If you are looking to get a text translated, you may have come across the concept of an SME (Subject Matter Expert). An SME is someone who is immersed in the world of the text you need to translate and has plenty of experience with that field\u2014in both the target and the source language.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s why you should hire an SME to translate your material:<\/p>\n
Each Field Has Its Own Jargon<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve ever tried to read an academic paper in a field you have never studied, you probably had a lot of trouble understanding it, even if it was written in your native tongue. The reason for this is that each field has its own internal language for discussing the topics that are specific to that field.<\/p>\n Unfamiliar Terms<\/strong><\/p>\n For example, you will probably come across a lot of words you\u2019ve never heard before. If an article mentions a \u201cperianth,\u201d unless you have studied botany, you probably don\u2019t know that that term refers to the outer part of a flower.<\/p>\n Most translators who don\u2019t have expertise in botany wouldn\u2019t know that either\u2014and they probably won\u2019t be familiar with the term in the target language.<\/p>\n A good translator would then research the term, perhaps consulting an expert in the field, but even if they manage to grasp the meaning of the term, they won\u2019t necessarily know how to use it correctly in context. Furthermore, the intense research required to accurately understand and translate the term can waste a lot of time.<\/p>\n Terms You Thought Were Familiar\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n There may also some terms that a lay person would be familiar with, but that are used completely differently in that specific field.<\/p>\n For example, in lay language, the word \u201ctheory\u201d means an unsubstantiated idea. In the field of science, however, it refers to an explanation for some aspect of the natural world that has been confirmed through repeated testing. This is a very significant difference! A translator could have an exceptional command of both languages, but if they have not been immersed in the world of science, they may not be aware of this difference.<\/p>\n These kinds of terms can be even more problematic than terms the translator may not know. In the former case, at least they realize the limits of their knowledge. In the latter, a translator may not even be aware of those limits and won\u2019t know that there\u2019s something to research!<\/p>\n