It’s no secret that we live in an ever more globalised world. Take a look at day to day life; Volkswagen, Samsung, Zara, IKEA, names that have arrived on British soil and that we hear mentioned almost daily, but are in fact foreign companies. Even Studio Moretto Group itself is based in Bristol, Berlin, Lima and translates into over 80 languages making it the multinational company of multinational companies.
Before arriving at Studio Moretto Group to commence my 3 month internship, I thought I had a wealth of experience in the art of translation having studied Modern Languages for two years at the University of Exeter prior to this internship, and spending 6 months at the University of Bologna in the Faculty of Modern Languages, Interpreting and Translation. However, perhaps due to the exceedingly high standards of Studio Moretto, I found myself a little overwhelmed by the translations I was faced with. Here’s the thing; the company deals with a diverse group of clients, which brings with it a vast range of sectors from cosmetics to law, and with that comes a huge amount of technical vocabulary and subsequently a necessity to have sufficient background knowledge of the sector in question.
For a fledgling translator like myself, this was naturally a very daunting prospect. It’s one thing being taught the theory of translation in university where, if worst comes to the worst, you can probably find a translated version already on Google, but it’s entirely different when you begin translating documents for the first time and there is no easy solution to figuring out complex sentence structures or the meaning of words that are seemingly non-existent outside of the text. But, my fellow want-to-be translators, this is not something that you should be put off by.
The wonderful thing about Studio Moretto Group is that they want to ensure complete client satisfaction. They strive constantly to deliver a fantastic service, and they cannot afford to hand over half-hearted, word for word translations to leading multinational companies. Therefore, they ensure sufficient training of all of their staff, even the less experienced interns like myself, to make the transition into the real industry that little bit smoother. I am constantly learning in this role, being taught how to make use of the internet effectively to find accurate, sector specific translations (it may come as a shock to you that “just Google it” isn’t the solution to every problem) and what’s more, being highly aware of keeping up to date with the modern world, Studio Moretto employs advanced CAT software (Computer-assisted translation) in which past translations can be memorised and used to the advantage of the internal translators, not to mention the glossary of sector specific terminology which is expanding almost daily.
So what are the key things I have I learnt so far from my translating experience at Studio Moretto? The first, translating an instruction manual is decidedly not the same as translating a romantic novel. Keep it simple, straight to the point, and most of all crystal clear, there is no need for fancy embellishments here. The second, it may sometimes be the case that the client is not a fantastic writer, whether it be because they have written in a language that isn’t their mother tongue or because they were in a hurry, but as long as you communicate the same message as them then job well done. And finally, language can be a complex, many layered thing, but a translator is there to break down those barriers and trust me, there is a solution to any problem.
Though I am unsure of my goals for the future (any student can sympathise with me on that one) I am gaining so many transferable skills that can be used in this industry, or within different multinational companies, and if I can recommend one thing for those of you looking to enter into this business whether it be for translating, interpreting, or even international marketing, it is to find an internship such as this as the experience will be invaluable.
Emily Avent
Intern at SMG