Whenever a prospective client has a need for Spanish translation services, we generally get a call and there are a few standard questions that people will ask. How much does it cost? How soon can we get it? And what are the qualifications of your translators? There are sometimes other questions, those these are the most common.

Cost: We determine the cost of Spanish translation projects by assigning a per word rate to the project and then multiplying the rate by the number of words. The per word rate is determined based on several criteria including the relative complexity of the subject matter, the length of the project, and the delivery schedule.

Delivery Schedule: This varies with the length of the project. We always attempt to meet the schedule needs of clients. Most projects we do require a few days to a couple weeks. Shorter schedules can mean assigning more translators to the project. Whenever possible we prefer to have the same translator/editor/reviewer team do a complete project end-to-end to maintain continuity.

Translator Qualifications: All translators are experienced professionals and native to the target language. That is, for English-to-Spanish translation work the linguist’s first language will be Spanish, though fluent in English. The reverse is true for Spanish-to-English translation work.

Often when our company takes on translation projects from Spanish to English it’s for legal documents of one sort or another. Sometimes the legal documents govern a joint venture between US and Latin American companies. Sometimes it’s business that’s originated in the past, or it may be business associated with new ventures. In either case there’s typically a fundamental communication challenge present due to language, and translation of documents is required.

As mentioned before in this blog our policy is always to assign translators that are native to the target language. Spanish to English translation work is therefore performed by translators whose native language is English.

Today’s quote:

“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.”   - Winston Churchill 

If all that’s needed is the translation of a sentence or two in Spanish then the options that exist are pretty much consulting a bilingual acquaintance or friend, using an in-house translator, or trying one of the free online tools that exist. The Google language tool that can be accessed from the main Google search page is one of the better online options.

Professional translation companies will often have a minimum charge of perhaps $100 or so for an individual project. Translation fees based on per word rates might range anywhere from 12 to 25 cents per word, depending on the relative complexity of the material, the turnaround time (whether rush charges apply or not), and the total volume/word count of the project.

Today’s quote:

“Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.”       - Oprah Winfrey

We’re told there is an elderly man in Texas that lives somewhere near the US-Mexican border who provides free translation from Spanish to English. His name is Pedro Lopez and he’s provided these free translation services for many years.

Mr. Lopez is reportedly a very generous man and is also known for his sense of humor. For example he enjoys inserting random humorous anecdotes into his work (just to liven things up a bit he says). Admittedly his English language skills are not that good, and his Spanish is questionable, inasmuch as he’s had no formal education. However, he provides his services at no charge. As a result his translation services are in demand by some of the top companies in the US and Latin America.

One operational challenge though stems from the fact that his daily translation capacity is about 25 words. As a result, despite the high demand for his free services, his backlog is tremendous. Last we heard Mr. Lopez has sufficient translation work for the next 135 years, with new projects coming in daily.

For those who can’t wait 100 years for translation services (or even 10) there are organizations like Affinity Spanish. While our company’s services are not free, we do employ professional, highly-trained English-Spanish linguists, with a commitment to delivering high quality Spanish translation services. More information about these services is available here.

Today’s quote:

“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.”  - Roy Disney

In need of Spanish word translation? Consult an English-Spanish dictionary. Or, browse any of the numerous online resources. However, the correct translation of individuals words without context may not be unambiguous. A complete sentence or other context reference will usually be needed.

“Too many notes, Mozart”, the famous complaint of Emperor Joseph II about The Marriage of Figaro is generally perceived to be a gaffe by a blockhead. Thus individual words like each note in musical composition might only be understood in connection with what surrounds them.

Today’s quote:

“Run your fingers through my soul. For once, just once, feel exactly what I feel, believe what I believe, perceive as I perceive, look, experience, examine, and for once; just once, understand.”  - Anonymous

Without a doubt the majority of our translation work is in taking English language text and translating it into Spanish. Sometimes the target Spanish language version is intended for the US Hispanic population, other times more for Mexico, and then at other time for Latin America as a whole. In each case our translators will tune the translation so it matches as closely as possible the objectives set out by our clients.

Though in the comparative minority, we of course also take on a significant volume of Spanish-to-English translation work. No matter the language combination, we always observe the practice of having the translators assigned to the project be native speakers of the target language. By this we mean that for English-to-Spanish translation projects, assigned linguists will be native Spanish speakers. For Spanish-to-English translation work, assigned translators are native English speakers. In project after project this has proven to be the best practice. While the practice is generally observed by many Spanish translation companies, it may not be by all. For consumers of language services it’s best to confirm this point with your chosen language services provider.

Today’s quote:

“If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true were really true, there would be little hope of advance.”  - Orville Wright

One thing about having a blog is that you have to … well … blog. Yes blog is one of those words that is both a noun and a verb. I remember a few years back when I first heard the word blog (web + log). I didn’t really care for it much at the time, though now I’ve become used to it. Blog and blogging are inextricably part of the web culture.

I get up early these days … don’t sleep that much. Having crossed the threshhold into the second 50 years of my life, at this stage there are now enough accumulated mental images, recalled emotions, significant life experiences, etc., and many of these are just (unfortunately) inconsistent with sleep. Maybe sleep will come easier in my life’s third 50 year segment.

I’ve planned out this blog so I have titles to write about every day for the next year. It’s an ambitious goal … a good goal I think. A possible challenge though occurs when the title for the day comes up in the rotation, but on that day I don’t really have much to say about the particular title. Take today’s title ‘free Spanish translation email’. The title was originated by doing research on what’s of interest to readers on the web.

We’ve recommended the Google language tool a few times recently in this blog. Brief and non-critical emails might be one of the better uses of this tool. The Google language tools is available here.

Now here comes the commercial, for information on high quality Spanish translation services performed by professional linguists click here.

I was looking for a quote to add this morning and this is what I came up with:

Play for more than you can afford to lose, and you will learn the game.       - Winston Churchill

A free translation is better than a paid translation anyday even if imperfect. Really? Well for some this may be a true statement.

Is there such a thing as a perfect translation at all? If the quality of a translation is determined by the quality of the conveyance of meaning, a translation’s quality can be no better than the original declaration. A troubling problem arises, however, with the inevitable realization that the original statement may have been flawed itself. While a resulting translation could be skillfully crafted and technically correct, what is its real value if the intended original meaning is lost?

Most of care about the quality of our communication. Many of us (me included) make assumptions about how well we communicate. We may be shocked to learn that what we intended to say was not what was understood. The consequences of poor communication can be dramatic, even devastating, in business and personal relationships.

There’s always another business opportunity just around the corner. The consequence of poor communication in human terms, regrettably, may be much more difficult or even impossible to recover from.

For free Spanish translation utility click here. The Google language tool is as good as any around for quick reference.

For high quality professional paid Spanish translation services click here for information.

The Google tool supports online translation of text from numerous popular language combinations, in addition to Spanish-English. The tool might be considered particularly useful for quick translation of emails and other brief text passages. For those whose translation requirements exceed the capabilities of free online resources, professional translation services from skilled linguists remain the best option for high quality translation in any language.

On occasion one of our clients inquires about the various English to Spanish translations tools available online. While these tools are not yet to a state of development where they’re 100% reliable, they have their place. Here’s an interesting test.

What follows is a paragraph of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address in English:

“But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Here’s the automated English-to-Spanish translation using the Google tool:

Pero, en un sentido más amplio, no podemos dedicar - no podemos consagrar - no podemos hallow - este terreno. Los valientes hombres, vivos y muertos, que lucharon aquí, lo han consagrado, muy por encima de nuestras pobres facultades para añadir o restar. El mundo se nota poco, ni recordará durante mucho tiempo lo que decimos aquí, pero nunca podrá olvidar lo que hicieron aquí. Es para nosotros la vida, más bien, que se dedica aquí al trabajo inacabado que ellos que lucharon aquí hasta la fecha han avanzado tan noblemente. Es más bien para nosotros estar aquí dedicado a la gran tarea que tenemos ante nosotros restantes - que de estos muertos honrados nos tomamos una mayor dedicación a esa causa por la que se dio la última plenitud de la devoción - que estamos aquí muy resolver que estos muertos no se han muerto en vano - de que esta nación, bajo Dios, tendrá un nuevo nacimiento de libertad - y que el gobierno del pueblo, por el pueblo y para el pueblo, no perecerá de la tierra.

Finally here’s the automated Spanish-to-English translation of the first translation. You be the judge.

But in a broader sense, we can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not Halloween - this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or subtract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but can never forget what they did here. It gives us life, rather, that here is dedicated to unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which was the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these No deaths have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that the government of the people, by the people and for the people, not perish from the earth.

For information on Spanish translation services performed by professional linguists click here.