logo logo

EN

Localization

Finding Excellent Vietnamese Translators

2020.11.13
Nhi Le,
TuongVi Vo

I. General background of translation in Vietnam

Ever since its decision to join the international market and tighten international relations, the demand for language exchanges in Vietnam has snowballed. Numerous global companies and investors have chosen Vietnam as an advantaged location. As a result, translation is something indispensable. More than 800 translation agencies have been established in Vietnam with various prices and qualities. With the avenue of 100 million VND per year, Vietnam has become a growing dragon in the translation market. At the moment, the most demanded language pairs for translation services are Vietnamese <> English, Vietnamese <> CCJK languages, Vietnamese <> SEA Languages and Vietnamese <> European languages.

According to research, less than 50% of translators and LSPs in Vietnam are using Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tool for their localization process. Modern technology and qualified Quality Assurance (QA) tools are not widely used in the local industry. Therefore, the overall translation process is both time-consuming and inefficient. As a result, only a few companies can be certified ISO for the past couple of years despite its boastful revenue.

II. The importance of translators

For the past decades, Google Translate is widely known as the best (and free) machine translation, with over 200 million users every day. 1 Nevertheless, as for legal or medical documents, professional and skilful translators are still heavily favoured. A qualified translator can understand and interpret the content correctly, especially the content beyond the semantic meaning. Moreover, many LSPs even provide services such as editing or proofreading, to ensure the most accurate and localized content. More importantly, a translation provider has to take responsibility for confidentiality.

1. The statistic was taken from the below link: https://www.languageinsight.com/blog/2019/google-translate-vs-professional-translation/

III. What makes a good translator

It is falsely believed that to be a translator; an individual only needs to have the ability to juggle words at the top of their head. However, to call oneself a “capable” translator, a linguist must be able to check the following bullet points:

  1. Know their mother tongue
    Most documents require back-and-forth translation between source and target languages. Therefore, a linguist needs to have a profound understanding of their native language to ensure seamless and localized translation. It includes in-depth knowledge on grammatical, semantic, pragmatic, lexical and structural rules of their language.
  2. Excellent translation and transcreation skills
    The translation is not just worded replacement. A good translator must have linguistic and cultural knowledge of both languages in depth to deal with style, tone, formality, metaphors, and idiomatic expressions. Also, they must be able to adapt cultural aspects and references to the target language. Moreover, a successful translator should be able to express the exact idea of the source texts as clearly as possible, without any ambiguity.
  3. Obtain a wide range of vocabulary
    A good translator must have broad lexicon in both languages. This particular skill will make the translation process more accessible and more effective. Due to their knowledge of vocabulary, translators can have appropriate word choice based on the context, style, and emotion. It helps readers have the best understanding of the source text.
  4. Be able (and willing) to research
    Having a good background knowledge is a plus for a translator. It allows them to have a full understanding of source text and ensure no mistranslation. Occasionally, translators often encounter new topics and technical terms, which require an excellent searching skill to gain the necessary information and to have more knowledge in that field afterwards.
  5. Be flexible
    A good translator should be ready for any various processes, deal with different clients, and work under high pressure. These linguistic warriors need to be versatile by continually learning about new requirements and applying on-demand technology to work faster and more efficiently.
  6. Be rigorous
    Being a translator is a meticulous job. Any small mistake might lead to big problems. A surviving translator should be rigorous to create a high-quality translation without any errors.

IV. Where to find an excellent Vietnamese translator

Language translation is a well-known service that has become imperative for both individuals and organizations when they want to expand their business. Finding the right translators is one of utmost importance in ensuring an accurate translation.

In Vietnam, there are numerous translation providers. Still, not all of them are qualified. It is intrinsically essential to choose the right Language Service Provider, which offers A-Z localization services. Hansem Vietnam (as a production office of Hansem Global) is widely regarded as the best LSP in the region, thanks to its qualified resources, a complete range of experiences and professional services.

We know Vietnam! Contact us soon and put your concern on translation quality to rest!

Reference :

1. Cabral, M. (2020, March 18). 16 Must-Have Skills to Become a Successful Translator. Alumiar Elísio. https://www.alumiarelisio.com/blog/skills-successful-translator/

2. Qtiesh, A. (2018, March 31). What Makes a Good Translator? Medium. https://medium.com/meedan-labs/what-makes-a-good-translator-8ef81ff4a060

3. TEN QUALITIES OF A GOOD TRANSLATOR |. (2014, September 27). LingoStar Language Services. https://lingo-star.com/ten-qualities-good-translator/

4. Hoang, T. (2020, September 27). Làm sao để thành công với nghề dịch thuật tại Việt Nam. Tư Vấn Pháp Luật – Tổng Đài Tư Vấn Luật Sư Hà Nội – Công Ty Luật Minh Khuê. https://luatminhkhue.vn/lam-sao-de-thanh-cong-voi-nghe-dich-thuat-tai-viet-nam.aspx

5. Lighthouse Translations. (2019, November 19). Why Do We Need Translation? https://lighthouseonline.com/blog-en/why-do-we-need-translation/

6. Saigon Translation. (2018, October 19). The Quality of VI-EN translation service in VN. https://saigontranslation.com/the-quality-of-vietnamese-english-translation-service-in-vietnam.html/

7. HACO. (n.d.). CÁC BẠN CÓ BIẾT THỰC TRẠNG DỊCH THUẬT VIỆT NAM HIỆN NAY NHƯ NÀO KHÔNG? Dịch Thuật HACO. https://dichthuathaco.com.vn/cac-ban-co-biet-thuc-trang-dich-thuat-viet-nam-hien-nay-nhu-nao-khong.html

About Hansem Global

Hansem Global is an ISO Certified and globally recognized language service provider. Since 1990, Hansem Global has been a leading language service company in Asia and helping the world’s top companies to excel in the global marketplace. Thanks to the local production centers in Asia along with a solid global language network, Hansem Global offers a full list of major languages in the world. Contact us for your language needs!

LIST