect poorly on your brand.

The most effective way to avoid getting a bad translation is to enlist the services of a professional translation agency. They ensure accurate translations by:

  • Translating, Editing & Proofreading: Professional business translation services typically involve two or three linguists translating, editing, and proofreading your documents. This makes it extremely easy for an objective translation error to be noticed and rectified, while subjective errors can be debated and resolved.
  • Translation Memories: When working with the same client for a while, translation agencies also create a Translation Memory database and style glossaries. Your translators refer to this database to maintain the right tone and brand voice. Business translation services might also include terminologies specific to your organisation or industry.

Of course, the results delivered by translation agencies are better when you give the company enough time to handle your project. A rush job is more likely to contain translation fails, whereas an accurate translation requires patience. Patience is vital when dealing with legal documents, government policies or investments. The last thing you want to do is mess up a deal simply because you chose a cheap translation!

 

Fast, Accurate & Reliable Translation Services

Are you worried about getting a bad translation? For dependable and error-free business translation, reach out to our team. We offer high-quality translation services in over 120 languages and subject fields. With a network of more than 10,000 professional translators, we can avoid every translation error and guarantee 100% accurate deliverables.

Renaissance Translations is an associate member of the Association of Translation Companies in England as well as SDL LSP Partner Programme. Say goodbye to translation fails and use our trusted service. Contact our project managers today to discuss your translation project!

  • 2022-03-14
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Translation Mistakes

Mistakes in Legal Documents Translations: Examples and Causes

Translation of legal documents covers many critical topics, from lawsuits to important business deals. In these scenarios, the outcome can significantly impact the parties involved. As such, mistakes in translations of legal documents can have severe consequences. In fact, these errors in legal document translations are costly and unacceptable—you must get certified UK translations to mitigate the risk of making errors.

This article focuses on the mistakes in translations of legal documents, with a particular focus on business translations. We discuss some real-world examples and four common causes, helping you avoid errors in your critical legal paperwork.

 

Why do Businesses Need Legal Translations?

Since global business is mainstream, translations of legal documents have become an integral part of the business. Brands today need to deal with an entire collection of contracts. These contracts can be with employees, investors, partners, suppliers or partners. Translating contracts and paperwork using a certified UK translations service helps streamline communications and encourage business growth.

However, the translation of legal documents comes with significant responsibility, especially when required in business deals. Massive amounts of money are on the line, with contracts becoming void due to mistakes in translation. Any misinterpretations or errors in translation can also result in lawsuits, potentially costing businesses even more money.

 

Examples of Translation Mistakes in Legal Documents

There are many prominent examples of mistakes in translations of legal documents. One significant example involves a South Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) deal. In 2011, South Korea failed to secure an FTA deal with the EU due to more than 207 mistakes in the translation of legal documents. This goes to show the importance of high-quality legal translations.

Another key example of mistakes in legal translation is terms and conditions. Terms and conditions are created to protect businesses when they face legal disputes, but they must be translated correctly. A mistake could result in supplier issues, customer disputes and other operational problems, potentially leading to drawn-out court causes that soon become expensive. Contacts can also become void when you fail to translate legal documents correctly.

From these examples, it is clear to see by certified UK translations are crucial for all types of legal documents. You must employ professional translation services that can deliver 100% accurate translations to protect your business and your finances.

 

Common Causes of Legal Translation Mistakes

One might believe professional translations of legal documents are only necessary for the courtroom. However, this isn’t the case! Every business operating in foreign markets must rely on certified UK translations. This enables them to remain compliant with the law and protect themselves from legal issues by avoiding translator errors.

To this end, we have listed a few mistakes that businesses make in the translation of legal documents. Highlighting them will help you avoid them when you assign your legal documents to a professional translation services provider.

 

1. Seeing Legal Translation as the Last Step

Legal document translations are more manageable when you plan. This is especially true if the original documents are self-produced before translation. You must first standardise the language and avoid ambiguous terminology to help reduce the risk of complications down the line.

In the globalised economy, very few businesses need a translation of legal documents just once. So, it makes sense to plan for the future by getting professional translation services from day one. This can help to speed up the translation process and reduce future costs. To this end, you require a certified UK translation service you can trust.

 

2. Not Working with a Professional Translation Agency

Legal document translations are a balancing act, ensuring your documents are understandable while keeping their intended meaning. For this reason, it is best to work with a professional legal translation services provider. They can help you create documents primed for translation and then use modern methods and technologies to ensure accurate results.

One of the tools translation agencies use are language glossaries. These glossaries contain all correctly translated legal terms for this and other certified UK translations. When it comes to the translation of legal documents, these already-saved phrases help with accuracy and efficiency.

Language service providers also use translation memories. A translation memory is a database that stores your projects. It can help you save time when translating similar sections of text, which is crucial for time-sensitive legal documents. They also help with consistency, ensuring every document reads as if created by your organisation alone.

 

3. Using Literal Translation

Literal translations are when you substitute words and phrases directly without paying attention to context or meaning. This works for some basic translations but not for translations of legal documents. Without paying attention to the context, errors will likely creep in. Sometimes, a sentence directly translated into another language has an entirely different meaning!

The accurate translation of legal materials heavily depends on the legal knowledge of the translator, along with their linguistic expertise. Only skilled linguists with legal backgrounds can translate the meaning and message. Investing in certified UK translations ensures your translator has the necessary legal knowledge required to produce accurate results.

However, remember that law covers a vast area, so you must find the right legal field to translate legal documents. This is one of the key factors to consider when hiring a certified translation service. If seeking business translation services, you will need professional legal translation services with corporate and labour law experience.

 

4. Using Only Machine Translation

Machines can conveniently convert snippets of text in seconds. This type of translation has its advantages in some situations, but it has no benefit in the translation of legal materials. Machines cannot consider the complexities and nuances of legal content, leaving your translations of legal documents unprofessional and full of errors.

Legal documents require high-quality certified UK translation with a clear level of understanding. This is why you will need business translation services. These services come with human linguistic experts that can cut through the nuance, delivering accurate legal translations.

 

Legal Translations Your Business Can Trust

Translations of legal documents are one of the most demanding translation niches, and mistakes could result in high costs and lawsuits. This is why it is crucial to enlist the help of a language services provider. Professional agencies ensure your translation of legal paperwork is 100% error-free, so there are no legal repercussions.

If your need a reliable legal translation for your business, we can help! Over the years, Renaissance Translations has served many legal firms in the UK and abroad. Our professional translators specialise in legal translations, which is one reason our legal translation services have never been rejected. If there are any mistakes, our professional indemnity insurance keeps you covered.

Your partnership with Renaissance Translations also comes with professional memberships such as ATC, so you can rest assured that you’re in safe hands. If you need to discuss your legal or certified UK translation project, please get in touch with us with your project details. Our team is ready to help you!

  • 2022-03-06
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Translation Mistakes

5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When You Translate Russian

Knowing how to translate Russian accurately is challenging. The Russian language differs immensely from English in almost every area, including its alphabet, vocabulary, and grammar. These discrepancies make it hard to translate Russian to English or vice versa. Even companies offering professional Russian translation services can produce substandard translations if not properly skilled.

Poorly translated materials are, at best, frustrating to read or listen to. At worst, these translation mistakes could reflect sloppiness or lack of respect for the audience, make the business lose credibility, or give the reader an unreliable information source. This can lead to confusion, destroyed brand reputations, legal disputes, or health consequences.

In this article, we discuss the top five common Russian translation mistakes. We also give you tips on how to avoid these common errors next time you translate Russian documents.

 

1. Translating Disregarding Russian Context

Russian has about 200,000 words compared to an astounding 1,000,000 words in English. When you translate Russian, understanding context is therefore crucial. Many Russian words have multiple meanings when used in different contexts, and understanding these intricacies is critical in avoiding mistranslation. Choose the wrong context, and your translation won’t sound right.

For example, the Russian word “Вариант” can be translated into English as both “option” and “variant.” Translators will have to choose the most appropriate word that fits the context. A sentence such as “I have many variants for Russian translation services providers” doesn’t sound right – the right word in this context is “options.”

There are a lot of other words like this in Russian, and the way you use them depends on the context of the sentence. When you translate Russian, pay attention to the context rather than the individual words to make sure the correct version is chosen.

 

2. Overlooking Word Endings

The Russian language is infamous for its six cases: nominative, genitive, accusative, dative, prepositional, and instrumental. As all good Russian translation services providers know, these cases show the function of a noun in the sentence. Each case is reflected by changing the specific word endings. As a result, Russian nouns have many variations.

To make matters worse, these cases allow a more flexible sentence structure than in English. Unlike the English language, which often follows the (subject + verb + object) structure, Russian words can be placed in different orders to form a sentence. Here is an example that translates to “I like singing in the bathroom”:

  • “Я люблю петь в ванной”
  • “Люблю я петь в ванной”
  • “В ванной петь люблю я”
  • “Я петь в ванной люблю”
  • “Петь люблю я в ванной”

These examples show that you can essentially put the words in almost any order and not be grammatically incorrect. However, this flexibility offered by Russian words is a mixed blessing. When you translate Russian, it is vital to ensure each noun ending is chosen correctly since the meaning of the entire sentence could change!

 

3. Translating Word for Word

We have just explained how the Russian language has a flexible sentence structure; each variation might change the tone, style, and tone. Therefore, translating word-for-word in the exact order is a rookie mistake, and it’s a dead giveaway that the translators don’t have an idea of what they are doing. The text won’t sound fluent or natural.

This mistake is common when using Russian translation services from computer tools like Google Translate. Machines cannot conjugate sentences correctly when they translate Russian, only rendering one word at a time. To avoid this issue, work with human Russian translators. Qualified linguists learn the best processes to avoid these errors as part of their training.

 

4. Using Incorrect Words

Another common mistake when people translate Russian is to misuse vocabulary. Certain words cannot be translated from Russian to English, which makes it difficult to convey the same message or specific feelings across multiple languages.

For instance, there is no English equivalent for the Russian word “Tosca.” This word expresses a negative feeling best translated to “depression” or “melancholy.” However, these words don’t communicate the depth of hunger or unhappiness you can feel for no reason, which is conversed through the word “Tosca”. There is no true English equivalent.

The same thing can also be said of translating English to Russian. For instance, you cannot translate “Holy Grail” into Russian. It is better to leave the original term rather than create a confusing translated equivalent. This is especially important for a legal translation where clarity is imperative; professional Russian translation services are essential to avoid miscommunication and legal disputes.

 

5. “Masculine” and “Feminine” Words

The English language is simple because all nouns are gender-neutral, except for those that refer to an animal with a specific gender, like a buck and a doe. However, all Russian nouns are one of three genders – masculine, feminine, or neuter.

Mistakes often arise if the agency offering Russian translation services neglects to choose suitable articles for every noun. In some cases, the gender of a noun in the Russian language is directly related to the gender of the thing you are referring to–these are easy to get right. But in other cases, the correct article is not as obvious.

An English speaker trying to translate Russian text will struggle to choose the correct article. For instance, a simple word such as a cat can be translated as кот (Masculine) and кошка (Feminine) in Russian. Although your text will still be understandable by Russian speakers, it won’t sound professional or as trustworthy as a grammatically correct piece of content.

 

Trust us to Translate your Russian Content

The Russian language is highly complex. To translate Russian accurately and professionally requires in-depth knowledge, or any of these five common mistakes might creep in! Even speaking Russian and understanding the source language is not enough to translate sensitive documents.

The only way to avoid ruining your Russian translations is by hiring a reputable Russian translation services provider, such as Renaissance Translations. To guarantee that a professional translator is always available when needed, we have pooled the talents of native translators and thousands of professional linguists internationally.

All our Russian translators hold translation degrees and use the best methods to avoid errors. We are also members of the Asociation of Translation Companies in England as well as SDL LSP Partner Programme. You are promised accurate, professional translations every time. Please contact our team or request a translation quote online if you want to discuss your project and let us translate Russian on your behalf.

  • 2022-03-01

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