10 Myths About Translation and Translators

Translators often have to set clients straight about how our profession actually works. Here are 10 myths about translation and translators that many of us run into over the course of our careers.

Anyone who speaks two or more languages can be a translator

This is one of the biggest myths outside the translation industry. Knowing two languages doesn't mean a person can translate well. Translation is much more than speaking two languages. It is demanding intellectual work that requires thorough linguistic training, an excellent command of the grammar and style of both languages, and knowledge of translation techniques.

A translator can handle any subject as long as it's in their language pair

Good translators usually specialize in just a few subjects. That lets them keep up with changes and trends in those fields. Inexperienced translators, on the other hand, often take on any subject without the knowledge or experience it calls for.

Any translator works equally well in both directions

Some translators really can deliver high quality in both directions, for example from English into Russian and from Russian into English, but there aren't many of them. Clients often assume the quality will be the same whichever way the translation goes. As a rule, translators work into their native language. That isn't always possible, but when it is, it serves both the translator and the client best.

Translators can do any job instantly without preparation

Clients often think translation is a simple task that can be done quickly. In fact, a quality translation of one page can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on how complex the text is, whether reference material is available and whether experts can be consulted.

A native speaker will always translate better than a non-native

This myth is closely related to the first one. Being a native speaker alone doesn't guarantee that someone who knows two languages will produce a high-quality translation. Translation takes study, discipline and constant practice, and native speakers don't come by these qualities naturally.

Translators like it when the client edits the finished translation

After a translator has finished the job, checked it and made all the corrections, do you think they want someone else changing it? Yet quite often someone on the client's side who supposedly knows the target language changes a sentence, a word or a phrase with the best of intentions. If you ordered the translation from a professional, in 99% of cases such edits are at best a matter of taste and at worst distort the meaning.

Only members of professional associations translate well

Plenty of translators do excellent work without ever joining a translators' association. These associations don't govern the global translation market. They do set criteria for admitting and assessing members, but a translator's list of satisfied clients is a much better measure of their competence.

Translation and interpreting are the same thing

Written translation and interpreting are different jobs. They share a lot, such as vocabulary, grammar and industry experience, but they require very different skill sets. That's why not every translator also works as an interpreter.

Translators like working for free

A translator may occasionally agree to work for free, for example on a short test translation for a new client. But translators are professionals who need to earn a living. For them translation is a job, not a hobby, so don't count on free translation.

A translator will accept whatever the client offers to pay

A good translator knows their worth and is unlikely to stray far from their rate. That rate isn't plucked out of thin air. It takes into account taxes, operating costs, average market prices, surcharges for difficult texts, the cost of an editor and, of course, experience and subject knowledge. Clients often push translators to compete by offering lower and lower prices, but when the price drops too low, a good translator will turn the job down because it isn't worth their time. An inexperienced translator may accept any price. In that case, the client gets what they paid for.

Every profession attracts myths sooner or later, and many of them aren't worth believing. We hope these 10 will help you better understand our complex but fascinating profession.