It takes more than just the ability to understand two languages.
Professional translators and interpreters have the education, experience, and expertise to understand the nuances in one language and transfer them to another. The right professional will have solid knowledge of your industry and will know how to culturally adapt your content for the target audience you are trying to reach. You only get one chance to make a first impression, so make sure it counts.
Can I afford to hire a professional?
You can't afford NOT to. Getting your message wrong can cost money, ruin your image, and even cost lives. Whether you’re having a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign translated or need an interpreter to communicate treatment options between a doctor and patient, it pays to hire a professional to get the job done right.
Instead of hiring a professional, this restaurant used machine translation and did not realize the result was an error message.
Understanding what’s at stake
ATA publishes articles to illustrate why it is critical to hire qualified translators and interpreters.
6 Reasons NOT to Use Your Bilingual Staff as Translators or Interpreters
Your bilingual staff members carry a lot of weight on their shoulders. The pros of hiring multilingual employees are obvious: they make it easier to communicate with clients or patients. But at what cost? Using employees who speak two or more languages to assist with in-house translation (written language services) or interpreting (spoken or sign language services) tasks can be…
Read MoreBrain works
This article originally appeared on the Bulletin of the UK-based Institute of Translation and Interpreting. It is republished with permission. All translators and interpreters are bilingual or multilingual. But not all bilinguals or multilinguals can translate. It is a common misperception, especially in multilingual societies like India, that multilingual individuals can automatically translate well. Most educated people learn at least…
Read MoreWhat is Machine Translation?
Technology is moving at a faster pace today than ever before, and many people are left feeling confused. How will new technologies affect creative fields like translation? The American Translators Association has issued a position paper on machine translation (MT) to cut through the hype and explain the uses and limitations of this tool. Here’s a breakdown of the main…
Read MoreSubtitle Translation and Captioning: the Key Ingredients to Successful Social Media Video Marketing
Learn how you can leverage subtitle translation and captioning to expand reach, boost engagement, ensure accessibility, and more – from a professional subtitler and captioner. You’ve created the perfect video for social media, but it’s not getting the views, shares and likes you expected. Everything seems just right, so what’s wrong? You may have overlooked the key ingredients of successful…
Read MoreHow to Hire a Translator: A Quick and Easy Guide
This article was originally published on www.katedeimling.com. It is reposted with permission. Perhaps you have never purchased translation services before and suddenly find yourself needing to hire a translator or interpreter. There are lots of reasons you may need to hire a translator. Maybe your company is expanding abroad. Maybe you are organizing a meeting with international speakers. Maybe you…
Read MoreConsecutive vs. Simultaneous Interpreting: What’s the Difference?
Linguists rejoiced at the trailer for The Covenant when it stated what many of us have been grumbling about under our breath for decades. If you’re curious about why the distinction matters, check out our article on the difference between translation and interpreting. To summarize, translation is written and interpreting is spoken. Knowing that is a great start, but there’s…
Read MoreWhy Hire an ATA Member?
ATA members have a commitment to continuing education and are held to the highest professional standards. Feel secure knowing if you’re hiring an ATA member, you’re hiring the best in the business.
The ATA Compass
Our outreach publication provides up-to-date information and resources about the translating and interpreting industry.
What's the difference?
Translators do the writing. Interpreters do the talking. ATA helps you find the right language professional.
Can't a computer do all this?
There are times when machine translation is useful, and times when it's not. Learn when to use Google Translate, and when to hire a professional.