The devil is really in the detail.
Financial translation is not work for any translator. Regular translators cannot replicate the work of financial translators because they do not have the knowledge to do so. Financial translation is the work of an expert that also has a great financial understanding across cultures.
Why Every Detail in a Financial Translation Is Important
To show this, here is just a snippet of adaptations that financial translators have to make when working on financial documents.
Punctuation
It’s not just words that can get lost in translation. The use of a comma within numerical values can change the number’s value in different countries. Whereas the number 6,789 may appear to be a large number to you, to someone else it could be extremely small. This is because a comma may change the meaning of the number. Do you know which countries think of it in which way? A financial translator does.
Words or Numbers?
In some countries, financial documents may not be permitted to use numbers at all within documents. Instead, they must use words only. Knowing when either should be used is part of a financial translator’s expertise.
Numerical Nuances
But…there is also the problem of trying to translate the words of number easily. Some mathematical terms do not translate directly. A trillion, a billion, a mile milliards, and millón de millones are all the same numbers. You can see how translating these literally would cause problems; and two of them were from variations of the same language.
Need Help With Your Financial Translations?
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Today we have shown a tiny portion of the details a financial translator must contend with. Yet, we have not even scraped the surface. To get your financial documents translated exactly as intended, speak to SemioticTransfer AG. Visit our blog.
We work with expert financial translators and offer free quotes by contacting us on +41 56 470 40 40 or email us at contact@semiotictransfer.ch.
