Need precise, error-free technical translations? Look no further—our technical translation agency ensures your specialized scientific and technical texts are conveyed with flawless accuracy and expert insight. Now, let’s dive into the fascinating world of technical translation, where precision meets expertise, and the smallest details matter the most.
What Is Technical Translation?
Technical translation goes beyond everyday language—it involves translating highly specialized scientific and technical literature, such as manuals, articles, research papers, and equipment documentation. The primary goal? Ensure absolute accuracy without distorting the original meaning. It’s not just about translating words; it’s about capturing the essence of the author’s thought and transferring that into another language, perfectly intact. Whether it’s a complex software manual or detailed construction blueprints, technical translation leaves no room for error.
The Many Faces of Technical Translation
Did you know there’s more than one type of technical translation? It’s not just the written word—it comes in many forms. Oral translations (think conferences or meetings), abstract translations (a concise summary of larger works), and annotation translations (brief critical summaries) are all essential tools in the translator’s toolkit. There’s also the title translation, which focuses on summarizing headings or key sections. But, most common and crucial is the full written technical translation, which demands an unemotional, fact-based approach.
These texts require formal, logical structure, with no room for creative interpretation. The technical language is dense with terms, abbreviations, and specific grammatical norms—essential for making the translation accessible to experts in the field.
Technical Translation Topics
Technical translation spans a vast array of fields, from engineering to software development. Imagine translating user manuals for heavy machinery, patent documents for cutting-edge technology, or software programming documentation. Other areas include construction projects, tender proposals, scientific research, and complex international contracts. Essentially, if it requires expert knowledge, it likely needs a specialized translation service to make it accessible across borders.
The Challenges and Complexities
Now, what makes technical translation so challenging? The secret lies in the delicate balance between language proficiency and in-depth subject matter expertise. Unlike casual or literary translations, technical work is highly specific. Misinterpreting a single term or abbreviation could lead to a domino effect of errors. Translators must juggle multiple technical standards, industry-specific jargon, and grammatical norms that don’t always have clear parallels in another language.
Let’s not forget abbreviations! Technical texts are full of them, and they often have multiple meanings. The translator must have the experience to determine which meaning applies, ensuring the original intent stays intact. This complexity demands translators with not only strong linguistic abilities but also an in-depth understanding of the particular field they’re translating for.
Accuracy Is Everything
In technical translation, accuracy and conciseness are king. There’s no room for fluff or emotional tone. Every word must serve a specific function, communicating the precise meaning of the original text. Whether it’s a complex machine description or scientific method, it’s vital that the translator cuts through any potential ambiguities to deliver a translation that’s clear and direct.
Terminology plays a key role here—keeping technical terms consistent is crucial for both clarity and legal accuracy. Misinterpreted terms, misused abbreviations, or incorrect grammar can distort the message and lead to significant misunderstandings. And when it comes to technical fields, misunderstanding can be dangerous.
The Risk of Unprofessional Translation
What happens when technical translations go wrong? The stakes can be high. A poorly translated technical document can lead to serious hazards. Imagine a user manual for industrial machinery that’s been incorrectly translated—this could cause faulty operation, putting lives at risk. Legal documents like patents or contracts lose their validity if not translated accurately, potentially leading to litigation. And in scientific fields, mistranslated research could hold back progress or lead to erroneous findings.
That’s why investing in a professional technical translator isn’t just a wise choice—it’s a necessity. Your business, reputation, and, in some cases, safety, could be on the line.
What Makes a Good Technical Translator?
A great technical translator is like a double threat—they’re fluent in foreign languages and specialists in the field they translate for. Ideally, they have both linguistic and technical training, allowing them to understand the nuances of the subject while preserving the integrity of the original text. It’s not enough to simply translate word-for-word; they need to understand the industry-specific terminology, standards, and expectations in both the source and target languages.
In Conclusion: It’s More Than Just Words
Technical translation is a complex, high-stakes task that requires far more than a surface-level understanding of the source language. It demands precision, attention to detail, and an in-depth grasp of the subject matter. When done right, it enables the global exchange of information, innovation, and expertise. If you’re looking for seamless, accurate technical translations, trust the experts who understand the nuances of your industry as well as the language itself.
The Russian language is interesting and attractive to foreigners with its rich literature, cultural heritage and expressiveness. However, abroad it is often seen as complex and mysterious, sometimes completely alien and incomprehensible. We have collected ten impressive facts about this language.
Russian is a hard nut to crack in the linguistic world
Russian is rightly considered one of the most difficult languages to learn, a real puzzle for foreigners, and this is not just a stereotype. Its case system is like a maze with six exits (and all of them seem to be correct, but try to find the right one!). And when you finally learn all the rules, you’ll immediately encounter a lot of exceptions, as if someone has deliberately decided to make the task more difficult. Let’s briefly name the main difficulties you will encounter while learning the language:
Cases – There are six cases with different endings.
Grammatical gender – There are masculine, feminine, and neuter genders.
Verb types – There are perfect and imperfect verb types.
Exceptions to the rules – There are many irregular forms and exceptions.
Verb Conjugation – Complex forms for tenses and persons.
Emphasis – The dependence of the meaning of a word on a correctly placed accent.
Phonetics – Difficult to pronounce sounds, softness and hardness of consonants.
Free word order – Different variations in sentence construction.
Synonyms and nuances – Large number of synonyms and subtle differences in meaning.
Intonation – A complex system of intonation that often completely changes the meaning of phrases and makes a question out of a statement and vice versa.
Listen to nature – it speaks Russian
Russian language is closely connected with nature. Many words seem to be directly borrowed from the sounds that are produced by various phenomena around us. Take, for example, the word “noise”. If you listen, it sounds like the wind in the forest. And here is the word “crunch” resembles the sound of a branch breaking. These words literally come to life when you say them. Maybe that’s why it’s so easy to describe emotions and atmosphere in Russian.
The Russian language dictionary is a veritable treasure trove of synonyms
If you think that the word “beautiful” is the only way to describe your admiration from contemplating something, you are very wrong. The Russian language is so rich in synonyms that you can describe the same thing in dozens of ways. The word “beautiful” can be replaced with “beautiful”, “magnificent”, “elegant”, “dazzling”, “marvelous” – and that’s just the beginning of the list. Russian is not just a language, it is a real field for creativity!
Words with double accent – a highlight of the Russian language
An interesting and unusual feature: in the Russian language there are words that can be pronounced with a different accent, and in this case their meaning will not change. For example, “torts” or “cakes” – both variants are correct. The language gives you not only freedom of choice, but also a chance to play with accents!
The longest word
In the Russian language there are words that look as if they decided to collect all the letters of the alphabet in one place. If we do not take into account chemical terms with their infinite: tetrahydropyranylcyclopentyltetrahydropyridopyridine or methoxychlorodiethylaminomethylbutylaminoacridine. More humanizing is this long word, “radiographic-electrocardiographic.” This is a medical term, and if you suddenly have to pronounce it, you will feel like a real professor! But be careful – don’t forget to take a deep breath before you say it.
In the old days, the Russian alphabet was longer
Today we are used to the fact that the Russian language has 33 letters, but this was not always the case. Once the Cyrillic alphabet had as many as 43 letters! One by one, S (zelo), I (and decimal), Ђ (chie), OY (ouk), Ѡ (omega), Ҁ (koppa), Ѣ (yat), Ѧ (small yus), Ѫ (big yus), Ѯ (ksi), Ѱ (psi), Ѳ (fita) and Ѵ (izhitsa) disappeared from the alphabet. The last time the alphabet was simplified after the 1918 reforms, we lost some interesting characters. Who knows, maybe in an alternate universe we would write completely differently now!
“Yes” in Russian is not always just ”yes”
If you think that the word “yes” in Russian is the only expression of agreement, you are in for a disappointment. Depending on the situation, “yes” can turn into “uh-huh”, “aha”, “of course”, “exactly”, “da-da”, and sometimes even into a meaningful silence with raised eyebrows. The Russian language is rich not only in words, but also in intonation, which can change the meaning of even a simple agreement.
The diminutive-lascivious forms are a special language of love
In the Russian language, diminutive-lascivious forms are affection, tenderness and appeasement! With their help you can express your feelings or friendly attitude. “Sergey” can become ‘Serezhenka’, and ‘cat’ – ‘kitty’. This is not just a form of communication, but a way to show warmth and care. It is not surprising that even adults can be “Tanechka” and “Sashenka” for their loved ones.
Russian language for export
Russian not only borrows words itself, but also generously shares them with other languages. One of the most famous words is “sputnik”. After the launch of the first artificial satellite in 1957, this word became international and is now used all over the world. Often foreigners can speak Russian without even realizing it. Here are some more widely-used Russian words that have taken root well in other languages: sable, mammoth, nihilist, intelligentsia, babushka, dacha.
Where the land of Russia came from
The name Russia came from the medieval name “Russia” or “Rus”, which was used to designate the territories of the Eastern Slavs on the territory of Kievan Rus, which existed from the IX to XII centuries. It is believed that the name “Rus” came from the Varangian tribe Rus, which in the IX century played a significant role in the formation and management of the state.
In the XIV-XV centuries, after the collapse of Kievan Rus, the Principality of Moscow began to strengthen and claim the heritage of Rus. In the 16th century, Ivan the Terrible officially adopted the title “Tsar of All Russia”, and since then the name “Russia” has stuck to the state.
The Russian language is not just a means of communication, but a living history that reflects the culture and soul of the people. For many foreigners it seems difficult, but it is in these difficulties that its uniqueness lies. It is like traveling to an uncharted world, where every new word is a small discovery, and rules and exceptions are exciting riddles.
Yes, learning Russian is not an easy task, but behind every difficulty lies an opportunity to feel the language literally come to life. Here you can play with accents, choose from a variety of synonyms and express the most subtle emotions that other languages often can not.
Everyone who decides to master Russian is not just learning a new language, but discovering the key to a vast universe of ideas, emotions and history. It’s like entering a new world where every word holds a piece of culture and heritage. And the further you go, the more you realize how rich and amazing this language is.
English is an official language in 54 countries around the world French is an official language in 29 countries around the world Arabic is an official language in 22 countries of the world Spanish is an official language in 20 countries around the world. Even Portuguese is an official language in 9 countries around the world … But the colonizer is called Israel. Don’t get confused. Hebrew is an official language in only one country!
Czech is undoubtedly one of the most developed languages in Europe. It emerged at the end of the first millennium from a western dialect of the Proto-Slavic language and has developed over the centuries to its present form, with between 250,000 and 300,000 word roots. There is no shortage of interesting and surprising facts about this language. Check how familiar you are with the Czech language:
Are you aware of some old Czech expressions and do you know that wonderful place where you meet “borok” and have to work “vartko”? Do you know how many words the average Czech knows and which language is the easiest for Czechs to learn? If not, read on. The Czech language is full of unusual and amusing facts and trivia that you won’t find in other languages.
What is unique about the Czech language, what has it given to the world, how many words does it contain and what records does it hold? February 21 is International Mother Language Day, which has been celebrating linguistic diversity since 1999 and is a great opportunity to learn more about this wonderful language!
The very first words of a Czech child
At around one year of age, the child begins to communicate with simple words that repeat syllables. The word “mama” is often the first and by far the simplest and most easily pronounced word. Similarly, the child continues to play with similar words such as “baba,” “daddy,” “peepee,” and so on. These words are important to children because they often express their needs, joy and desires, writes author Tereza Paštíková from the University of Hradec Kralove in her dissertation “Development of language skills in preschool children”.
Growing up further. The first phrases young Czechs learn to read are “meat” and “salt.”
When Czech children learn to read, they use a slabikarz (primer). Its content has remained virtually unchanged for a century. Strangely enough, it talks about meat, salt and cooking!
Máma mele maso. (Mama grinds the meat) Ema má mísu. (Ema has a bowl) Máme mísu masa. (We have a bowl of meat) Máme maso a sůl. (We have meat and salt)
How many words are there in the Czech language
The Czech language has between 250,000 and 300,000 word roots according to various sources and is constantly evolving. The most extensive dictionary of the Czech language today, the Handbook of the Czech Language, published gradually from 1935 to 1957, has about 250 thousand entries. However, it contains words that are unfamiliar to few people today, and conversely, it omits some modern forms and vulgarisms, claims the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.
The letter Ř
If the letter Ř appears in a text, you can be one hundred percent sure — it is Czech. Although the letter Ř is also found in Silesian and Upper Sorbian. A similar consonant is also found in some Norwegian dialects around Narvik. However, of the official national languages, only Czech has this letter. The Czech letter Ř has appeared in the language since the 13th century, and its origin has several possible explanations. One of them is that it evolved from the letter R, which in Proto-Slavic was once followed by a softening vowel b, which later came to be written as an apostrophe. And from it eventually came the hook: mor’e became morzhe, tr’i – trzhemya, etc.
Longest Czech word
The first place among Czech words with the largest number of letters was taken by the word “nejzdevětadevadesvadesáteronásobitelnějšího”, which translates as “ninety-nine times longer”. It has only 38 letters, according to the iČeština website. First place for the longest word without vowels goes to “čtvrtsmršť” (storm chertvrť), according to the website of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Although many such rather meaningless words can be invented, as long as they do not contradict the Czech rules of word formation.
Most famous native Czech word
Writer Karel Čapek may not have realized the meaning of the word “robot”, which he coined for his drama R.U.R.. The word was originally suggested to him by his brother Josef Čapek when the writer was at a loss as to what to call an artificial being. Now the word is one of the most famous words of Czech origin and having become an integral part of the most common English language, it has been adopted by many other languages of the world.
There are other equally famous Czech words that have literally conquered the world and have entered an impressive number of languages, such as polka or pistol. You can find many other examples that have taken root in only one of the languages. English, for example, adopted hachek, i.e. hook, with the accent mark, or tunneling from the verb tunelovat, which originated in the Czech Republic in the turbulent 90s. In Polish, thanks to Czech, there is ponieważ (because), więzienie (prison) or wahać się (to hesitate). The Czech hamster form criceto seems to have penetrated into Italian. A large number of Czech words are found in German, especially in Austrian, which has adopted mainly culinary vocabulary: Buchtel (bun), Kolatsche (pie), Palatschinken (pancakes), Ribiselmarmelade (currant marmalade), Fisolen (beans), Kren (horseradish) and many others.
Which languages are easiest for Czechs to learn
There are three main criteria that determine whether another language is easy or difficult. First, how much the language has in common with your mother tongue or languages you know. Second, the sound system of the language and third, the difficulty of the grammar.
According to the ranking, Czechs find it easiest to learn English, Polish, Italian, Russian and for some reason Indonesian, according to the Presto website. Slovak, due to its linguistic similarities, can be understood, at least to a large extent, by every Czech. These languages have a very high degree of similarity, about 60-70% at the level of vocabulary and grammar.
Czech is a minority language in Portugal
Although Czech is not considered a world language, it is spoken far beyond the Czech Republic. It is considered a minority language in Poland, Serbia, Ukraine, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Austria.
Over the centuries, Czechs have immigrated almost everywhere. According to Euromonitor, outside the Czech Republic, Czech is most commonly spoken in Slovakia (24.86%), Portugal (1.93%), Poland (0.98%) and Germany (0.47%).
The largest number of Czechs abroad live in the USA, followed by Argentina, where mainly Czechs from Moravia and Slovakia moved during the First and Second World Wars. It is also worth mentioning the Czech minority in Croatia, where Czechs came mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries as sought-after specialists to set up manufactories. Since the nineteenth century, Czech has also been spoken in southern Romania, including in Serbia’s Banat region. However, only half of the original twelve settlements, where about 8,500 Czechs lived at the time, remain today.
Surnames may surprise you
Do you know what letter most Czech surnames start with? It is the letter K, and typical Czech surnames are Kopecký, Kratochvil, Karas or Komarek. However, the longest Czech surname starts with the unusual letter Č, and it is “Červenokostelecký”, consisting of 17 letters, as listed on the iČeština website.
Almost 1 percent of Internet texts are in Czech
Who would have thought that Czech would be among the 15 most popular languages on the Internet? It seems that the number of non-English pages on the web is growing rapidly. Czechs are more active on the Internet than Internet users in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
Words borrowed from atypical languages
Besides the obvious borrowing of concepts and words from “classical” ones such as German and Latin, we can find other words. For example, which came from exotic Arabic “káva, algebra” (coffee, algebra), Finnish “sauna, kreslit” (sauna, draw), Japanese “gejša, mikádo, kimono, džudo” (geisha, mikado, kimono, judo) or even from Indian languages “čokoláda, kánoe” (chocolate, canoe), according to the book “Průvodce českým jazykkem” by Věra Dobešová and Vladimíra Fialová.
Vocabulary
Although there are up to 300,000 words and expressions in the Czech language, we don’t need that many for speaking. The average Czech vocabulary is about 50,000-60,000 words (mostly passive), of which the active vocabulary includes 3000-10,000 words, the number depending on the age and education of the user. Passive vocabulary, i.e. words we know but do not use, is 3-6 times larger. For comparison, the vocabulary of English is estimated at 500,000 words, German – 300,000 to 400,000, depending on whether all complex word formations are taken into account, and Russian – about 200,000 thousand words. Keep this in mind when you start learning Czech.
The word “Boroka” can only be found in Silesia
The Cieszyn dialect, which is mainly found in the territory of Cieszyn Silesia in the east of the Czech Republic, is known in this region mainly as “ponašymu / po naszymu” (our way). It is a very specific dialect combining Czech, Polish, Slovak, German and some isolated Silesian expressions, according to Wikipedia.
Only here you can find words like borok (poor man), štrample (tights), cukle (sandals), majtky (panties), vartko (fast) or bravek (pig). In total, there are about 16 dialects of the Czech language.
Among the disappearing dialects is the one spoken in the mountainous Krkonoše region. In an attempt to preserve it, a dictionary of terms and regional idioms used in local handicrafts and cottage industries, namely textiles and glass.
Czech is one of the few European languages that distinguish vowel lengths
Long vowels are indicated by a sharp dash above the letter (čárka) or, sometimes, a ring (kroužek). So when you see á, é, í, ó, ú, ů and ý, pronounce them 1.75 times longer. Does it sound difficult? Don’t worry! Even native speakers don’t always follow these rules, and people from the Ostrava region of Poland usually don’t pronounce them at all.
Archaisms that are no longer used
Almost every language has words and expressions that are obsolete and no longer used. In a professional environment, these are archaisms – words that, unlike historicisms, denote objects and phenomena that are still relevant, but for some reason are mostly used as synonyms.
Typical and already forgotten Czech archaisms include “drahný” (long, e.g. about time), “anžto” (because), “peku” (baking), “arci” (of course) or “škamna” (school desk), according to the website Moje Čeština.
There are a number of untranslatable words in the Czech language
Every language has untranslatable words. The Danes have hygge, and the Czechs have pohoda. Pohoda can be translated as contentment, although it is much more than that. Czechs are also known for their lítost, a phrase coined by writer Milan Kundera as a state of agony and anguish that arises at the sudden sight of one’s own suffering. Perhaps it’s because there is no verb in the Czech language for “hugs”!
Adding “-ovat” is an interesting way to turn international verbs into Czech verbs
Czech used to borrow a number of words from German (tepich, krám, punčochy or brýle), but now English loan words have taken their place. Czechs are very inventive in their use: just take a foreign verb and add the Czech grammatical affix -ovat to it, and you get googlovat, mailovat, esemeskovat.
Where is my house?
Did you know that the Czech hymn actually consists of only two stanzas and has been re-sung many times by other Slavic peoples? For example, there was a third stanza “for Moravia” whose authorship is still unknown, and the fourth stanza “for Silesia” was written in 1881 by František Polašek, a teacher from Orlov. There is also a fifth stanza “for Slovakia” and countless other paraphrases according to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. The following stanzas directly refer to the places to which they are dedicated.
Original
Translation
Kde domov můj? Kde domov můj? Voda hučí po lučinách, bory šumí po skalinách, v sadě skví se jara květ, zemský ráj to na pohled! A to je ta krásná země, země česká domov můj!
Where is my home? Where is my home? Water roars through meadows wide, Pines hum softly on the mountainside, In orchards blooms the spring’s bright hue, A paradise appears in view! And this is that beautiful land, Czech land, my homeland true!
If you need a professional translation of Czech or any other language, you can always turn to our agency for quality translation services. We are always happy to receive new and interesting orders.
Which language has the longest alphabet? What is the most common letter in English? And in Russian? What is a dord?
Languages are not only complex, but also fascinating. Our translation agency has made another collection of interesting facts about languages. Take a look – did you know this?
Which countries have the most languages spoken?
Papua New Guinea is the undisputed leader in language diversity, with over 700 languages spoken across its small territory. Recent figures suggest there might even be up to 841 languages, although 11 of them no longer have living speakers. Interestingly, the country’s constitution doesn’t designate any official language, yet English is used for official documents, often in a simplified form known as “pidgin.”
On the other hand, India holds the record for the most official languages, with 17, followed by South Africa with 11. Surprisingly, the United States has no official national language, and while English is the official language in 28 states, in Illinois, the official language is legally defined as “American.”
By the way, in the USSR, which united a huge territory and many different peoples, only 120 languages were used.
Which alphabet is the smallest and which is the largest?
The alphabet of the people on Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea is the shortest in the world. The Rotokas language, spoken by the island’s inhabitants, uses an alphabet with only 12 letters: a, e, g, i, k, o, p, r, s, t, u, v. This makes it the alphabet with the fewest letters and the smallest number of consonants among modern alphabets. Linguists classify Rotokas as part of the Papuan language group, and it’s spoken by just over 4,000 people. Interestingly, a partial translation of the Bible into Rotokas was done in 1969, and the full New Testament was published in this language in 1982.
Until the early 1990s, the Ubykh language existed with an alphabet of 91 letters, but it is now considered extinct.
The Khmer language has the largest alphabet, with 74 letters (though two consonants are now obsolete). Khmer is spoken in the Kingdom of Cambodia by around 16 million people. However, if you count all the characters, including those with diacritical marks, a Khmer language textbook for Khmer students lists 104 letters.
How many sign languages are there?
Sign language is a distinct and unique system, vastly different from spoken languages, with its own vocabulary and grammar. Sign languages used by deaf communities are fully developed languages, with emotional expression and functional richness that rival verbal communication.
In most countries, sign languages have official recognition. For example, there’s British Sign Language (BSL), American Sign Language (ASL), Australian Sign Language, French Sign Language, and more—121 sign languages worldwide.
To help deaf people from different countries communicate, an international sign system called Gestuno (International Sign Language, IS) was created, drawing from various sign languages, though it heavily features ASL while Asian, African, and South American sign languages are largely excluded. Gestuno is used both informally and in official settings, like the Deaflympics (sporting events for those with hearing impairments).
Sign languages develop independently from spoken languages. For instance, British English and American English might sound similar, but British Sign Language (BSL) and American Sign Language (ASL) are entirely different. Similarly, Austrian and German Sign Languages are distinct, unlike their spoken counterparts.
The Phantom Word “Dord” in English Dictionaries
The word “Dord” is a curious example of how even respected dictionaries can contain errors, with words that shouldn’t actually exist ending up in them. While you won’t find “Dord” in modern English dictionaries, it did appear in Merriam-Webster dictionaries during the 1930s.
The story started in 1939 when an editor of Webster’s New International Dictionary found the word “Dord” in the second edition from 1934. It was defined as a synonym for “density,” used by physicists and chemists. However, when the editor looked into its origins, he discovered that “Dord” wasn’t a real word. Despite realizing the mistake, “Dord” continued to appear in dictionaries until 1947, when it finally gained attention in the lexicographical community.
But how did “Dord” get into the dictionary in the first place? In 1931, a note was sent to the dictionary’s editorial team with the instruction “D or d, cont./density.” This was meant to include “density” as an abbreviation under the letter “D.” However, due to the spacing on the form, “D or d” was misread as the single word “Dord,” and it was mistakenly added to the dictionary.
“Dord” is indeed a “ghost word”—a word that never truly existed but found its way into official records. Despite its brief life in the dictionary, “Dord” remains an interesting linguistic anomaly.
The word “synonym” doesn’t have a synonym
It is believed that it does. However, this is a very debatable fact. At least, because there is a word “analog”, as well as different words that can be synonyms of “synonym” depending on the context.
In our opinion, the word “synonym” does have synonyms, though they are not exact one-to-one replacements. Some alternatives include:
Equivalent
Alternative
Substitute
Metonym
These words can sometimes be used in place of “synonym,” but their meanings may vary slightly depending on the context. None of them capture the precise linguistic relationship that “synonym” does.
Which language has the most native speakers?
It’s clear that the most widely spoken language by the number of native speakers is Chinese—specifically, Mandarin. Mandarin is the largest of the Chinese dialects, encompassing closely related dialects spoken across much of northern and western China. At least 918 million people speak Mandarin.
Spanish comes in second, with nearly half a billion speakers worldwide.
The most needed letter
The most popular and frequently used letter in the English alphabet is “E,” with a usage frequency of 12.7%. The rarest letter is “Z,” appearing only 0.05% of the time.
English author Ernest Vincent Wright took on a unique challenge: he wrote a 50,000-word novel without using the letter “E” even once. The book, titled Gadsby (not to be confused with The Great Gatsby), is an impressive feat. In the introduction, Wright explains how he managed this, noting the difficulty of avoiding common words like “he,” “she,” “the,” and past-tense verbs ending in “ed.”
In the Russian language, the most frequently used letters are: “O,” followed by “E,” then “I,” and “A.” After that, the most common consonants are “N,” “T,” “S,” and “R,” among others.
This fact was well-known to typesetters back in the day, as they could tell from experience which letters were used most often when setting type.
Who speaks the fastest?
Speech speed is measured in syllables spoken per second or minute. The fastest language in the study was not French, as previously thought, but Japanese. The Japanese speak at an incredible rate of 7.84 syllables per second.
The opposite of Japanese in this sense are Chinese and German. Chinese is spoken at 5.18 syllables per second and German at 5.97.
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Languages are not just a means of communication, but also a reflection of the culture, history and worldview of peoples. Unfortunately, many languages are disappearing, taking with them unique linguistic features and cultural heritage. In this article, we will look at seven languages that have disappeared, each of them had unique features that made it special in the linguistic world.
Etruscan: The Enigma of Ancient Italy
The Etruscan language, spoken in central Italy before the Romans arrived, remains one of the greatest linguistic mysteries. Thriving from the 8th to the 2nd century BC, this language did not belong to the Indo-European family and had a number of unique features. One of the most intriguing features of Etruscan was its written language. The Etruscans used an alphabet adapted from Greek, but wrote from right to left. Interestingly, in early inscriptions, the lines could alternate in direction, creating what is known as “boustrophedon” (literally “bull’s turn”) writing.
The Etruscan language had an unusual phonetic system that included sounds that were difficult to render in the Greek or Latin alphabet. For example, it had a sound similar to the English “th” that was not found in Latin.
The grammar of Etruscan was also unique. Unlike most ancient Mediterranean languages, Etruscan had no grammatical genus. Instead, there was a complex case system with up to eight different forms. Although the Etruscan language disappeared about 2,000 years ago, it left a mark on modern Italian. About 50 words of the Italian language, including some proper names, are of Etruscan origin. For example, the word “persona” comes from the Etruscan “phersu”, which denoted an actor’s mask.
Easter Island Language: Rongo-rongo and the Mysteries of the Pacific
The Easter Island language, also known as Rapanui, was a unique Polynesian language spoken by the inhabitants of this remote island in the Pacific Ocean. While the language itself has not completely disappeared (its modern form is still used by a small number of speakers), its ancient form, associated with the mysterious Rongo-rongo script, is considered lost.
Rongo-rongo is a writing system that has not yet been deciphered. It consists of about 120 basic glyphs that can be combined in various ways. What makes it unique is that it may have been the only independently developed writing system in Oceania.
An interesting feature of the ancient Rapanui language was its complex counting system. It used different numerals depending on what was being counted. For example, one set of numerals was used for fish, another set for fruit, and a third set for people. In all, there were about 20 different counting systems.
The Easter Island language was also famous for its many metaphors and figurative expressions. For example, the phrase “vai kona hora rivariva” literally meant “sweet-tasting water,” but was used to describe good news or pleasant events.
Unfortunately, the ancient form of the language and knowledge of the Rongo-Rongo were lost in the nineteenth century due to a series of tragic events, including the slave trade and epidemics. Linguists estimate that by 1877 there were only about 110 native speakers left on the island, resulting in the loss of much of its ancient features.
The Ubykh language: The record holder in the number of consonants
The Ubykh language, which became extinct in 1992 with the death of its last speaker, Tevfik Esench, was a unique representative of the Northwest Caucasian language family. This language was famous for its incredibly complex phonetic system, which still amazes linguists.
The Ubykh language had a record number of consonant sounds among all known languages of the world – 84 consonants with only two vowels. For comparison, English has about 24 consonant sounds and Russian has 33. This phonetic peculiarity made the Ubykh language extremely difficult for foreigners to learn. Among these 84 consonants were sounds that are rarely found in other languages of the world. For example, in Ubykh there were labialized uvular consonants, which are pronounced with simultaneous rounding of the lips and closing of the back of the tongue to the soft palate.
The grammar of the Ubykh language was also very complex. It had more than 50 case forms, which far exceeds the number of cases in most known languages. In addition, Ubykh had an ergative system, where the subject of a non-transitive verb is labeled the same as the subject of a transitive verb. An interesting feature of Ubykh was the presence of so-called “directional prefixes”, which indicated the direction of action relative to the speaker. Thus, the verb could contain information about whether the object was moving towards, away from or past the speaker.
The last speaker of the Ubykh language, Tevfik Esench, played a crucial role in preserving knowledge of this unique language. He worked with linguists for decades to help document the grammar and vocabulary of Ubykh. Thanks to his efforts, despite the language’s disappearance, scholars have been able to preserve much of the information about it for future generations.
Yukaghir Language: Numerals and Shamanism in Siberia
The Yukaghir language, though not completely extinct, is on the verge of extinction. This language, spoken by fewer than 100 people in remote areas of Siberia, has a number of unique features that make it particularly interesting to linguists.
One of the most unusual features of the Yukaghir language is its system of numerals. Unlike most languages, which have a decimal or twenty-decimal counting system, Yukaghir uses a pentameter system. This means that numbers are grouped by five rather than ten. For example, the number “seven” in Yukagiri literally translates to “two on the third five”.
The Yukaghir language is also known for its complex system of evidentiality, a grammatical category that indicates the source of a speaker’s information. There are five different forms of evidentiality in Yukaghir, including direct testimony, inference, supposition, second-hand information, and information from folklore.
An interesting feature of Yukaghir is the presence of a special “shamanic” language or register. This language was used by shamans during rituals and contained many metaphors and figurative expressions incomprehensible to the uninitiated. For example, the common word “deer” in the shamanic language could be replaced by the expression “one who wears antlers”.
The Yukaghir language is also characterized by its nominative-marked system, which is unusual for Siberian languages. This means that the subject in a sentence is marked with a special case, while in most neighboring languages the direct complement is marked. Unfortunately, due to the small number of speakers and assimilation processes, the Yukaghir language is in danger of extinction.
According to UNESCO estimates, unless urgent measures are taken to preserve it, it may completely disappear within the next 50 years.
Nahuatl: The Poetic Speech of the Aztecs
The Nahuatl language spoken by the Aztecs, while not completely extinct (modern forms of Nahuatl are still used in parts of Mexico), has lost many of the unique features of its classical form.
Classical Nahuatl, which flourished between the 15th and 16th centuries, had a number of surprising linguistic features. One of the most famous features of Nahuatl was its ability to form long compound words, often called “sentence words.” For example, the word “notlazomahuizteopixatkatzin” meant “my esteemed reverend father priest.” This agglutinative nature of the language allowed complex ideas to be expressed in a single word, making Nahuatl extremely expressive.
Nahuatl was famous for its poetic tradition known as “flower songs” (in xochitl in cuicatl). This form of poetry utilized a complex system of metaphors and parallelisms. For example, the phrase “flower and song” was a metaphor for poetry and truth. Nahuatl poets often used diphrasism, a rhetorical device where two words were combined to express a single concept. For example, “face and heart” meant “character” or “essence”.
An interesting feature of Nahuatl was its system of deferential speech. The language had special forms of address and verbs that were used when speaking to people of high status. For example, instead of the usual word for “sleep” (cochi), the word “moteochitia”, literally meaning “to lower one’s eyelids”, was used when addressing a noble.
Nahuatl also had a unique system of classifiers – morphemes that indicated physical characteristics of objects. For example, there were separate classifiers for flat objects, long objects, round objects, etc. This system allowed for very accurate and imaginative descriptions. Unfortunately, after the Spanish conquest, many of the unique features of classical Nahuatl were lost.
Although modern forms of Nahuatl are still used by approximately 1.5 million people in Mexico, they differ significantly from the Aztec language. Nevertheless, efforts to revitalize and preserve the classical forms of Nahuatl continue, and interest in this unique language is growing among both linguists and the general public.
Dalmatian: The last speaker of a Romance language of the Balkans
The Dalmatian language, which became extinct in 1898 with the death of its last speaker, Tuone Udaina, was a unique Romance language that developed on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. The language was a fascinating mixture of Latin roots with Slavic and Greek influences, making it unique among Romance languages.
One of the most interesting features of Dalmatian was its phonetic system. Unlike most Romance languages, Dalmatian retained some archaic Latin sounds. For example, the Latin “c” before “e” and “i” was pronounced as [k], not as [ch] or [ts] as in other Romance languages. Thus, the Latin word “civitas” (city) in Dalmatian sounded like [kivatə], not [civita] or [sivita].
Dalmatian was also notable for retaining some of the grammatical features of Latin lost in other Romance languages. For example, it retained the neutral gender of nouns, which has disappeared in most other Romance languages. In addition, Dalmatian retained the system of noun declension, albeit in a simplified form compared to Latin.
The lexicon of Dalmatian was particularly interesting because of the influence of neighboring languages. Although the basis of the vocabulary was Romance, there was a considerable amount of borrowings from Slavic languages and Greek. For example, the word “buki” (book) was borrowed from Slavic languages and “katróida” (chair) from Greek.
An interesting feature of Dalmatian was its system of numerals, which combined elements of the decimal and twenty-decimal systems. For example, the number 50 was expressed as “dui kuldeset”, which literally meant “two times twenty and ten”.
Unfortunately, the Dalmatian language was gradually superseded by the Venetian dialect of Italian and Croatian. By the nineteenth century, it survived only on the island of Veljo (modern-day Krk). The last native speaker, Tuone Udaina, did not use it in his daily life and only remembered it when linguists became interested in this endangered language. Udaina tragically died in a mine explosion during road work in 1898, taking with him the last living knowledge of this unique language.
Tasmanian languages: Isolated languages of the island world
The Tasmanian languages are a group of extinct languages spoken by the indigenous people of the island of Tasmania prior to European colonization. These languages had completely disappeared by 1905 with the death of the last speaker, Fanny Cochrane Smith. Tasmanian are particularly interesting to linguists because of their long isolation and unique features.
One of the most striking features of the Tasmanian langs was their phonetic system. Unlike most languages of the world, Tasmanian lacked fricative consonants (such as “f”, “s”, “sh”). Instead, they had a rich system of explosive and nasal consonants. This made the sound very unusual to the European ear.
The grammar of the Tasmanian also had some unique features. For example, they had a complex system of dual forms – grammatical forms used to refer to exactly two objects or people. This system was more developed than in most other languages of the world that have dual forms.
An interesting feature of the Tasmanian languages was their system of numerals. Unlike most languages where there are separate words for numbers greater than three or four, Tasmanian languages had only words for “one”, “two” and “many”. This reflected the distinctive culture and lifestyle of the Tasmanian Aborigines, for whom accurate counting of large numbers was not necessary.
The vocabulary of the Tasmanian languages was also unique. Because of Tasmania’s long isolation (about 12,000 years) from mainland Australia, Tasmanian languages developed many words that have no counterparts in other Australian languages. For example, Tasmanian had separate words for different kinds of native plants and animals that were not found on the mainland.
Unfortunately, European colonization of Tasmania in the 19th century led to the rapid disappearance of this iseland languages. By the 1830s, most speakers of them had been killed or relocated, and those who remained were forced to switch to English. Despite the efforts of linguists and anthropologists, very little information about the languages has survived. It is estimated that only about 250 words have survived, making them one of the least documented extinct languages in the world.
The disappearance represents not only a linguistic loss, but also the loss of a unique cultural heritage. These languages carried millennia of knowledge about the local ecology, traditions and worldview of Tasmanian Aboriginal people. Their disappearance is a sad reminder of the fragility of linguistic diversity and the importance of preserving endangered languages.
What if you ask a Muslim woman out on a date? Or maybe even get married?
Islam is one of the world’s major religions, characterized by a rich interweaving of cultural and religious traditions. At its core, Islam emphasizes important values such as modesty, morality, and the sanctity of family life. Like any other faith, Islam has a set of rules and principles that shape the lives of its followers.
To observe these principles, Islam offers certain guidelines for both men and women. But we are going to talk about women.
Can a Muslim woman be with a non-Muslim man?
There are so many adherents of Islam in the world that it is impossible to avoid situations where sympathy arises between believers and non-believers. More often we hear that Muslim men find wives from different countries and it seems as if they do not care so much what religion a woman belongs to.
But we hardly ever hear stories about Muslim women marrying Christians, atheists and others. This does not mean that these stories do not exist, but they are indeed more rare and hidden. The most interesting thing about this is that both women and men in Islam are forbidden to marry non-believers.
It turns out that men are more likely to violate these prohibitions. Someone will say: “You can convert a woman to Islam and then you can get married, the Koran does not forbid it”. Yes, indeed. But the problem is that in principle it forbids dating non-believers. Nowadays there are even special Muslim-only dating apps and the interesting term “halal dating”.
So, if it happens that a non-Muslim man and a Muslim woman have sympathy, the future of such a couple is extremely unlikely and vague. There is a high chance that after meeting you will not meet again, and if you do, the girl bears huge reputational risks. God forbid, someone from relatives or acquaintances will find out … There will be big problems!
In general, it is haram – it is forbidden to meet and marry non-believers. Although many people certainly want to. Some Muslim women travel the world, see other cultures and dream of trying different things – it’s a fact. Speaking of traveling….
Traveling Muslim women
In Islam, it is not recommended for women to travel alone for safety reasons. Well, it’s not recommended. It’s actually almost impossible – no one will let them in.
The rule was created to protect women from potential danger and to ensure their safety while traveling. Women are encouraged to travel with a close family member or trusted companion. Much depends on the particular family, country and other factors. Some places are stricter about these things, others not so much.
Abroad, of course, there is an increased chance of any interaction between Muslim women and non-Muslims, which no one in the family will be happy about for the reasons described above.
Contacts with men
We’ve sorted out that Muslim women cannot be with non-Muslim men, but what about contact and socializing?
Eye contact
Modesty is highly valued in Islam, and interactions between men and women should be modest. In our culture, maintaining eye contact during conversations is generally encouraged as a sign of sincerity and respect, regardless of the gender of the other person. In Islam, however, it is recommended that both men and women lower their eyes when interacting with the opposite sex.
This practice is intended to prevent inappropriate or lustful thoughts from arising during these interactions.
Touching
Physical contact between unrelated men and women is discouraged in Islam, primarily to protect against potential temptation.
This rule includes avoiding casual physical touching, as well as hugging or shaking hands with members of the opposite sex. Of course, any contact between Muslim women and members of other faiths is particularly frowned upon.
Communication
Of course, there are no direct prohibitions on Muslim women communicating with men of other faiths, but they are definitely not encouraged in Islam. It is also considered that such communication must have a valid reason – discussion of studies, work, but in no way idle conversations and especially not about something personal.
In general, everything is strict. No flirting, eyes in the floor, closed clothes. And one more important rule – you can not be alone with the opposite sex to avoid sinful thoughts or rumors of any inappropriate relationships.
Still, the article turned out to be more about prohibitions than about permitted things. In fact, Muslim women are allowed to communicate with non-Muslim men only on business and in a very distant manner. Although, of course, all sorts of things happen in life.
Probably, about every country you can collect a dozen stereotypes: from funny to strange, but you should realize that not all of them have to do with reality. For example, we Russians do not drink vodka in the morning or play chess and checkers with a pet bear.
There is a similar set of distorted ideas about every nation. For example, Poles trade in blood, walk children in cemeteries and proudly wear the title of cuckolds – and horns at the same time.
However, upon closer examination, everything becomes clear.
Poles wear horns
In Poland there is a traditional headdress that is associated with “horns”, but of course this does not mean that they wear real horns on their heads. It’s about the “rogatyvka” (rogatywka), which is characterized by its unique shape.
It is a military cap with corners that are formed on the tulia (top part of the cap). These corners gave the name to the cap, from the word “rogi”, which means “horns” in Polish.
Rogatywka has long been part of the military uniform of Polish soldiers since the XVIII century, and is especially associated with the Polish lancers – light cavalry, which was famous for its bravery and efficiency in battle. A symbol of the Polish army and national pride.
Poles sell blood by weight
In Poland, as in other countries, there is a tradition of using animal blood in cooking. One such product is blood sausage (“kaszanka” or “kiszka” in Polish), which is made from the blood of a pig or other animal mixed with cereals and spices. This product is part of the national cuisine and is sold in grocery stores, butcher stores and markets.
Czernina (“czarnina”), a traditional Polish soup based on duck or goose blood mixed with vinegar, broth and various ingredients such as dried fruits, vegetables and spices, is also common.
They buy borscht from vending machines
In Poland, especially in winter, red borscht is a popular drink. Not in the form of soup, but as a hot beverage. This is the traditional Polish “barszcz czerwony” – a clear beet broth with added spices, which is often drunk from cups as a warming broth.
This kind of borscht is sold in vending machines, which are usually for hot drinks such as coffee, tea or hot chocolate, especially in train stations, office buildings and other public places where people quickly warm up with the familiar flavor.
Not eating seafood
This country has not always had access to the sea and for many years its northern neighbor Prussia cut off that access to the Baltic. For this reason Poland has historically been an agrarian country and traditional Polish cuisine is based more on foods available in the countryside such as meat, potatoes, vegetables, grains and dairy products. The inland regions of Poland had limited access to fresh seafood due to geographical features. Fish, however, has always been an important part of the diet, especially freshwater fish such as carp, trout and pike, which are often found in Polish lakes and rivers.
Nowadays, with globalization and the development of trade, seafood is becoming more and more accessible. In major cities there are restaurants offering seafood dishes such as oysters, mussels, squid and shrimp. In addition, Polish supermarkets are increasingly offering a wide range of fresh, frozen and canned seafood.
Yellow is called orange
In Poland, a yellow traffic light is usually called “orange” (pomarańczowy). In Polish, the word “pomarańczowy” literally translates as “orange”, and this is how the middle traffic signal is usually referred to in Poland.
Russian pierogi
In Poland, dumplings with unsweetened filling are often called “ruskie pierogi” (Russian pies); however, the name “ruskie pierogi” in Polish cuisine is not related to Russia, but to the region formerly called Rus’, which is now partly located in modern Ukraine. Traditional Polish “ruskie pierogi” are usually made with a filling of potatoes, cottage cheese and onions, making them a hearty and popular dish.
In particular, the area encompassed Galicia, part of present-day western Ukraine. The local cuisine influenced Polish gastronomic traditions, and “ruskie pierogi” became widely known throughout the country.
M’s and W’s do not use
Men’s toilet doors are usually decorated with a triangle pointing downwards (and sometimes upwards): this symbolizes the traditionally angular shape of the male figure. Conversely, the symbol of a woman’s toilet is a circle: symbolizing a more flowing, rounded shape.
Don’t burn the effigy
Seeing off winter, or “TFueling Marenka” (“Topienie Marzanny”), is an ancient Slavic rite that survives in some regions of Poland. Marena (or Marzanna in Polish), a straw effigy symbolizing winter and death, is not burned, but thrown into a river or other body of water. This ritual is held on the vernal equinox, usually on March 21, and is associated with the onset of spring.
Graduation is celebrated before the end of school
The graduation ball in Polish schools in honor of high school students is held a few months before graduation. Although school is not formally over, this celebration symbolizes the beginning of the countdown to final exams and the farewell to school life. The name of the holiday comes from the word “sto,” which means “hundred,” and indicates that the event takes place approximately 100 days before the matriculation exams.
One of the traditions of the hundred days is the polonaise, the dance that begins the celebration. The formal part of the evening is followed by dancing and an entertainment program, sometimes with contests and performances.
Name days instead of birthdays
In Poland, both birthdays and name days (imieniny in Polish) are celebrated, but the role of name days in the national culture is more significant than in some other countries.
Children are taken to cemeteries
In Poland there is a tradition of celebrating the Day of All the Deceased (in Polish “Zaduszki”): it falls on November 2, the day after All Saints’ Day (November 1). It is a Catholic holiday dedicated to the memory of the deceased: Poles visit cemeteries to honor deceased relatives and friends.
It is not only a family, but also a social tradition: children often take part in these visits together with their parents or teachers. Some schools and kindergartens organize collective trips to the cemetery to teach children to pay tribute to their ancestors and to familiarize them with cultural and religious traditions.
This amazing country seems to have stepped off the pages of oriental fairy tales: endless deserts and cloud mountains, ancient cities and fortresses, mosaic facades and blue domes of mosques and madrasahs, delicious food, hospitable people – all this is Uzbekistan. Still in doubt? Then here are some more facts about Uzbekistan and its people and language.
Uzbekistan has 300 days of sunshine a year, and in summer the thermometer rises above +40 °C. Therefore, it is better to come here in spring, when peaches and almonds blossom, or in early fall, when the famous Mirzachul melons ripen.
One fifth of the country’s territory is occupied by mountains. Only 100 kilometers from Tashkent the sky is backed by snow-capped peaks of the Western Tien Shan, and the highest point is the peak of the Hissar range Khazret-Sultan, rising above the ground at 4643 meters near the border with Tajikistan.
The most popular tourist sites in Uzbekistan are the cities of the Great Silk Road: Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. 2750-year-old Samarkand is the same age as Rome and one of the oldest cities in the world. The capital of Uzbekistan is also older than 2 thousand years: Tashkent was founded in the times of Zoroastrianism.
After the conquest of Tashkent by the Russian Empire, the city was built according to the plans of military topographers, taking as a basis first the avenues and lines of Vasilyevsky Island, and then the Moscow radial layout. That is why, unlike other Asian capitals, there are many wide straight streets and the three-million-strong metropolis does not stand in traffic jams.
Tashkent subway is the first in Central Asia and one of the most beautiful in the world: the stations are lined with marble or granite, decorated with colored mosaics and elegant lamps. Thanks to an elaborate ventilation system, the subway is cool even in extreme heat.
Uzbekistan has one of the largest gold deposits on the planet – Muruntau mine in the Kyzylkum desert. And the white gold here is called cotton: the country is one of the five world producers of fiber and exports 75% of its raw materials.
The pinnacle of Uzbek cooking is plov, which is included in the UNESCO list of intangible heritage. There are hundreds of recipes for this iconic dish in Uzbekistan, the Central Asian Plov Center works in Tashkent, and supermarkets sell canned plov, which you can take away with you as a souvenir.
In 2017, Uzbekistan Airways won first place among CIS air carriers in the category “Best Onboard Catering”. Even in economy class passengers are offered pilaf, manty, samsa and red wine.
Incredibly sweet and fragrant Mirzachul melons are considered the most delicious in the world: they grow without abundant irrigation under the generous Uzbek sun. For the same reason, all fruits from Uzbekistan are rich in natural sugars.
One of the main Uzbek holidays is Navruz, symbolizing renewal. It has been celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox since time immemorial, and for 40 days afterwards women prepare “sumalyak” – a festive dish of sprouted wheat grains.
The people of Uzbekistan are very hospitable: even a stranger they are ready to invite to their house and give them tea, so there are always nuts and oriental sweets on the table. A dear guest is poured only half a cup of tea so that he would ask for more as often as possible and would not be in a hurry to leave.
Uzbeks are born diplomats: they avoid conflicts in every possible way, do not like to refuse directly, and practically respond to any request by agreeing to it – “hop maily”. At the same time, if it is impossible to solve the issue, they will offer even the most ridiculous options – just so that no one goes away offended.
Uzbeks are accustomed to live in a large community, and a typical social model is represented in an urban neighborhood – a mahalla, whose residents celebrate holidays and solve problems together. Makhallas have preserved the ancient custom of mutual assistance – khashar: neighbors jointly repair and build houses, maintain order and improve their neighborhood.
According to the UN, Uzbekistan is ahead of all CIS countries in terms of the level of happiness of its residents: in 2020, the republic ranked 38th out of 156 in the rating of happy countries in the world.
You are faced with the task of translating technical documentation.
We tell you how to approach this issue correctly so that the results meet your expectations.
What you need to know about translating technical documentation so that you don’t get a “fake” one
Two quick caveats:
Our recommendations primarily apply to the situation when the translation is outsourced to a third party (a translator or translation agency), rather than done independently or in-house. Although some of the tips will be relevant for such cases as well.
If the translation is only needed “for review” and the budget for its execution is minimal, some of the recommendations will not be relevant. In this case, the translation will have a “draft” version, as not all the stages of technology will be included.
Let’s start in order.
Finding a technical translation contractor
Note. We will try to look at the situations of working directly with one freelance translator and with a translation agency in parallel.
Why work directly with only one translator?
As practice shows, it takes experience and time to organize the work of two or more remote translators on one project. It is easier to outsource this task to a specialized organization. It will cost more than with freelancers, but it will reduce the risks of poor translation and save a lot of time and nerves.
So, we are looking for an executor.
What is important and what we should pay attention to:
Experience
General seniority and experience in a specific field. Experience in a specific field “beats” general seniority. What does this mean? Let’s say we have technical documentation on helicopter technology and need it translated into English. In our experience, a translator who has worked in a helicopter factory, who was present at the signing of contracts and tests, will cope with the task better and faster than a universal technical translator without such experience. He already knows the highly specialized vocabulary and will spend less time searching for and clarifying it.
Therefore, getting a detailed translator resume with a project description will be very helpful. Letters of recommendation give +100% to credibility.
When working with a translation company, it makes sense to choose one that has in its portfolio experience of similar projects and proof of such experience: contracts, letters of recommendation. If you are very scrupulous, you can also ask for the CVs of all the translators in the project team, as well as guarantees that only they will be allowed to translate. Each new candidate is subject to additional approval only.
Trust but verify
In other words, test.
Once the candidates have been identified, test them. Everything is simple here. We select the most difficult fragment from the documentation and ask them to perform a test translation. As a rule, both translators and bureaus agree to do such a test for free. Those who refuse to be tested for free may not be considered, but there is a chance to miss out on a really strong performer who knows his price.
You should not send the fragment for testing separately from the whole document, but together with it. Otherwise, it will be difficult for the translators to understand the context, and the translation will not be adequate.
If you plan to cooperate with a translation company, we recommend that you tell the employee about the company’s plans regarding the volume of translation and the desired deadlines in order to determine the number of translators and editors required. And get the appropriate number of tests. If the client has approved 1-2 translators for a project, but the project involves 5 to 7 translators daily, you should not be surprised that the texts do not meet the requirements.
We have had projects where we have selected and tested up to 40 translators, and this is not an industry record.
Clarification and verification of the contractor’s experience are probably the most important elements when organizing technical translation of documentation.
There is an attitude such as “You are a translator / you are a professional translation agency, so do a professional technical translation, why do I need all these tests and checks and tests”. This works if the customer has a standard washing machine manual. Anything more complex requires a more responsible approach. Fortunately, more and more customers realize this.
Technical design of documentation or typesetting
For technical documentation is relevant in 9 out of 10 cases because of the presence of drawings, graphs, tables, diagrams. In translation, everything should look similar to the original.
Experienced customers understand that the translator should not do such work, and often simply does not have the technical capabilities: skills and appropriate design programs. But for some people this becomes a revelation.
If layout is required, it will be difficult to do without cooperation with a translation company. If the translation is done in a bureau, there should be no problems; a serious company always has the necessary technical specialists – layout designers and designers.
Working with drawings in general is a separate interesting topic, so we have separated it into a separate article Translation of drawings
Preparing a terminology glossary
This stage should ideally be completed before the translation begins. However, it often goes hand in hand with the translation, and this requires additional control by the project manager.
Having a glossary allows the project manager and the client to monitor the use of the right terminology and make adjustments where necessary.
So here just to reiterate, it is better to have a glossary, not the other way around. Even if you do not plan to check and approve the glossary, its compilation and updating is an additional guarantee of the quality of the contractor’s work.
Working in translation memory programs
In a nutshell, translation memory programs are a good thing, they help to achieve unity of terminology in documentation and reduce the cost of translation. If a translator or a translation agency works with the use of automated translation programs, it indicates the seriousness of the performer’s position on the market and increases trust.
Checking and editing the translation
This is the final stage. A full-fledged translation technology implies checking the translation after the translator by an editor and proofreader. Common sense tells us this, and the industry standard EN ISO 17100:2015 confirms it.
Can’t the translator check after himself? He or she can.
Will it be as effective as involving an editor and proofreader? No.
The editor checks for terminology and the correct conveyance of meaning. If the translator makes a mistake in this, chances are that he is not familiar with a particular term. If he or she is not corrected, he or she will only confirm his or her incorrect version and make the mistake further, let alone correct it when double-checked.
The proofreader corrects typos and checks the completeness of the text. His job is the translator’s insurance policy.
When working with a translation agency, the issue of a proofreader and editor is very acute. Everywhere the service “translator + editor” is offered for 300 rubles and below. This is an excellent price and a great opportunity to save money. You just need to realize that such a price in no way implies the inclusion of all technological stages. After the translator, the translation will be read “diagonally” by a project manager at most, but not by a professional editor or proofreader.
In other words, translation + editing + proofreading = 300 rubles, a myth. No matter how much the customer would like the opposite. In our article How much does technical translation cost we prove it with facts. Customers are increasingly listening, but sometimes only after receiving somewhere another translation at the “all-inclusive for 300” rate.
Terms of cooperation
Agreeing and signing a contract is the responsibility of lawyers and sometimes accountants, where they sometimes allow themselves to go wild.
From our practice, what is really worth discussing in contracts are quality guarantees, claim procedure and confidentiality.
Of course, other issues are also important within the corporate procedures of the company. It is worth prioritizing them accordingly. It is more important for a company to find a translation company that will agree to a 90-day payment delay and send invoices only via DHL, or one that can provide high-quality translation of technical documents.
This is the end of the checklist for organizing a translation project correctly. Use it, and your chances of getting a professional technical translation will be much higher.