I am an ATA certified Spanish translator. The ATA certification exam counts errors. It allows 17 error points in a 300 word text, and on point 18… you are out.
Why?
Back in the ‘80s I was a secretary in Argentina. I worked with a typewriter. When I typed a bid, a business letter or a telex, I could get away with only one very minor mistake per page… and I had better be able to fix it with whiteout. If not, I had to retype it. Our office counted on good, professional communication. No grammar, terminology or spelling mistakes. No syntax mistakes. Letters would be well written. This was professional work and that was that.
That taught me to pay attention to the details and to know that our readers will notice them. A translation should read well, with no need for the reader to puzzle over the writing.
Accuracy and good writing matter
When people hire a certified Spanish translator, they look for accuracy and clear writing, a text that will represent the requester’s organization well. This takes understanding, care, editing, and attention to detail. Even when we do our very best, we are human and often miss a small thing. At editing conferences, I hear that it is not unusual for several editors to go over important pieces of writing.
Best team: Two certified Spanish translators on the job
Certified translators often work in teams where we review each other’s work. There, our clients get the best of all worlds. Quality and quality control. We discuss the text with each other. That is how we can meet our clients’ needs reliably. Not with machine translation, but with professional humans dedicated to the task of supporting their clients’ mission.
However, editing poorly done work never produces excellent results. That is why both translators, the translator and the reviewer, should be professionals with verified skills. Certification is an excellent way to check this.
At Gaucha Translations, I always work with a colleague in a team of certified Spanish translators. It is the best way to deliver an accurate translation on time, every time. Let me know how I can help you with your translations!
