The need for translation is, basically, the need for communication: to increase it, to reach other audiences, to be understood.
For this reason, it is crucial that, even though the client might not know the language in which its documents are going to be translated, they explain why they need the translation. And in so doing they can answer basic questions and pass relevant information on to the agency. For example:
– Who specifically is this message directed to? (Age, social or cultural status, origin, member of a determined group.)
– What type of relationship does the client have with the audience? (Formal/informal, employees/partners/clients/superiors.)
– What objective is the client seeking in the communication of the material? (Inform, convince, entertain, teach, etc.)
With this information, translators and editors are going to prepare the documents so that the message is communicated in a precise and efficient manner, without “noises” that distract the receivers of this message (such as words that might sound strange, abbreviations that they won’t understand or forms of speaking that will not be familiar to them).
With a little bit of information, you will receive a translation in which everybody wins.
