Free Spanish Translation Advice - The Best Approach
March 14th, 2008Which is the best free Spanish to English translation approach? Well, even though a tad tough to generalize, it free Spanish translation technique or method depends much on the source text, its topic, and writing style. For example, if it is a technical document, the best approach is to translate it word by word, as such given in the source document, rather than attempting any local linguistic styles or slang, because it is crucial that the translator effectively translates the gist of the document, without letting its meaning suffer. In technical translations, the translator also gets the freedom to leave technical terms as such sans translating it for such terms are followed universally, across languages, per se.
On the other hand, with literal works, it may not be possible always the word-by-word translation technique. This is because the culture, linguistic styles, and usages differ in languages, and hence some idea or though expressed in one language – sometimes the slang - may not make any sense in another language and vice versa. As a result, in order to keep the essence of the literal work intact, sometimes the translator will be forced to squeeze in a similar slang/usage of near meaning in the translation. It is for sure a delicate balancing act that needs to be done with lots of care, but a translator has no choice in such situations. This is also the reason why translations of prominent literary creations are done only by proven hands, and not by novices. Experience matters in such cases.
In a third approach, documents which are neither of technical content nor are literal works, it is considered OK to read the contents in blocks, understand its meaning, and translate the same in the destination language, but not necessarily in the same order as it is found in the source text. In such translations, as long as the essence of the source document is translated effectively, the work is considered a success. For example, quotes that appear in news papers, delivered by a person in a different language, usually are translated this way. Similarly articles published in English, when translated for the regional press, it is translated in this approach – by picking the gist of the article.