Spanish to Catalan translation is often a language combination that is undervalued, because many people assume that being bilingual makes them good translators and editors.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Asking a colleague to review your Catalan text is a good idea. As I always say, four eyes are better than two. Sending your website to a translation agency for a professional Spanish to Catalan translation is also a great idea.
And what about Google Translate? Well, raise your hand if you have not used it…
I am going to be honest with you: The ideal translation solution depends on the purpose of the text. What is its purpose and what quality are you hoping to get?
In today’s article, I will talk about professional vs. machine translators, machine translation revision, certified Catalan translation, and dictionaries and online resources for this language combination.
Professional Spanish to Catalan translator
As a dedicated professional translator, my first recommendation is that you contact professional translators that have experience. Translation goes beyond simply converting a text from one language to another.
To be a translator is to have a clinical eye that detects problems in the original text that no one else notices and to be precise when translating nuances into the target language. Translating is managing, communicating with the client, adapting cultural references, dealing with different text formats, using technology for the benefit of language and efficiency, etc.
If you have made it this far because you are looking for a flawless translation into Catalan, I have to emphasize how important it is to work with trained professionals. They will not only write a text that is correct from a spelling and grammar point of view, but they will also use industry-specific terminology and a polished style.
However, my duty as a professional is also to be honest: no one type of translation that is ideal for all texts or for everyone.
That is why I want to talk to you about all of them and let you decide.
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Spanish to Catalan machine translation
Although I do not normally recommend machine translation (especially without human review), in the case of Spanish to Catalan translation, this technology offers one of the best outcomes.
Even so, machine translators make common mistakes that go unnoticed by those who are not accustomed to detecting such errors.
Therefore, if you want to communicate, in general terms, what is in a text or you want to translate an email for personal use, machine translation will help you get this done.
But if what you need is a translation to Catalan of a publishable text, I recommend that you contact a professional translator, either to translate it from scratch or to certify it.
Have you heard of ‘post-editing’? I will explain what it is in the next section.
Post-editing of Spanish to Catalan translation: Review of machine translation
Post-editing is the human review of a text that has been translated by a machine.
When you contact a professional translator or translation agency, ask them if they offer Spanish to Catalan post-editing services. Some assisted translation tools available have a paid machine translation feature. It is important to remember that this feature can only be used with the consent of the client for data protection reasons.
Also, check to make sure that post-editing is appropriate for your text type. For example, post-editing instructions for use is not the same as post-editing a text that promotes your product. For creative texts in particular, the final result will be better if it is translated from scratch by a professional.
In any case, if you use machine translation and the text is to be published, post-editing should be mandatory. Why? I will get into that in the next section.
Common mistakes in Catalan Machine Translation
When a translator edits a translation done by a human, he makes sure that the message of the target text corresponds with that of the original text, corrects various orthotypography elements, and adjusts the style of the text to its communicative objective.
However, when reviewing a machine translation, the translator also needs to fix various types of recurring errors. Some of these errors are common in machine translation for different language combinations, and others are specific to a particular language combination, as is the case with Spanish to Catalan.
A translator with post-editing experience in Catalan can easily detect these types of common mistakes and provide a clean and natural sounding final text as if it were written in Catalan.
If this subject interests you, Esperanza Alarcon’s study on machine translation vs. human translation (available in Spanish) describes the error typologies that we find in machine translation in general. These include terminological inaccuracies that do not apply to the target audience in question, false meanings that prevent an accurate understanding of a text, or the incorrect use of prepositions or verb tenses, etc.
Machine translation tools from Spanish to Catalan at user level
Google Translate is one of the most widely known and efficient translation tools. It allows you to translate between Catalan and more than 90 languages. Bing Translator is another example, and it supports around 60 languages.
There is also the Softcatalá Online Translator, which offers machine translations between Catalan and Spanish, English, French, and Portuguese, as well as Occitan (Aranese) and Aragonese.
As well as that, as I have mentioned before, professional translators have access to paid machine translation services that integrate the machine translation (reviewed and corrected by human translators) into your project’s memory.
Certified translation of Spanish to Catalan and vice versa
If you are looking for a certified translator of Spanish to Catalan or vice versa, there is no way around it: machines are out of the question. The translation of your official documents will only be valid if you use a certified translator, with a seal, certificate, and signature.
The same applies to certified translations between Catalan and other languages; for example, if you study at a Catalan university and you need to translate your degree from Catalan to English.
Contact a translation agency or consult the Register of Certified Translators and Interpreters authorised by the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.
Professional Proofreaders in Catalan
Did you know that translators are also proofreaders? In our mother tongue, of course. The linguistic skills of Catalan translators to carefully translate a text into Catalan enable them to also edit texts that were originally written in Catalan.
So, if you need a Catalan proofreader, do not hesitate to reach out to a good Catalan translator.
Rates for Spanish to Catalan translation
Do you need post-editing, translation by one professional, or translation and review by two professionals?
You will find a wide variety of rates per word for Spanish to Catalan translation depending on these factors and many others. However, I would say that the rates for Spanish to Catalan translation tend to be more affordable than translation to English, for example.
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