Cultures all around the world have given birth to the diverse languages that are used for communication in the modern era. Because of this, it is needless to say that both culture and translation are interlinked. It doesn’t matter whether you are dealing with technical or healthcare translation; you can never get expected results if you overlook cultural aspects.
It has been noticed that language is much more than communication of internal thoughts and external expression formulated without any dependency on their verbalization. To showcase both the inappropriateness and inadequacy of such an aspect of language, it is crucial to consider how the language is dependent on the life of a community and even on the small groups in that specific community.
This is the main reason companies avoid dealing with translation on their own since they are not aware of the culture of the targeted language, which can lead to a complete disaster after translation. This is why choosing professional translation services becomes imperative.
So, let’s look at how culture impacts translation and why it is the most important aspect of any translation process.
The importance of culture in translation
Culture is considered the way of life, and its demonstration is always specific to a community or group of people using a particular language as its means of expression. Understanding the basics of the culture is imperative to a successful translation; otherwise, many things would be missed, and the translated document will be a complete mess.
Whether the targeted or the original language is a part of the culture, culture and language are inseparable. This is the main reason why companies always look for only those translators who have a better understanding of the culture while choosing professional translation services.
One must always prioritize cultural and linguistic differences while handling any translation project. It has been seen that the difference in culture can have more harsh outcomes in comparison to the difference in language.
Every word translated by a professional translator must align perfectly with the culture of the targeted language. This way, the translated document can make sense not only in the targeted language but also in the targeted culture.
How do professional translators subdue cultural challenges?
Here are a couple of things that all the translators dealing with translation management take care of to avoid cultural mistranslation:-
- Take care of both lexical syntax and content
- Consider ideologies before working on the translation project
- Keep the value system of the targeted culture in mind
- Take note of the ways of life in a specific culture or the target culture
- Understand the audience of both the targeted and the original language
Apart from this, there are other considerations that a professional translator providing translation management must take care of to avoid cultural mistranslation. For example, the name of the brand and the product always have the biggest impact on the targeted audience, especially when the languages used by the targeted audience are different. Now, the translator should always verify the concoction of the name before approving it.
Furthermore, humor is also an issue of culture since what is considered humor among the home audience might not be offensive in the targeted culture. This is also considered by translators who even deal with regulatory translation.
Also, the vocabulary, punctuation and grammar must be understood in a detailed manner, especially if the target audience is different. For example, if you target college students or older people, all the aspects mentioned above of translations can change.
Value differences and taboos
What is considered a restriction in the original language might be welcomed with both hands in the target language. A translator dealing with global translation and providing regulatory translation services should always be sensitive to spiritual and moral values linked with the words and symbols used in the targeted language. It is the value dimension where most newbie translators or non-professional translators can make the biggest mistakes.
A translator who doesn’t have good knowledge of both cultures can never provide effective, accurate and relevant translation service, which is why companies spend so much time on finding an impeccable translation service provider. It doesn’t matter whether you are going for healthcare translation or technical translation; take your time and find the right translator for the job.
Since culture and language are interlinked, all the professional translators with many years of experience prioritize cultural differences while dealing with any translation project. Because cultural differences bring in so many challenges, one should always be wary of working with a translator who never considers culture before translating any piece of document.
