“The basic error of the translator is that he preserves the state in which his own language happens to be instead of allowing his language to be powerfully affected by the foreign tongue.”, – Walter Benjamin.
From cheap gig workers who provide work of unreliable quality to machine-assisted translation services with mixed results – scouting out a high-quality translation service can be like wandering through a wild, tangled mess. In the article below, we discuss the principles of high-quality translation and how we at Baltic Media strive to meet exceptional standards for our team and our service.
What makes a quality translation?
Translation isn’t merely about finding the right word in the dictionary to translate from one language to another. A quality translation considers an array of factors, such as cultural context, differences between language trees, equivalences as well as the purpose and genre of the text. For example, a skilled translator understands when it’s appropriate to keep a culture-specific word for something, like baguette, or to translate the term into an equivalent word in the target language or to even decide whether it would perhaps be more appropriate to add a footnote to the translation. A translation usually contains dozens of these decisions, which requires an intimate understanding of the culture and idioms of the target language.
The advent of AI and machine-assisted translations have put a spotlight on the differences in quality between human translation and AI-driven translation. While AI-assisted translation can be a cheap and practical solution, AI struggles to understand the context, human nuances and tone of voice. Although it can provide decent translations for simple needs, it often falters in quality when it comes to understanding the context and sociocultural nuance that a human is privy to. Translating entails gaining an understanding of how to think and create meaning differently in another language – actions which the current state of AI struggles to navigate in. However, Baltic Media offers post-editing services on machine-assisted translation, so you can leverage the various benefits of AI while ensuring that the quality of the text is enhanced by a human touch.
How Baltic Media upholds quality standards through vetting and best practices
We are a certified translation agency based in Riga with over 30 years of experience in providing high quality translation services to our clients. At Baltic Media we have the competence and experience to verify the quality of our translation work, so you can rest assured that your translation needs are managed by actual experts.
For us, immersion is a key principle for maintaining the high quality of our translation service as it allows our translators to navigate the culture and human nuances of language. We believe that language is always in flux. That’s why it’s crucial for us that our translation team is in tune with the local developments of a given language. In order to provide the highest quality of translation services for our clients we employ a rigorous selection process. Our translation experts at Baltic Media are all university-credentialed native speakers who reside in the country, where their target language is spoken. Moreover, we vet our translators by testing for speed and accuracy in order to ensure that their translation fundamentals are solid as well.
By working with Baltic Media, you can secure top-tier European translations at 20-30% lower rates without sacrificing quality. Contact us now and receive a prompt response within 15 minutes. Take the first step towards efficient and affordable language solutions today!
