For many bilinguals, and not, the idea of hiring a professional translator is unthinkable. I understand. I grew up bilingual myself. This becomes even more absurd if you need to pay a translator for a basic birth certificate. I don’t blame you.

However, there are many reasons why may still want to hire a professional translator, even if you think you handle the translation yourself. Whether you need to translate some important documents, your website or a novel, a translator can help you achieve results you never even thought about.

Here are 6 reasons why you should choose a professional translator.

1. Translators have formal training and work in specific specialised fields.

They usually have at least one University degree where they have learnt how the translation process work, how to approach it and how to solve translation problems. They learn the terminologies as well as the theory behind their specialisations. For example, a legal translator has taken some law courses just like a medical translator has taken some medicine courses. They learn that translation is not a straightforward process from point A to B, it looks a little bit like the picture here below. For example, translating a slogan can take an entire day.

2. They have an excellent knowledge of both the source language (the one they translate from) and the target language (the one they translate into).

Translators are first of all linguists. They love languages and all aspects of them. However, they are not machines. They know how to use the language really well but they also need to do a lot of in-depth research. They are professionals and they know where to go and look for the right information. They also know when a word is not suitable for their needs. They are perfectly trained to handle texts within their specialisations.

Many people, including bilinguals, may make mistakes because their knowledge is not specialised. I perfectly recognise my limits. In fact, you may know that even if I am fluent in Spanish, I don’t translate into Spanish, only from Spanish. I do, however, translate into English because I have been extensively trained and I’ve been living in the UK for almost 10 years now.

Translators translate with accuracy, consistency and culture awareness. They make sure they convey the technical terminology and take into account the local language. They know well what works in one language and/or culture and what works in another.

3. They are also often recognised by a professional association.

I say often because a literary translator may choose not to join one. The fee is high and they don’t really need it. They don’t have to stamp their translated books to be accepted. They usually only work with translation agencies anyway. Joining a professional association is not mandatory.

To join an association, they need to satisfy some criteria and take some tests to prove they are indeed professionals and work at very high standards. They also need to prove that they keep doing some CPD every year (at least 30 hours per year).

4. Most institutions openly ask for a certified translation.

Consulates, universities, the Home Office and employers are some of the institutions that ask for a certified translation. I said most because I know that the Italian Consulate in London tells applicants that if they’re fluent in Italian, they can do the translation themselves. However, they also encourage them to use a professional translator to avoid embarrassing mistakes. Translators also provide a stamped certificate of accuracy where they state they have professionally performed the translation.

Most Italians know that your local Comune offers “multilingual certificates”. It really isn’t multilingual. It’s an Italian certificate, a bit more structured than the usual one, with reference numbers and a key at the back. Not really professional. If you’ve ever read the English translation of those words, you may have noticed that some are even wrong. So you basically have an Italian document with some wrongly translated terms. How do you expect the Home Office to accept that?

Even some universities in Italy issue “English” transcripts. They aren’t. The only part that is in English is the certification at the top. The list of exams is in Italian. I was so confused the first time I saw one. I don’t have to mention that some English sentences were wrong.

If you are a bit confused about the difference between a certified translator and a sworn translator, read my post called I need an official translator.

5. Translators deliver impeccably formatted translations.

They can make sure your translations are visually polished by recreating the format of the original document. You won’t believe how many compliments I received in the past, and still do, because my certified translations almost look like the originals. When my clients receive them, they are in awe! And even the end-users. It makes their life so much easier to read and understand any type of document.

6. Translators can help you save time and money.

Yes, you read that right. Imagine that you submit some translated documents to the Consulate or the Home Office, and there are mistakes. Or to the High Court. They will reject your application. This means that you need to start all over and we all know that procedures at the Italian Consulate are not the fastest. In some cases, some institutions may ask you to pay the application fee again.

If translators are familiar with some procedures, they may even advise you on what type of service you need. For example, you may need a solicitor’s or notary’s certification, legalisation or even a sworn translation. You may also need transcreation if you’re translating a website.

In addition to this, translators also work with translation technologies. These types of software help them save time when translating long documents. They assist trained translators throughout the whole translation process. It’s definitely not Google Translate.

I know that some people think that translators charge an extortionate amount of money for a translation and that’s why I wrote this post How much does a translation cost?.

I hope this post has helped you understand why hiring a professional translator is always a good idea.

If you need a translation, want a quote or you simply have some questions, you can write to me at info@katiuskaparra.com or use my contact form.

A little bit of humour to conclude.

My name is Katiuska and I am a certified translator, consultant and blogger. I work with Italian, English and Spanish, and specialise in legal and certified and official translations. I am a Member of the CIOL and the ITI, and I am registered with the Italian Consulate in London and Manchester as a certified translator. I hold a BA in Foreign Languages, a Master of Arts in Translating Popular Culture and Audiovisual Translation and a Diploma in legal and medical translation. I have over five years of experience as a legal assistant to a Notary Public and plenty of knowledge and expertise about translations for use abroad. You can follow me on Facebook and Instagram.