How to translate from Spanish to English without errors

Sometimes for work reasons we find ourselves in the need to translate texts or documents from our language, Spanish, into English. But knowing how to speak English doesn’t necessarily mean we can do translations in the right way into that language.

To avoid falling into some mistakes when translating from Spanish to English, we have prepared a list of tips that will help you make a more accurate translation when you require it.

1. First you have to read the whole text to familiarize yourself with the terms

Before starting your translation from Spanish to English, it is advisable to read the entire text or document completely. This is intended to familiarize you with the subject to be treated and the style in which it is written. It is important to be clear about what you want and how the author tries to say it.

English has many words, more than Spanish, so it is necessary to understand the nuances that arise in the texts and you can find a wider range of words when translating from Spanish to English.

2. Use all available tools such as translators and dictionaries

Once you have read and understood the text to be translated, begin the task of choosing the right words for a good translation from Spanish to English. Having a good dictionary or using online translators will be of great help because you can be more precise with the terms. This makes it easy to link expressions and give you examples for the proper use of words. It should be noted that depending on the type of text you are going to translate, it is likely that you need a specialized dictionary especially when they are technical translations.

Follow this link to get more information about the translators.

3. From Spanish to English: ideas are translated, not words

Literal translations are not the most accurate or adequate and this usually happens when we use Google Translate to cite an example. To prevent your translation from being meaningless, you can use texts written in English to observe the forms of expression in that language; maybe when you do it literally from English to Spanish there will be phrases that do not make much sense but the same thing happens when we do it from Spanish to English. By comparing other texts we can learn linguistic expressions or modalities.

4. Keep the original style when translating from Spanish to English

An author gives meaning to his texts through his style, so it is necessary that at the time of translating, you keep it. The mission is to preserve the style in which the text was written as much as possible.

Check this link for more ideas of how to do it.

5. Learn a little more about the culture to translate more accurately

Having knowledge of the culture when translating is very important to be able to transmit the correct meanings. Each culture has different forms of organization, so you should know who your translation is going to be for. There will perhaps be very sophisticated terms that you can not give coherence when translating from Spanish to English and depending on the style or theme you can give it a much more natural nuance, but if it is a technical text, precision is indispensable. We recommend you read as many books, magazines, etc., to know terms, expressions and writing styles. This will bring you closer to achieving correct translations.

6. After you have translated, re-read it to verify and rectify

Rereading your translation will help you find possible faults or successes. It is advisable not to do it immediately, but to wait a little time to make it easier to find a possible error or phrases that do not make sense to you.

7. Request supervision of your translation to a native English speaker

When you show your translation from Spanish to English to a native, you will be able to get the best feedback on your work, since they will be able to find very easily what does not make sense or sounds slightly strange, giving you some alternative to improve the translation.

The best way to improve in the realization of our translations from Spanish to English or any other language, is through practice and to acquire as much learning as we can obtain in all possible ways.

When you translate, which method works best for you? Let us know by leaving a comment.