Spanish is the home language of millions of people not only in Spain but also in Latin America. It's widely spoken in other countries too, notably ones with large Latin American immigrant populations, such as in the USA. Being able to address these people in their mother tongue will be a great boost for your business but for this to work, you need to find the best person to translate English to Spanish.
The candidate obviously needs to speak, read and write both languages fluently. It's best to choose someone who speaks Spanish as their first language. This is because translators are normally better at translating from the language they're less proficient in to the one they speak most naturally.
Try to find someone who comes from the community that you're trying to target. In Spain, people speak differently from people in Mexico or Argentina. Even neighboring countries like Guatemala and El Salvador can have very different regional expressions. Therefore, if your target market is mainly of Cuban descent, try and find a translator with a Cuban background too.
Many people think that they can simply use online translation tools. However, these tools simply take a text and translate it word for word, with no consideration for context or different meanings for the same word. The result can be either a garbled text that makes no sense at all or it can be one where the text says the opposite of what you'd really like to convey.
Translation is a very specialized skill. Just being able to speak the language does not make a person a good translator. Translators need to be able to use a wide range of reference materials rather than just a single bilingual dictionary. They should think about the text they're working with and pay attention to idiomatic expressions. They also need to be creative and good problem solvers.
A great starting point when trying to find real translators is to see whether they belong to any kind of professional translators' association. These groups don't allow just anybody to become a member but use stringent tests to decide whether someone's work is of a high enough standard before granting them membership. Another good indication of whether someone will be up to the task is to see whether they have any experience of translating for the publishing industry, which also has very high standards.
It's perfectly acceptable to ask a candidate to provide you with a sample translation first. In fact, it's often a good idea to do this in order to see that the person is the right one for the job. Have the sample checked by several Spanish speakers. It may even be worth asking a professional editor to go over the sample.
A great way to separate the wheat from the chaff is to look at the rates the different candidates quote. Low rates are often an indication that the person is an amateur with no idea of the going rates for translation work. Don't be tempted to go with the cheapest person because, like with everything else in the world, you get what you pay for.
The candidate obviously needs to speak, read and write both languages fluently. It's best to choose someone who speaks Spanish as their first language. This is because translators are normally better at translating from the language they're less proficient in to the one they speak most naturally.
Try to find someone who comes from the community that you're trying to target. In Spain, people speak differently from people in Mexico or Argentina. Even neighboring countries like Guatemala and El Salvador can have very different regional expressions. Therefore, if your target market is mainly of Cuban descent, try and find a translator with a Cuban background too.
Many people think that they can simply use online translation tools. However, these tools simply take a text and translate it word for word, with no consideration for context or different meanings for the same word. The result can be either a garbled text that makes no sense at all or it can be one where the text says the opposite of what you'd really like to convey.
Translation is a very specialized skill. Just being able to speak the language does not make a person a good translator. Translators need to be able to use a wide range of reference materials rather than just a single bilingual dictionary. They should think about the text they're working with and pay attention to idiomatic expressions. They also need to be creative and good problem solvers.
A great starting point when trying to find real translators is to see whether they belong to any kind of professional translators' association. These groups don't allow just anybody to become a member but use stringent tests to decide whether someone's work is of a high enough standard before granting them membership. Another good indication of whether someone will be up to the task is to see whether they have any experience of translating for the publishing industry, which also has very high standards.
It's perfectly acceptable to ask a candidate to provide you with a sample translation first. In fact, it's often a good idea to do this in order to see that the person is the right one for the job. Have the sample checked by several Spanish speakers. It may even be worth asking a professional editor to go over the sample.
A great way to separate the wheat from the chaff is to look at the rates the different candidates quote. Low rates are often an indication that the person is an amateur with no idea of the going rates for translation work. Don't be tempted to go with the cheapest person because, like with everything else in the world, you get what you pay for.
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