Finding the right translator can be a daunting task. To many, the translation industry is unknown territory – or even an unknown industry. That is why end users often look for providers in the wrong places. Some try free, online machine translation and get frustrated at the results. Others try a bilingual coworker, a language teacher or a language department at a college, an employee with a foreign country’s embassy or consulate, or anyone else who happens to speak the langua

Today (September 28) is #InternationalTranslationDay, so I thought I'd provide a brief explanation of what a translator is. Often I receive a request for a “Spanish translator”. This usually prompts me to ask for a clarification: Do they need someone to translate a document, or do they need an interpreter for spoken language? The media tends to use the terms "translator" and "interpreter" interchangeably, typically reporting that someone was “speaking through a translator” wh

Recently I answered a phone call from a potential client who asked if we provided “translation for the deaf”. Since translation involves written documents, she was really asking the wrong question. The problem was not dyslexia; her client simply couldn’t hear. More commonly, I receive a request for a “Spanish translator”. This typically prompts me to ask for a clarification: do they need someone to translate a document, or do they need an interpreter for spoken language? Ofte