Top ten reasons why Spanish translations make the perfect holiday gift:

10. You can avoid the mall

9. Makes a definitive statement for improved intercultural communication

8. Virtually infinite supply … no depletion of natural resources

7. NAFTA (always like to invoke NAFTA)

6. CAFTA (ryhmes with NAFTA, though we’re not actually sure what it is)

5. Esperanto translation just not enough

4. Could help prepare your children for watching Spanish language TV soap operas

3. Everyone needs words

2. 30% Off!

And the #1 reason why Spanish translations make the perfect holiday gift:

1. Hugo Chávez vs. the King of Spain

We all know there are various quality and service levels associated with most traditional consumer good and service products. Airlines charge more for flying first class for example. Luxury car brands naturally cost more than economy models. One can dine at McDonald’s or a fine french restaurant, and pay the associated difference in price.

Perhaps the service level concept for translation services doesn’t hold up as well. Imagine a translation company explaining to a prospective customer that it offers three levels of service. For the most basic level of service there will likely be a number of translation errors, not to mention obvious missing sections of text. Yes the errors could result in embarrassment for you Mr/Ms customer, but surely a value conscious person such as yourself won’t bow to the pressure of third party opinion on matters such as word selection, spelling and otherwise proper use of language?

For just a little bit more money our mid-tier level of service will get your source document translated with just a few verifiable errors. Errors are after-all a relative concept anyway. The inevitable errors that do occur will nearly always be minor and unlikely to cause major embarrassment or loss of perceived standing to your company relative to its competitors (except in about 25% of the cases, more or less). So the odds are in your favor.

Our premier level of service includes translation by a qualified linguist with many years of professional experience. Translators are native to the target language. Their innate interest in language ensures the utmost attention to every project detail. All translations receive at least one level of review and editing subsequent to the initial translation to produce the highest quality human translation output available. Customers interested in translation accuracy, effective cross language communication, competitive advantage for their respective organizations, generally opt for this level of service.

There are a few visionary thinkers at Affinity Spanish that seem to believe we should deliver high quality work on every project. Interesting thought. Maybe we should develop a catchy name or slogan for this policy? We’ll put the marketing department on it.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Doing a Google search on the phrase ‘escort interpereting’ can bring up numerous interesting results. Most of us are aware that the the word escort has become commonly associated with the world’s so-called oldest profession (hint: not interpreting). Nevertheless until another descriptive term reaches popular usage critical mass, the term escort interpreting is perhaps still the most commonly understood phrase to use.

Business travel in Mexico and the rest of Latin America can be extremely daunting for foreign business people. It’s not only the language but logistics and cultural considerations that can wreak havoc with otherwise well-laid plans. Even the most road-warrior-savvy American business person would likely find it unnerving to arrive in Mexico City (for example) for the first time, climb in a rental car, and drive (oh-my-god) to their scheduled appointment. Non-intuitive, every-man-for-themselves traffic patterns are just for starters. How to dress, what to eat, the best time and day to schedule appointments, how much time to allow … the answers to questions like these are second nature at home though not straightforward at all when traveling on business south of the US-Mexican border. An escort interpreter present at important meetings will undoubtedly pick up not only on spoken but also non-spoken cues that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Planning a business trip to Latin America? Consider hiring a professional escort interpreter that not only knows the language but the business culture lay-of-the-land as well.