People in the translation and interpretation business stress the importance of having a professional on site, no matter what the job is. In an everyday conversation using a bilingual friend or relative may be acceptable; however, trouble arises when that relative is put into stressful settings such as a medical, legal, or business situation.

When a professional interpreter is sent to one of these places, not only do they know how to fluently speak the necessary languages, but they are also trained in the specific field. For example, a professional interpreter that gets dispatched to a hospital will know how to say all of the different medicines and terms in both languages. On top of this, they have the knowledge to make the translation smooth and grammatically correct in order to avoid any confusion.

One thing to avoid when looking for precise translations are automated translation machines on the internet; although these are useful for translating short lines of text, more than a sentence may cause confusion. This leaves you with a poorly constructed block of text that is not fit for homework, business, or even a short conversation.

If you want proof, go to one of these websites and enter a large block of text from a book or magazine in English to a different language. After you have received the translated text, re-enter it and switch the languages to translate from the one you chose back into English.

Notice anything different?

~By Greg Will

Monterey Language Services has become a solid provider for the government and numerous corporations. Our domains of competence are expanding into medical, legal, technical, and business sectors, as well as academic and research institutions.

More and more clients appreciate the individualized approach and personal attention we give to each interpretation or translation project.

For example, when translating a CEO’s letter to his or her employees, we will ensure that the CEO is communicating directly with his employees in their own languages instead of translating the letter mechanically.

When translating a public education brochure, we make sure to write it in a way that is easy to understand and comfortable to read.

The power of language can transform a company in a number of ways.  We are amazed by how well companies and organizations understand and are utilizing the role of languages to its full potential.  Through constant interactions and communications, Monterey Language Services is growing with our customers.

The following insights shared by our team members look at the two types of hermeneutics, or art of interpretation, and their role in translation and interpretation market place.

Exegesis is a straightforward, factual explanation.  It assumes that a text contains fixed and invariant meaning. The exegete is a neutral or objective expositor, a transmitter of meaning that is embedded in a text. A creative exegete develops a critical explanation or analysis, expands the original meanings to new applications or expressions, but maintains the objective, determinable meaning inscribed in the interpreted text.

Eisegesis is an explanation with analysis and incorporates one’s own ideas. Eisegesis keeps the reader’s perspective in mind, considering the reading to be neither a neutral nor an objective activity. The individual performing the eisegesis will have to answer critical questions from academic circles, such as the questioning of his assumptions, citations, orientations, presuppositions, blindness, bias, even preferences, interests, and motives.

If this approach faces so much criticism, why is it still one of the main methods in interpretation of texts?  The value of this practice is that it creates a way to look at a text from different angles, transcending what straight word-by-word interpretation would not be able to convey, thus further increasing the complexity of the interpretation.

In the market place, both methods can be applied to various situations in translation and interpretation assignments.  For example, the former suits legal and technical subjects, while the latter is most seen in translation of business and marketing brochures.  An experienced translator or interpreter knows the value, distinction, and roles between the two and is able to interplay at times between them to bring out the best result in communication.

Authors: Mei-Ling Chen, Emily Frye, Lee Eisenberg, Eric Hsiung