their services in different languages, as well. As Mr. Vilanez points out, “Being able to target specific communities by communicating in their own language acknowledges their importance and makes them comfortable dealing with your company over others and can increase your leads enormously.” Who would want to miss out on such an important (and fruitful) aspect of their business practice?

A Brief Overview of the Various Types of Translation Services

The Terminologist
The terminologist researches and defines technical terms and expressions and is responsible for determining which given terms are most appropriate for a particular communication or most appropriate within a particular context. For example, in complex fields like law or computer science, various terms may be fairly synonymous with one another and it is the responsibility of the terminologist to ascertain which term or terms will give the greatest understanding to the recipient of the other party’s message.

The Interpreter
Simply put, the interpreter translates spoken communication from one language to another language or from spoken language to sign language – and vice-versa. “Simultaneous interpretation” is interpretation that involves the interpreter communicating the message being delivered by one party to another party while the former is actually speaking; this sort of interpretation usually occurs at conferences, at business meetings, or when sign language is required. Conversely, “consecutive interpretation” involves the interpreter formulating and conveying the spoken message of one party to another party after the initial speaker has finished his

or her speech or presentation; consecutive interpretation frequently takes place in more informal business meetings, dinners, or at professional conferences where time is less of an issue.  

The Translator
The conventional translator is arguably the most well-known form of a translation service. This person converts written text into one language or another and, generally speaking, the faster he or she operates, the better it is for everyone. According to translator Susan Levy Riches, she begins the translation process by first looking over the document so as to make sure she can do the job. When satisfied that the assignment is something she can take care of, Ms. Levy Riches takes a word count, checks the terminology, and prepares a quote. Once the client approves the quote, she starts the actual task of translating things; preparing a word/excel document as she goes that contains any problem sentences or terms. Suffice it to say, these passages will then be carefully reviewed later so that the best possible translation can be found. When the task is finally completed, Ms. Levy Riches has a colleague review the document and she then approves any changes and finishes up with a final draft.
As an interesting addendum, she notes that her word or excel document of difficult terms is