Respecting the beautiful process of translating Italian, that’s amore! Italian is such a romantic language, and as such, it comes with its own unique traits that need understanding. Here are a few things you should understand when looking for your perfect match –or translator, that is..
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This decision making process takes a bit more precision and nuance, however, and instead of the necessary force of the gladiator, we must turn to the deductive reasoning of your favorite detective and ask yourself some important questions to figure out if this is for you. Or perhaps you want to know what to look for in a translation from English to Italian and need to do some Spy Action instead.
Whether you are here to do detective or spy work, let us be the M to your 007, or the Holmes to your sherlock and give you some starter points. Whatever adventurous role you want to take on, do so responsibly by learning the basis of it.
1. Is It Necessary To Have Lived in Italy To Translate From English to Italian?
One of the most basic mistakes people make is thinking that they can translate into a language they speak fluently, without having lived in the country or being familiar with regional dialects and pop cultural references. Speaking the target language well is not the same as being someone that can professionally translate it, and Italian is no exception. Never hire a translator that is not a complete expert in the target language. A translator must know cultural references, context, and nuance.
2. What Are the Usual Difficulties of Translating English to Italian?
Italian, uses a lot of gendered vocabulary, while English does not, as well as conjugating verbs in ways that English does not. Italian tends to have longer language structure than English as well, which is a more pragmatic language. Italian allows for a more illustrative way of expressing things while English tends to stray away from run on sentences. There are also words that exist in Italian that do not exist in English, many of them dealing with food. For example, Ciofeca, which is a terribly made coffee.
3. How is it Different From Translating Italian to English?
Translating from Italian to English is much easier. English does not have formal or informal vocabulary, nor does it have a lot of conjugating when it comes to verbs. In fact, English is one of the easier languages for conjugating (perhaps not counting Japanese). With English you simply need to add an S in third person, an -ed for past tense, and maybe changing one letter. That being said, translators should of course understand that there are vast differences in English from different countries and translate for the appropriate audience.
4. Can Some Words Be Translated Literally From English to Italian?
While English tends to be a more concise language than Italian, this does not mean that it does not come with its own set of words that are not able to be translated literally and therefore require context and expertise in the language to be appropriately transferred. One incredibly useful word in English that has no direct translation is “awkward”. One might say “uncomfortable” in Italian, which does not express the high-pitched discomfort of being out of place quite like “awkward” does.
5. How Much to Pay for English to Italian Translations?
This will greatly depend. There are many different factors to consider such as translator experience, subject matter, deadline, etc. To that end, the price can greatly vary with each project. As an average, English to Italian translations may cost about $ .13 USD per word. If you would like to know a more thorough answer on what translations cost, we have written about it more here.
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