Translating a work from one language to another takes nuance, skill, and an organic knowledge of both languages. When looking to translate your work from English to Italian, it’s important to use a translator who can offer a natural translation that will appeal to your audience.
Why might you need a translator?
If you are looking to expand y our audience, a translator could be your magic link. A translator can take your original work and translate it into another language. This opens your audience and broadens your market.
People tend to respond more to work in their own language. This encompasses books, branding material, corporate work, anything in print. A translator is the one to take this on. Be careful not to get translation confused with interpretation, by the way. An interpreter works with the spoken word and a translator sticks to the written word. You can read more about the difference between interpreters and translators in our blog.
Back to translators…whether it’s an English to Italian translator or another language altogether, when you translate your work, you welcome in another population. Not only does it become accessible to those who speak the other language, but it speaks to you and your brand. It shows you want these speakers in your community, and you welcome them by making your work accessible. So take that step and get your work translated. It can present a whole new world, not just to your audience, but to you.
What does a translator do?
Simply put, a translator takes the work in one language and puts it into another language. We love this definition of a translator from Neuvoo.com. It tells us that a translator is not just someone who speaks two languages, but they are communication and language experts who use their skills to read, understand, and translate from one language to another. Some projects a translator may take on, whether in English to Italian or in another language set, are:
- work with journals, academics papers, books, poetry, and any other type of written material
- work with corporate material to make it accessible to global employees
- help communication between clients and professionals so understanding is clear and fair
Examples
Let’s stay with our English to Italian example. For instance, perhaps a lawyer is working with an English-speaking client who needs to share legal documents with a relative who speaks Italian. Rather than the lawyer struggling to translate the work, they can work with an English to Italian translator to make sure the documents are clear, accurate, and understandable for both parties.
Another example may be an American company that just opened a branch in Italy. They want to share their corporate handbook but need it to be in Italian rather than English. Here comes the translator to work their magic. It becomes accessible to all employees now.
One more example is maybe you’ve written a book about a love story that takes place in 1800’s Italy. It’s been well received in the US, and now you want to see if the Italian audience may be receptive to it. Bring in that English to Italian translator again and have them translate the novel. It suddenly opens up your audience and can create a whole new community for you and your romance novel.
There are so many opportunities just waiting here when it comes to translation!
Why is English to Italian translation important?
We covered a few examples already of how important English to Italian translation can be. The way that translating your work to another language opens up an entire new audience can be great for your business.
Around 85 million people around the world speak the Italian language. That’s a big base to add to your audience. It’s the main language of Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, and the Vatican City. Plus many people in other countries speak Italian as a first or second language.
When you specifically address a certain population or culture, you show that you value their community and their participation in your product. It’s not simply that they now have access to your work, but that you provided it. It opens up a global community to include the Italian population in your endeavors.
What about different Italian dialects and slang?
Part of the importance of translation is to maintain the subtle nuances and tone of the original piece while delivering in an appropriate and natural dialect. That does mean that you may have to have more than one translation. Textual and contextual meaning is important and needs an aware translator to keep these meanings alive in the translation.
Different areas of Italy and different Italian speakers will have varied accents and ways of speech. Just like the Southern US has specific words, phrases, and a style of language, regions of Italy have their own personalities. When you are working with a more formal text, you can translate to a formal tone of Italian, but when you want to be casual and friendly in your translation, make sure you work with an English to Italian translator who is familiar with specific regional dialects and nuances. This will help make sure your translation is successful in targeting your desired audience.
Most translations will encounter this; just because you choose one language doesn’t mean you don’t have to consider dialects. Think about translating to Spanish or Japanese. You’ll encounter many dialects and cultural specifics to each language. So remember when looking for your English to Italian translator that you want to take dialects into account. All languages have challenges, it’s best to work with a translator who is familiar with those challenges, dialects, and nuances.
Speaking of choosing a translator…
Choosing an English to Italian translator
Sure, it would be easy to hit up Google translate and plug in your English and see what it spits out in Italian. Easy, yes. Accurate, no. A professional English to Italian translator will be your best bet, someone who is skilled in the language of the region you’re targeting combined with the skills of a professional translator. So what are those skills?
Some things to look for when searching for your English to Italian translator are:
- knowledge in specialized terminology in both languages
- maintaining cultural components of both languages
- being able to research any unknown terms to maintain the original meaning
- knowledge in the cultural traits of the target audience
- the ability to ask questions for clarification
- proofreading skills for the final documents
- experience in your specific genre (novels, legal documents, medical work, corporate material…)
Not only are those language-specific skills important, but it’s also a good idea to find a translator with a professional demeanor. This way you can trust that your translations will be clean and correct. With professionalism, your translator will stick to your timeline and be able to liaise with you if any issues or questions come up.
Often people want some sort of reference or client review to make sure they are working with a reliable English to Italian translator, or for that matter, any translator.
Finding your translator
Now that you know what to look for, where do you look?
You may be able to find a translator within your community if you have a heavy population of people from the language you want to translate to. One benefit is working closely with that person, but they may not have the professional experience that you’re looking for. The more technical your documents are, the more difficult they can be to translate.
Many people looking for an English to Italian translator turn to services like our own Bunny Studio, which of course, we highly recommend!
We make it easy for you; in fact, you can head to our project page and find out more about our process.
We have carefully screened all of our translators and know they are highly skilled. Often your language is their native one, if not, they are still fluent with that knowledge of cultural nuances we’ve mentioned. You know you’re getting professionals who are passionate about their work.
It’s also important to use a translator with experience in your field. We mentioned knowing specifics, so if you’re translating legal work, for example, look for a translator with experience here. If you have special requests or edits that you want made, make sure your potential translator can do those. Remember, Google translate can’t do those things for you.
Translation versus Interpretation versus Transcription
We touched on translation versus interpretation earlier, but let’s mention transcription as well. Sometimes you may want more than just a translation, and you may want to visit these other services as well. For instance, with a book translation, you may want to consider an audiobook version. That is where your interpreter will come into action. Remember, that’s the spoken word.
As for transcription, that is when you get a written document of a spoken piece. So if you want to have a written copy of a speech or podcast, you’ll want a transcription. And yes, these all can be translated as well. We’re happy to say that Bunny Studio provides all of these services so we can help you wherever you need it.
The big takeaway on English to Italian translation
It’s a great idea to broaden your target audience. In our global world, all of our communities intertwine, and taking down language barriers can do wonders for your brand. When you are looking to translate y our work from English to Italian, look for the best translator you can get. You’ll want your project done with a professional touch and with an awareness of cultural nuances and consciousness.
We’d love to help in your endeavors. Give us a chat if you’re interested in hiring a translator at Bunny Studio. We are here for you, and we know you’ll love working with our expert Bunny pros for your English to Italian translation needs.
