It has been said that a good translation is something you don’t notice – you shouldn’t realise that what you’re reading has been translated. But it also needs to be well written!
A good translation should not come across as translated. When you read it, it shouldn’t occur to you that the text was originally written in another language. To ensure that every translation feels like an original text, our employees only translate into their own native language.
However, in addition to the text being correctly translated, and worded like a native speaker would phrase it, there is one more aspect that needs to be considered.
Every text is written with a purpose. For example, the purpose of marketing texts is to sell something. Therefore, if a translated marketing text does not lead to sales, then it is not good enough – regardless of how “correctly” it has been translated. Similarly, a translated press release that no one bothers to read is not worth much, even if it is a perfect rendering of the original text.
When something is to be published in a language other than the original, whether it is a website, contract, manual, brochure or press release, you need a text that fulfils its purpose – a text that works. Sometimes this means that a translation deviates significantly from the original, due to cultural differences between the countries or weaknesses in the source text.
Our translators have extensive knowledge about the different industries and fields to which the texts we translate relate. Every year, we produce a large number of translations in the fields of corporate finance, law, IT, the automotive industry, medicine, furniture and interior design, tourism, fish farming, oil and gas, workplace health and safety (WHS) and art – as well as a number of other, sometimes very specialised, fields.
At Samtext we will assign you one translator for all your jobs, where possible, so that all the translations you receive are consistent in style.
We will also create a glossary and linguistic guidelines specific to your business and products, if you wish.
Our translators proofread their own work thoroughly, but every single text is still proofread a second time, by another translator. This ensures that you receive a well-written and practically flawless translation.
The result of all this is what we are passionate about: a translation that works.
