What You Need to Know About Translating Government Documents

Government documents can contain sensitive and vital information. Having a fast and effective way to translate government documents makes sure you have the information you need to make better choices. Keep reading to find out more about government document translation services and what you can do to translate a government document.

Why Is Government Translation Important?

Accurate government translation is essential for civilians, businesses, and the government. Because government documents deal with such important legal and political topics, accurate translations are crucial. An inaccurate or slightly misleading translation can create confusion and possibly lead to devastating results.

Civilians

For the individual, accurate government translation is important because it can affect how they interact and understand the government. A mistranslation of critical public safety information or basic protocols can impact the health, education, and wellbeing of the public.

Businesses

For international businesses, accurate government translation impacts the success of a business. Small words like “may” and “can” in a standard document don’t change the meaning of a sentence by much, but in legal, regulatory documents, they are vital elements. Choosing the wrong word changes the meaning of a policy or a regulation and changes how a law is interpreted and enforced.

Governments

When governments are working with each other, document translation can affect entire economies and the global market. Negotiating something as important as a peace treaty between governments has to be done with a perfect translation. A mistake in even the simplest of words can jeopardize people’s lives.

With government document translations, “good enough” is never good enough.

What to Know Before Translating a Government Document

Translating a government document requires the highest level of translation possible. Before you start translating, here are three things to consider to help your translation be more accurate.

1) Purpose of the Translation

You need to know what you are translating and where it will be used. Some government documents and applications may require additional translation certificates that verify the information in the translation is accurate. Man translating a government document.

2) Document Layout

Government document translations should be read as if they were originally written in the target language. This includes sentence structure and document layout. Do not simplify or minimize any complexities that are existent in the native language in the translation.

3) Specific Vocabulary

Legal and governmental documentation uses a highly specialized vocabulary. Make sure your translator(s) and editor(s) have knowledge and exposure to these terms to ensure they are used correctly.

How Can I Translate a Government Document?

Traditionally, you can translate a government document using a translator, either individually or via a translating agency. The benefit of choosing this is that the translator is likely to be fluent in both languages and able to ensure the quality of the translation.

The downside to this is that it takes a lot of time and money, and if the translator is not experienced with the specific vocabulary of government documents, they can have difficulties providing an accurate translation.

A better option would be using machine translation like SYSTRAN. Machine translation can translate in seconds what it takes human translators hours or even days to translate. Machine translation provides automatic translations in a wide range of languages and is a cheaper option than traditional translation.

Use SYSTRAN for Government Document Translations

SYSTRAN uses machine learning to create the most advanced translation software on the market. With industry-specific models and a large language base, SYSTRAN can quickly create accurate translations of even complex documents like government forms and reports. The natural language technology in SYSTRAN translation solutions aims to identify and recreate more than just the message but also the tone, meaning, and feel of the original document in the translation. This gives SYSTRAN clients quick access to the information they need without having to wait for expensive manual translations.