Here at Transcription City, we offer a range of transcription services, translation services, subtitling services and closed captioning services. When selecting the translation company or transcription company you want to use, it is important that you ensure that the translators and transcriptionists are experienced, can work to a set deadline and can provide you with the exact translation service or transcription service you require. When it comes to subtitling services and closed captioning, it is important to ensure that your translation company or subtitling company are able to provide subtitling translation that preserves the tone and style of the original speech but is also concise and perfectly timed. With that in mind, we thought we’d share with you some thoughts from one of our experienced translators…
Working for a Translation Company
As a typist or translator for an established translation company – you really need to know your language. As well as grammar. And when you are transcribing audio and video files you also need to be a good listener. Because you need to have lots and lots of accuracy when you type.
But let’s start at the beginning. You need to know the letters of the alphabet. When I was younger, there were only 25 letters in the alphabet. Nobody knew ‘Y’.
Listening well can be a life-saver, because when you listen well you will be able to type with greater accuracy. Combine that with knowing your spelling and you are a genius. Want an example? What is the difference between a cat and a comma? One has claws at the end of its paws, the other is a pause at the end of a clause. There you have it. Yes, English is hard. But it can be understood through tough thorough thought, though.
But it is simply the knowledge of grammar and, most of all, punctuation that are the best qualities of a transcriptionist. It can actually save lives. Why? “Let’s eat Grandma!” is very different to “Let’s eat, Grandma!” You see, punctuation is very important indeed, because what about “your dinner” and “you’re dinner”? One makes you full, the other one leaves you dead. But it goes even beyond that. An English professor writes the following words on the blackboard: “a woman without her man is nothing” and asks his students to put in the right punctuation. Half the class puts it like this: “A woman, without her man, is nothing.” The other half does it like this: “A woman: without her, man is nothing.” It makes really all the difference.
Let me leave you with a joke. What do you say, when you comfort the grammar police? “They’re, There, Their.” Sorted.
If you would like more information about our transcription services, translation services, subtitling services, closed captioning or how to select the right translation company, why not get in touch? We are available 7 days a week and always happy to help!
