Machine versus Professional Translations: You Get What You Pay For

As Spanish translations of marketing communications become the norm, companies are increasingly using machine translations to cut costs. However, the accuracy and credibility of these Free Spanish Translations has been brought into question. In fact, any document used for commercial or professional purposes must be at the very least checked by an experienced translator if not carried out by one altogether. Ultimately, professional translations are worth the investment especially for documents in which your company credibility and reputation are on the line.

A key flaw of Free Translation Software is that it fails to effectively translate even the simplest of phrases due to the innate complexity of the Spanish Language. A key problem that arises is that very few words have exact equivalents in two different languages. In fact, some words have numerous possible translations, few of which are interchangeable. Knowing which one to use in a given context requires thorough understanding of the source text and mastery of the target language. A poor translation can mean the difference between an international success and a complete failure.

While Free Spanish English Translations can be useful to get the general idea of a word or phrase, they can in no way compete with the accuracy of professional Spanish translations. This is especially important when the finished product is intended to represent a business or organization. Even a slight inaccuracy in an English Spanish translation could jeopardize a company’s reputation. In essence, opting to hire a professional to translate documents is a decision that will save companies money in the long run as it guarantees that marketing efforts will yield expected returns.

By Karina Lairet