Translation mistakes: how this can hurt your company

Tempo de leitura: 3 minutos

Translation services have great importance for companies that use them on a daily basis, especially in meetings, contract negotiation or even during simultaneous interpreting. In these cases, translation mistakes may cause considerable damage, as well as hurting companies in different ways.

One of the first impacts caused by translation mistakes is related to credibility.

Eventual translation mistakes may hurt permanently the image of any company, giving a message of lack of professionalism, quality or effort.

Besides credibility, translation mistakes may create big misunderstandings.

An emblematic case of incorrect translation happened in 2010, when Chinese journalist Guan Xiangdong wrote about exchange market and local currency.

An American website, due to a translation mistake, changed unintentionally the content of the article. That is, an article that speculated on the valuing of yuan (Chinese currency) transformed it into a fact.

Even renowned and respected news agencies published articles based on an incorrect translation.

As a consequence, financial brokers invested in Asian currencies, believing it was a good deal. At the time, it was estimated that 2 billion dollars were negotiated in the exchange market in minutes.

The importance of a correct translation

Translation services are diverse, going from sworn translation, audio and video transcription, apostille to scientific translation and simultaneous interpreting. 

Regardless of the purpose of the translation, any mistake may compromise the result of the service.

Some faults in translation have less impact than others. After all, it is possible that the mistake may be due to orthography or semantics, allowing, in some cases, to understand according to the context.

As for mistakes in the translation of words whose original context is completely changed, certainly the consequences will be even more severe.

It is a fact that small or big translation mistakes cause negative impact for companies in several sectors, and they may also affect customers and the image of the business in the market.

Most common translation mistakes

Translation mistakes happen for a number of reasons, such as in automatic translation. This type of mistake results from people using online translation applications, which usually are not able to identify the context, expressions or adequate verbal conjugations.

In the professional environment, it is not acceptable to use these automatic translation applications, as mistakes are frequent, and may cause embarrassment in situations that require professional translation.

Other common translation mistake is linked to the fact of sending a service that demand professionalism, knowledge and total precision to companies that are unexperienced and less qualified.

Companies without much know-how may compromise the translation service, creating mistakes that may affect the image of the companies, as well as their financial health, with the loss of contracts and business. 

How to end translation mistakes?

The best way to end translation mistakes is to choose a reliable, qualified company, with expertise in the field.

Only with the support of a company that specializes in translation, such as Brazil Translations, it will be possible to ensure that you will have a service that meets your needs.

Now that you know more about translation mistakes, it is easier to understand how this service plays an important role for companies.

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