In January, we reported on a big breakthrough in negotiations on adopting a European-wide patent that would have big ramifications for many of our clients and for the translation industry as a whole. Under the current patent system, after the EPO grants a patent, the holder is still required to translate the patent into the official languages of most EU member states where they want the patent validated. Several countries (including France and Germany) have waved this requirement and others (including Denmark and Sweden) only require a translation of the patent’s claims. Still, the European Commission estimates that validating a European patent in 13 EU countries costs about $26,000, of which $18,000 is spent on patent translations. Compare that to the far lower cost of $2,400 to file a patent in the United States.
The obvious solution is an EU patent that would be legally binding in all EU member states, and require minimal or no translation. That has long been a dream of European officials, but disagreements about language and other issues have prevented the EU patent from coming into being.
Now the European Commission is proposing a compromise that would allow European patents to be submitted to the EPO in just one of the office’s official languages – French, German, or English. The claims would still have to be translated into the other two languages, which is line with the current reality. In case of litigation, the patent holder would have to provide a full translation into the language where the infringement process is taking place. Most patent applications in Europe are already filed in English, and French and German are the next most common languages, so the time and cost of translating patent’s for Europe would be drastically reduced.
Unfortunately it doesn’t look like this regulation is going to pass anytime soon. Spain and Italy are strongly opposed to having their languages dropped, and several other European countries are also against it. EU officials predict heated discussions in the coming months as they seek a compromise solution that all 27 EU members are willing to sign up for. Morningside will continue monitoring the situation and update our readers on developments.
Morningside relies on expert, professional translators to prepare our clients’ technical and legal translations. We also require that the translator be a native speaker of the target language (the language the document is being translated into). Why?
A native speaker has a grasp of linguistic nuances, idioms, terminology, and culture that are vital in preparing an accurate and localized translation. Their larger vocabulary and familiarity with even obscure phrases means they will be far more adept at picking the ideal word or phrase in a given context.
Because knowledge of the target language and culture are so important, Morningside relies on in-country translators for the majority of projects where we are translating from English into a foreign language. This is especially important when translating marketing materials, media content, websites, and other materials where cultural sensitivity is paramount.
Our translators are of course fluent and highly proficient in the source language as well. But the fact that they are native speakers of the target language helps ensure translations that are not only accurate but also correctly convey our client’s message in style and tone and help them to truly reach a global audience.
Translating a document into multiple languages can be an expensive proposition. A user manual, product data sheet, or a patent application that needs to be translated for multiple countries and jurisdictions can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars.
But your translation costs can be significantly lowered if two or more of your target countries speak (roughly) the same language.
For example, one Latin American Spanish translation (with minor modifications) will suffice for Mexico, Venezuela, and Argentina, and the other Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. You probably already knew that.
But that Latin American Spanish translation can also be converted into European Spanish and used in Spain. Though there are important differences in grammar and vocabulary between European and Latin American Spanish, they are similar enough that one Latin American Spanish translation can be revised and utilized in Spain (and vice-versa). The fee for converting the translation is a fraction of the cost of commissioning an entirely new translation.
This is also the case when you need to translate a document for both Brazil and Portugal. While there are big differences in spelling, grammar, and terminology between Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese, one translation for either target country can still be edited and revised for use in the other.
The third common language that converts is Chinese. There are two forms of written Chinese: Simplified and Traditional. Simplified Chinese is used in mainland China and in Singapore. Traditional Chinese is used in Taiwan and Hong Kong and sometimes referred to as ‘Taiwanese.’ Simplified Chinese characters have fewer strokes than Traditional Chinese, which is why it’s called “Simplified.” Traditional Chinese also uses far more characters (about 13,000 vs. about 8,000 in Simplified Chinese). Despite these differences, it is still quite feasible to commission one translation for use in both mainland China and in Hong Kong and Taiwan. But because Traditional Chinese is more complex than Simplified Chinese, it is much easier to convert TC to SC than the other way around.
The bottom line: If you are translating for Latin America and Spain, Brazil and Portugal, or China and Taiwan, you can lower your translation costs substantially by asking your translation company to provide a single translation, and then converting that translation for use in the other country. Morningside offers this conversion service, which is especially relevant to our legal and patent translation clients. If you have questions about converting a translation, you can contact Morningside via phone or email and we will be glad to assist.
What does it mean when a translation is certified? In the U.S., it means the translator and/or translation company has added a signed statement that the translation is accurate and correct to the best of their knowledge and ability. It may also be notarized to confirm the identity of the person signing the statement. Essentially, the certification creates a legal record which confirms that the translation was produced in good faith and according to translation standards and norms.
When is it necessary to get your translation certified? If you are planning to submit a translation to a courtroom or government office or agency, you may need to obtain a translation certification. Different courtrooms and agencies have different certification requirements, so you may want to check first to see exactly what kind of certification is required.
Morningside’s certified translations are regularly submitted to U.S. courtrooms, and to government and regulatory agencies including the Department of Justice, Citizenship and Immigration Service, FDA, USPTO, and the United Nations. Our certified translations have also been successfully submitted to courtrooms, government agencies, and patent offices across the globe. We provide most types of certification free of charge.
Do you have a questions about certifying a translation? Call Morningside at (212) 643-8800.
You may have noticed that it can take more words to say something in one language than in another. For example, it takes three words in French (s’il vous plaît) to accomplish what you can with one word of English (please). And in general, French and other romance languages are wordier than English. A document with 1,000 English words translated into French will convert into approximately 1,150 target words, a 15% increase in the document’s word count.
This is referred to in the translation industry as text expansion and contraction. In other words, the number of words in a document usually increases or decreases when the document is translated. While we can’t give an exact prediction of the final word count, translation companies use ratios based on typical expansion/contraction rates for different languages pairs. For example, in English to German translation, the word count typically contracts by 20%, and therefore this is the ratio that most companies use. If you have ever seen a German compound word like Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänsmütze (Danube steamboat shipping company Captain’s hat) you’ll understand why.
Calculating expansion or contraction during translation is not an exact science. Depending on subject matter and terminology, and also the quality of the writing, the text may expand more or less than the ratios predict. That is a major reason why Morningside—and most translation companies—provide the estimated cost, and not the exact cost for translating a document. But Morningside always utilizes the most conservative ratio when providing estimates to avoid any unpleasant surprises when the invoice arrives. Because of this, the actual cost for getting a document translated by Morningside is often lower than our estimated cost.
