The human factor

Translation, as language, is about communication between human beings. So, the psychological aspect of language is essential

"It's not what you say, it's the way you say it". For a translation to have the desired effect on people, it must present its message in a way adapted to the target culture. It is not enough to translate the text literally. Who are the readers? In which way are they different from the other culture? What is the purpose of the text? We are very aware of the cultural differences between English and Spanish cultures and the idiosyncrasies of the different people who speak these languages. This can be appreciated in our translations.

Too often we have seen expensively produced promotional material, web-pages and so on, with appalling translations. Businesses are told that the visual design is important and are willing to spend a fair amount of money on this... only to spoil it because they are reluctant to pay a professional translator to complement form and content...

Speaking two languages does not make you a good translator

Some people make the mistake of thinking that translating is about speaking two languages, and so anyone who does so is automatically a translator. Nothing is further from the truth. To be a good translator you need:

• to be a good and versatile writer in the language you translate into;
• to know, detect, and resolve interference problems between both languages;
• to understand translation strategies and ways to transfer concepts and ideas from one language to another;
• to have a wide general knowledge;
• to know how to find information you do not have;
• to have in-depth knowledge of the field(s) you specialise in;
• be proficient in the use of computers, software packages, and modern technology.

In fact, if you contact a bilingual person to do your translation, you will most likely end up with a "spanglish" text. If you give it to a person who "speaks" Spanish, you will end up with a literal text, most likely inaccurate, and, what is worse, unaware that this is the case.

We pay attention to the purpose of the translation

Our approach adapts to the purpose of the material. In a technical manual, we will strive to be consistent with the terms used, even if the language is slightly repetitive, and will even render confusing sentences in the original into a clearer style. In a promotional text, we will aim to create a lively and fluid style to capture the readers' attention.

We value the human aspect of our relationship with our clients

We cherish (and encourage) teamwork with our clients. We advise them and listen to them; and we put great weight on establishing a "personal" relationship with them. We believe this has a very positive effect on the quality of our professional work: we are dealing with other human beings.

We seek quality

We do not promise to translate 500 pages in a week or offer the lowest rates of the web. However, we do aim to build a good relationship with you and use our technical knowledege and linguistic skills to give you our best work. The loyalty of our clients is our best accreditation. There are many translators on the web, but not all have the technical knowledge, the linguistic skills, and the technological means to deliver good quality translations.

Small is beautiful

We are a small agency and intend to stay so. In a world where the greed of large multinationals is depleting the planet and increasing the unfair distribution of resources, small and medium-size companies like ours, and yours, have a lot to say. When an organization grows too much, quality usually suffers. People become "productive units" and their clients "profit figures".

We all have experienced the frustration on the new way to do business: sofisticated customer services skills applied to take power away from the client. We are all familiarised with extremely friendly operators with no decision power who will inform you that there is nobody to talk who could solve your problem -because your problem is outside their standard scenarios.

With us, you will always have somebody to talk to directly and explain your specific needs. There is no danger of your instructions and queries being lost in the long chain of intermediaries between you and the translator ( or translators) dealing with your project. We are accountable and cannot blame others if things go wrong. So, we make sure things don't go wrong!