When you haven’t collaborated with a language service company, it’s perfectly normal not knowing the difference between transcription and translation. As both terms start with the same prefix “trans” and end with the identical suffix “tion”, they are sometimes misused interchangeably. This blog post will explain all the ins and outs of transcription vs translation.
Transcription Vs Translation - by Definition
If you just googled the difference between transcription and translation, you’ve probably seen intricate terms like RNA, DNA, and mRNA reappear in the search results. Right? Don’t worry. We will not dive into the riddling knowledge of biology today. Instead, we will focus on transcription vs translation in language.
But have you ever wondered how this happened? It is because transcription and translation are both polysemes with disambiguation. For example, translation is a technical term used by at least nine disciplines and fields, including language studies, biology, broadcast, physics, sociology, mathematics, computing, literature, and religion. That’s quite a list!
What is Transcription in Language?
According to the Collins Dictionary, transcription refers to the written text of a conversation or speech or the process of transcribing it. When transcribing an audio file, it’s critical to ensure the exact transcript of everything said is produced.
Transcription is commonly used in a wide range of contexts. In fact, you may have come across or conducted the act of transcribing in one way or another. For example, if you’ve seen/participated in a courtroom hearing or trial before, you must have noticed the existence of a court reporter who was absorbed in capturing the live testimony from attorneys, defendants, witnesses, and other participants on a stenographic machine without a break. The act of making such a written record is called transcription.
Remember the good old days when you attended a lecture by your favorite professor at university? You must have taken notes of the professor’s speech that you thought were important. Yes, the process of creating those notes is transcription. And the written text is called a transcript.
What is Translation in Language?
Similar to transcription, the output of translation is also a written record.
According to the Collins Dictionary, translation in language refers to the rendering of a piece of writing or speech from one language into another. However, if it is a speech that requires translation, one needs to have the audio transcribed into written text before converting the content to another language. So for audio translation, it’s more of a transcription + translation process.
Transcription vs Translation - By similarities
Despite the different definitions, transcription and translation in language do have a lot in common and are interrelated with each other. For instance, in order to translate a speech in an audio or video, one needs to finish the transcription work and then render the source language to the desired language.
Besides, both transcription and translation deliver output in the written documents. They both demand a high level of accuracy, requiring retaining the source content’s intent and maintaining the integrity of the initial message.
Transcription and translation also have an immense monetary value when using either/both of them right to facilitate effective communication. You can contact our linguistic experts to know more about how we can help your business with both services.
What is the difference between transcription and translation?
The biggest difference between translation and transcription is that the former involves the conversion between two languages, and the latter only works with the source language. Mostly, translation is a more complex and challenging process than transcription because it involves a lot of creative and critical thinking in the final work.
With transcription, the transcriptionist is required to listen to an audio and record every word that is said in the transcript. Yet in translation, when the counterpart of a particular word, phrase, or concept doesn’t exist in the target culture, a translator must avoid literal translation and rewrite the message using similar terms in the target language to ensure contextual accuracy.
Additionally, the skillset for translation and transcription work also diverges. While a transcriptionist can get his job well done knowing only one language, it takes proficiency in at least two languages to become an eligible translator.
Translation versus transcription - When to Use
Translation and transcription have different contexts of use. However, they both serve the purpose of enabling easier communication and understanding.
Let’s compare and contrast the use cases of transcription and translation.
Transcription vs Translation Comparison Chart – Use Cases
- Document Translation
- Annual reports
- Insurance coverage
- Terms & Conditions
- Contracts & Agreements
- Clinical trial study
- Technical Translation
- Website localization
- App strings
- Hardware security modules
- Static website copy
- Cloud data encryption
- Manual Translation
- Product descriptions
- User guides
- Instructional manuals
- Brochures
- Business Translation
- Branding materials
- Marketing collateral
- Promotions/Digital marketing
- User reviews
- White papers
- Patent Translation
- Licenses & Permits
- Privacy statements
- Trademarks & Copyrights
- Patents
- Informed consent form
- Literary Translation
- Synopsis/Loglines
- Characters & Key names
- Main story
- Book translation
- Publications
- Verbatim Transcription
- Academic research
- Market research
- Legal and court proceedings
- Psychological interviews
- Transcripts for creating subtitles
- Edited Transcription
- General business meetings
- Journalistic interviews
- Podcast content
- Intelligent Transcription
- Business transactions
- Job interviews
- Legal discussions
- Oral history interviews
- Summarized Transcription
- Seminar/conference records
- Information for news articles
- Interviews for content only
- Market research, quantitative
- Paraphrased Transcription
- Board meeting minutes
- Correspondence about an event
- Doctor’s notes
- Research
Transcription vs Translation – Skills Required
Transcriptionists and translators are both professionals with years of practice and expertise in their own fields. Being able to type super fast doesn’t always make you a qualified transcriptionist. Likewise, being a bilingual or multilingual speaker doesn’t qualify you as an eligible translator either. It takes lots of training and learning to get to where the experienced transcriptionists and translators are.
Qualities of a Good Transcriptionist
- Strong listening skills
Accurate and fast typing skills
Attention to detail
Proficiency in at least one language
Mastery of MS Word or other similar applications
Good grammar knowledge
Editing & proofreading skills
A good multitasker
Efficient task completion skills
Good time management
Essential Translator Skills
Comprehensive and advanced language knowledge
In-depth culture-specific knowledge
Expert writing skills
Attention to detail
Creative and critical thinking
Excellent research skills
Mastery of MS Word or other word processing application
An expert CAT tools user
Good time management
Passion for language
Summary
In one sentence, both translation and transcription are services provided by language service companies with different functions and practices. After reading this post, we hope you can distinguish between transcription and translation by yourself. And if you’re searching for such professionals to finish your transcription/translation work, look no further than Wordspath!
As a professional language service provider with over two decades of experience, we have an extensive network of linguistic talents worldwide who excel in their own specialties. They can work closely with you to reach your goals per your needs. Contact our sales representative for more information or explore our transcription or translation services.
