What is a "Traductor"?
It's late on a Sunday night, and you have homework due for your Spanish class that starts in seven hours. You’re in big trouble. You don’t understand what the phrase rizar el rizomeans! You’re certain that it can’t mean curl the curl—but what does it mean? You need real Spanish-to-English translation, FAST. What do you do? You visit SpanishDictionary.com and type “rizar el rizo” into the Spanish translator. In a split second, you get your response: to split hairs.
Thanks to technology, you can now traducir(translate) a text of nearly any length in no time at all. You can traducir de inglés a español(translate from English to Spanish) or translate Spanish to English—or almost any other language—from your own computer or phone! This was impensable(unthinkable) not that long ago.
Translate English to Spanish
There are many reasons why you might need to translate to Spanish. You might have a confusing worksheet for school, a business contact that only speaks Spanish, or a new neighbor who is still learning English. All of these are situations in which a traductor de inglés a español(English-to-Spanish translator) can be necessary. Loads of options are available to help you in each situation. But should you choose machine translation or a human translator?
Machine Translation
For basic English-to-Spanish translation and situations that are not of vital importance, it’s fine to use machine translation! It’s getting better with time and offering more precise results every day. An online traductor de inglés a español(English to Spanish translator) like the one you can find on SpanishDictionary.com is great for when you don’t quite know how to say that one phrase for your homework, or when you’d like to ask your new neighbor how their day went.
Machine Translation Is Helpful, But…
Machine translation, however, does have its limits. You need to make sure that your English-to-Spanish-translation sentences are written clearly and correctly. One little misspelled word can affect the accuracy of your Spanish translation!
If you’re going to use a traductor de inglés a español(English to Spanish translator) you can't forget to proofread the output! We once saw a student write a report about former UN Secretary-General “Ban Ki-luna” instead of “Ban Ki-moon.” Another favorite was found on a menu at a restaurant on San Sebástian’s famed La Concha(Shell) Beach. They offered “TailCao” on their English menu. What were they trying to sell? ColaCao, a Spanish brand of hot chocolate! In both cases, the machine translation output should have been checked by a human who understood both languages.
If you use machine translation as a traductor inglés español(English to Spanish translator), make sure to check your text for mistakes!
Human Translation
If you need a traductor de inglés a español(English to Spanish translator) for any sort of important text, it’s wise to work with a human translator. Translators are fully bilingual and have training in translation. They are often specialized in very specific fields, such as medical translation or political science. It's best to work with a human when you’re translating high-stakes documents like ads or materials for your business, medical records, or legal documents. These are all documents in which one tiny mistake could cause you to lose money—or worse. What can a human offer that a machine can’t? Trained human translators know exactly how to transfer your words from one language to the other, with a Spanish-speaking audience and culture in mind.
Machines can't translate slang well. Humans can! Want to learn slang in Spanish? Check out these lists!
Translate Spanish to English
Do you need a Spanish-to-English translator? Just like when you’re translating from English to Spanish, you have two options: machine translation or a human translator.
Machine Translation
Imagine that you have to read a newspaper article for class or work, and you just can’t quite understand what that last sentence of paragraph three means. Time is of the essence, and you have your phone next to you. What do you do? Open SpanishDictionary.com and type the sentence into the search box. In no time at all, you’ll understand what the sentence means, and you’ll be able to see the word-by-word breakdown below the proposed translation. Voilà! Problem solved—in just a few seconds.
Machine translation is great for Spanish-to-English translation when you just need to get the gist of what you are reading. It’s easy, quick, and it’s usually free! It can help you understand the website you’re reading, the email or text you got, and that sign you saw on your way to work. It may not be perfect, but it gets the job done.
Are you a technology fan? Learn all the vocabulary you’ll need to talk about technology with these interactive vocabulary lists!
Human Translation
If the text you have to translate into English is important, it’s advisable to work with a Spanish-to-English translator. Human translators have training and experience in their field, and they know both the languages and the cultures well. This allows them to make important choices about just what words to use and where to use them. It’s wise to work with a human on a Spanish translation to English, for example, if you get an email from an angry client in which they make specific complaints or claims that you can’t quite understand. In this case, you can’t risk any mistakes in Spanish-English translation that a machine could produce! Your client’s angry and you can’t afford a misunderstanding. You need to understand every little nuance of the situation with your client, and a professional translator is the best option for the job. After all, culture may be playing a role in the problem!
Translator vs. Interpreter
Although you’ll hear the terms used interchangeably in popular culture, translators and interpreters do not do the same job. Translators work with written texts and often do their job using specialized tools and resources that help them. Professional translators always work into their native language or languages.
Interpreters work with people and interpret spoken texts. They often have to interpret bidirectionally, working both from and into their native language. They may have notes or other resources at hand, but interpreters don’t have much time to consult resources as they work.
Always remember:
- A translator works with text.
- An interpreter works in interpersonal settings.
Whatever type of translator you choose, know that both machine translation and human translation have their pros and cons. Machine translation is quick and easy, but it can contain errors. Human translators produce high-quality and accurate work, but you need to pay them and their work takes time. Which one will you choose? Each option has its place and its time.
You know all about traductores, but you still want to DIY and figure out your texts yourself? Check out these articles and activities to help you!
