When you need more than a native speaker
or How to Evaluate a Spanish Translator

By Jana Bundy and María E. Estaún*

We are all native speakers of one language. Unfortunately, this ability does not automatically qualify us to be writers. Writing is a skill that one may have naturally and later polish through education and practice. But many never have the inclination or develop the skill. Likewise, being a native speaker of one language and fluent in a second does not automatically qualify us to be translators.

However, it is difficult for the monolingual client to assess the abilities of a prospective linguist. The candidate may appear perfectly bilingual. He or she readily converses in both languages and may be able to "get by" for informal interpreting. But we all know that one does not write the way one speaks. And that spoken proficiency is not the same as written proficiency.
It is important to know that the goal of translation is to render a text into the target language (e.g., Spanish) that faithfully reflects the meaning of the source language (e.g., English) and reads as if it had been written originally in Spanish by an educated native speaker.

Consequently, a professional translator must have a solid command of proper grammar and syntax and be able to use good generic or global vocabulary, excluding colloquialisms or regionalisms, in order to make the text understandable to the audience.

When translating into Spanish, a common misconception is that there is more than one Spanish. While it is true that Spanish is spoken in many countries and there are many regional variations, the basic grammar is universal, and most concepts can be described in universally-understood terms. And it is precisely this universal Spanish that must be used, unless a text is written for a very specific purpose or audience. Otherwise, the translated text may not be understood or accepted by a broad audience. This is especially important for documents targeting the Hispanic population living in the United States, which comprises many nationalities and educational levels.

To further complicate matters, one of the dangers of being bilingual is that the languages one speaks every day may suffer from second-language interference. This means that, while one speaks one language, one's vocabulary and syntax may be influenced by one's other language. An example of this is "Spanglish", a type of spoken Spanish that is understood among groups of people living in the United States, in which English words are made to sound like Spanish, even though a perfectly acceptable Spanish term already exists. While such words are acceptable when spoken among friends and family, it is not acceptable in writing when one hopes to gain the respect and understanding of the audience. Such Spanglish words include:

" "troquero" for "trucker", when "camionero" is the true Spanish [In México, "camionero" means bus driver.]
" "escrines" [pronounced "escreenez"] for "screens" instead of the true Spanish "pantallas" or "biombos "
" "frizado" [pronounced "freezado"] for "frozen" when "congelado" is the proper term

Even when the terms are in true Spanish, syntax may likewise be affected, as in the following translation:
ENGLISH: Scour the parish for an artist or advertising person to help you.
UNNATURAL RENDERING: Busca entre los feligreses a algún artista o a otra persona con habilidad para promover una causa para que te ayude.
NATURAL RENDERING: Busca entre los feligreses a algún artista o a una persona con experiencia publicitaria para que te ayude.

ENGLISH: Perhaps God will once again alter history through those dreams brought to life in us.
UNNATURAL RENDERING: Quizás una vez más Dios cambie la historia por medio de esos sueños que tienen vida en nosotros.
NATURAL RENDERING: Quizás una vez más Dios cambie la historia convirtiendo en realidad esos sueños nuestros.

One sees a similar phenomenon in English when a text reads "with an accent", meaning that the person writing in English is unduly affected by his or her second language. Examples include extreme cases, as when someone uses "resumed" in English when he means "summarized" (because the Spanish for "to summarize" is "resumir"). Or the interference may be more subtle, as in the following:

SPANISH: Ningún ser ha influido tanto en la vida del hombre como el caballo.
UNNATURAL RENDERING: No-being has influenced so much in mankind's life as the horse.
NATURAL RENDERING: No living being has had a greater influence on man than the horse.

Again, the translator's job is to convey the meaning of the source language in the target language so that it reads as if it had been originally written in the target language. Translators translate more than words; they adapt the final translation so that it is culturally and linguistically appropriate for the audience.

So, what should you look for in a professional translator? Careful attention to detail, good research skills, adequate subject knowledge, ability to meet deadlines and submit the translation in the appropriate format, thorough understanding of the source text and last, but not least, good writing skills in the target language at the level of a person well-educated in a Spanish-speaking country.

Being bilingual is not enough. But by being aware of the pitfalls described above, the client can avoid many false assumptions and select the best linguist for the job.
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* María E. Estaún, M.A. Spanish Literature (Princeton University); B.A. Liberal Arts, Catholic University, Washington, D.C., and Jana C. Bundy, M.A. English-Technical/Expository Writing (Univ. of Arkansas at Little Rock); B.A. Spanish Literature (Hendrix College); Accredited by the American Translators Association (U.S.) and qualified member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (U.K.)