Global movement of people around the world may have taken a hit because of restrictions imposed on travel due to Covid-19, but this hasn’t really affected many businesses that are attempting to expand their sphere of operation overseas. Goods are still being transported internationally. The presence of the Internet means that communication, marketing, sale of goods and financial transactions can take place in the current pandemic.
Whether you are new to needing a translator or are dissatisfied with the translation work you have had up to now, you may need to think about the preparation you should do before submitting a document to the translator. You should not expect a translator to know exactly what you want from the translation. The more subjective the material you have to translate and the greater the volume, the more important it is to prepare the material beforehand. By doing so, it will avoid mistakes made by the translator through poor communication and reduce the time needed to complete the translation.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been compared to the last really serious worldwide pandemic that led to 50 million deaths, that of Spanish flu, in 1918. The similarities include the fact that both diseases are caused by viruses which were new to humanity. Because of their novelty, there was no immunity in the human population, leading to many deaths. Also similar was the fact that the viruses were very contagious and easily spread through the air as infected people coughed, sneezed or shouted. Even now, after a century, there are no drugs or vaccines available to counter the disease. The same sort of measures back then are the same today which are lockdowns, social distancing, quarantines, face masks, hand washing and improved hygiene.
Translators, whether they are freelancers or work as part of a team in a translation agency, are often reluctant to ask their clients questions. Yet when questions are relevant and posed carefully they can lead to a better quality translation and save time in the long run as answers can prevent misunderstanding which has to be rectified in the long run, anyway.
