If you have been involved in a task requiring you to look into translation and translation services, you may wonder how many types of translation services there are.

Knowing the types of translation services will help you determine which one is best for your needs. Whether you are looking to hire a translator or researching the field for possible carrier choices, below are the common types of translation services.

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The 4 Common Types of Translation

The commonest types of translation services include;

• Literary translation
• Professional translation
• Technical translation
• Administrative translation.

Literary Translation

As suggested by the name, literary translation involves the translation of literature from one language to another. Literature in this sense may include plays, prose, drama, short stories, fiction and non-fiction writing, poems, and more. This type of translation is often required by authors who wish to penetrate a new market or wish to be inclusive.

Literary translation is considered to be one of the most comprehensive types of translation services. Others consider it to be the hardest as the translator is required to know the origin and target languages and must understand the context, dialect, and cultural significance of each word used. In essence, the translator is expected to do a job that does not rob the translated text of the meaning or point that is being passed across in the original text. The translator is also expected to use words that properly convey the feelings, sounds, passion behind the original text in the translated copy.

Doing this type of translation requires extensive knowledge of both languages and the cultural impact of certain words and expressions. It becomes a little harder when the translator effectively translates wordplays, rhymes, and other technical aspects of the literature.

Professional Translation

Professional translations, as the name implies, are used in the professional field. Professionals like medical doctors and specialists, and lawyers often require translation services to be done in the discharge of their duties. One best example of this is that they tend to get help from Spanish legal translation services if there's a Spanish document that needs to be translated. A medical doctor, physician, or specialist may require translation services for a foreign patient whose medical records are in another language.

Similarly, a lawyer specialized in business law, contract law, criminal law, or other areas of the legal practice may need translation services to access information contained in some documents. Legal translation also ensures that lawyers can present certain documents in court as evidence to support claims.

With professional translation, the goal is to be accurate in translating information from one language to another. When paired with an in-depth knowledge of the professional field, accuracy can ensure the use of the right terms and terminologies. With professional translation, you will need to hire a professional with a background in your desired industry to get a perfect outcome.

Technical Translation

As the name suggests, technical translations require the translation of technical documents from one language to another. Technical documents may be in the form of manuals and user guides, technical training handbooks and resources, engineering documents, and others.

For technical translations, the translator is required to be familiar with the industry from which the technical document has been prepared. Knowledge of the industry will shape the word choices used in the translated document. When translating a technical document, the translator is also required to know the right formatting, nuances, and context to use.

Translators also need to know the certain words that do not require translation as part of the document. For instance, a manufacturing company that has named a product line “X” will expect that all technical documents, irrespective of the language, should refer to the product line as “X” and not its corresponding translation.

Translating technical content can be tricky and, overall, complicated. One requires years of experience in the field as well as the ability to go bi-directional between both languages to get the best outcome.

Administrative Translation

This is probably the commonest kind of translation service people are familiar with. this involves the translation of administrative texts, minutes of meetings, press releases, announcements, and others. This type of translation service is common among multinational and multi-regional businesses.

While these are the common types of translation services, they are by no means the only types available. Other types of translation services include;

• Financial translation
• Medical translation
• Legal Translation
• Commercial translation
• Website translation
• Script translation
• Machine translation
• Judicial translation
• Multimedia localization