Are Translator’s Psychic? Translation Terminology
We’d like to clear this misconception up once and for all. Professional translators have no particular psychic ability that we’ve been able to detect.
Two Ways Clients Indicate Preferred Terminology Translations
The significance of this realization is that translators won’t know preferred translations of project terminology unless it’s indicated in advance, either through use of:
- TM (electronic translation memory file) or,
- A simple glossary or list of terminology with their preferred translations
In the absence of either of these inputs translators will perform research in the course of a project or rely on their own knowledge and experience. Both of these methods are satisfactory when performed by a professional linguist. That said both of these methods may result in translations that depart from a client’s unstated preferred ones, synonymous ones that depart from the preferred translations but are still correct in meaning.
