FOUND IN TRANSLATION

Will ever machine be a better translator than man? The question challenges the imagination. In the past few years, we have been witnessing breakthrough progress in this respect, but for now, and for many years to come, the answer is a definite no. Machines can know all the words in the world, a task that a man would never achieve, and yet, they still miss the crucial talent to understand the meaning, to break through the idioms, and to end up with a coherent translation.

Even in English, one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, the efforts of automatic translation have produced texts of dubious quality.

The professional translator is priceless when you need quality, understanding and wholesome conversation, regardless of whether you need translation of documents, a conference, or a book. The easiest way to find true masters of this craft is to ask for help from a renowned translation agency. The advantages of such companies are many. They are certified to legalise documents, which is crucial when you have to deal with institutions in Bulgaria and abroad. The specialised agencies can also organise the efficient translation of large texts – from specialised literature to documents to fiction – in timely and quality manner.

Good translation agencies know very well that the different areas of human knowledge and skills have specific terminology, and work with experts in law, medicine, technology and other fields to provide you with neat translation. The translation agencies are fully aware of the importance of qualified translator, and carefully select the people they work with, often investing in their further professional development.

After the fall of Communism, the field of professional translation services in Bulgaria boomed, and today the competition is still tough. In the variety of offers, one who hasn’t done this before can have a hard time finding a reliable and qualified agency. How to cope with it, if you fall into this cathegory?

The easiest way is to ask friends or acquaintances who have already been there. When you lack such sources of information, however, or the feedback is somewhat inconclusive, the best thing is to select a few agencies' names and to do your homework. There are several details you have to consider checking. Check if the agency is licensed by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and what international certificates for quality translation it has. Check as well the variety of languages the company offers, and its history – if it has been on the market long enough then it should be good enough to withstand the constant competition. Check it the company is a partner of other institutions like state institutions and large private companies. This is yet another sign of quality.

Professionals who not only meet your requirements, but go beyond them: this is what you get in Translingua translation agency (Sofia, office 1: 21 Gogol St, office 2: 16 Pirotska St, www.translingua.bg). Established by two highly professional translators, Translingua works with professionals with rich experience in fields like law, economics, banking and medicine. In order to provide an optimal accuracy of the specialised translation, Translingua co-operates with specialists from the given field, or works with consultants selected by the client. The agency offers translation and interpreting, and can provide teams of interpreters with the needed equipment. It is a priceless partner if you need help for the organisation of a conference, seminar or other public event. Translingua is also of help when you need preparation of presentation, localisation (language and cultural adaptation), comparison of translation memories, and others. It is certified under ISO 9001:2008 and EN 15038, and is a founding member of the Association of Translation Agencies.

Communication is art. Having embraced this insight for 27 years, SOFITA Translation Agency (Sofia, 7 Bulgaria Blvd, floor 1, www.sofita.com) has grown into one of the most reliable translation companies in Bulgaria. It has mastered this art to perfection, applying it equally throughout all its services: translation and interpreting, localisation of websites, editing, adaptation, dubbing, subtitling, legalisation of documents, and many other services supporting congress activities. The agency delivers in a wide range of fields, including law, finance, medicine, automotive industry, transport, IT, and anything else that the market demands. SOFITA is the creator of the one-of-a-kind series Bulgarian Law in English. Its contemporary joint product, APIS-SOFITA, offers a convenient and customised opportunity for users to use Bulgarian and international legislative acts in the Bulgarian and English languages, tapping into the experience and accomplishments of both companies. To meet its clients' needs – delivering in the difficult combination of first-rate translation and short deadlines – the team creates and maintains client databases, using various specialised computer-assisted translation software and tools, which facilitate and speed up processes and ensure quick and accurate translation. The high quality of the agency's work – enhanced by the quality management system, ISO 9001:2000 – has been acknowledged with a certification under ISO 17100 (international standard for translation services). Over the years, SOFITA has been a partner of many Bulgarian and foreign institutions, including the Bulgarian Parliament, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, and a number of ministries, banks, NGOs, as well as Bulgarian and foreign companies.

When you need a reliable partner, trust the professionals of Content Translations (Sofia, 39 Dunav St, phone: 02 983 2661, www.content-translations.com). For more than 15 years, the agency has been offering translations in a variety of subjects with accent on technical documentation for exploitation of machines and equipment, accounting, law, finance and insurance documents, legal papers, corporate documents and others. Content Translations works with a team of highly-qualified translators and specialists in all fields and offers translations to all European rare languages, including by native speakers. The clients of Content Translations are companies and individuals from Bulgaria and abroad. The agency uses specialised translation softwares, which allows it to save and use a large data of technical terms, and speeds up, optimises and increases the quality of the translation. Thanks to the pre-print programmes it uses, Content Translations can offer to its clients translation in their preferred format. The agency has a contract with the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry to perform official translations, is certified under the translation standard EN 15038 and is undergoing a certification procedure for the new standard for translation services ISO 17100:2015.