TRANSLATING ONLY INTO ONE'S OWN NATIVE LANGUAGE: WHY?

Why is it that, when we get in touch with a translator, we are always told that the translation is done solely and exclusively into their native language?

 

One of the basic requirements for a good translation is for the translator to have a very good knowledge of their native language.
 

The main reason for this, is that the native language is the language professional translators use – and study – the most, both by speaking, reading and listening to it on a daily basis, and translating texts from the foreign language (source language) into their native language, which then becomes the target language of the translation.

 

Sometimes, however, questions may arise: do you only translate into your native language? Is it wrong to translate into other languages that you have studied very well and, therefore, understand it, perhaps after years of effort?
It is not so much a question of what is right or wrong, but rather a question that depends on the professionalism and skills of the translator on the one hand, and an objective confidence in one's native language on the other.
 

But what do we mean by using the term "native language"?

The mother tongue is our native language, that is to say, as per the definition in the Cambridge dictionary, "the first language that you learn when you are a baby, rather than a language learned at school or as an adult".

 

In other words, it is the language in which we grow up, which we have heard spoken since we were born and of which we know all, or almost all, the nuances.

 

Knowing one's native language is fundamental for a translator who wants to offer perfect quality work, because by reading and understanding the source foreign language, they are able to render every nuance in their own language, and also do a cultural translation.

 

For this reason, a translation agency generally tends to prefer native speakers who translate into their native language. This is because translation goes far beyond a perfect knowledge of grammar and syntax, but also appeals to the linguistic sensitivity that only comes from living the language (and its culture) continuously over long periods of time.

 

Even in the case of bilingual people who have parents who speak different languages, or who grew up in a bilingual country, one language usually becomes dominant over the other, and is therefore the mother tongue of that person. It is in this language that the translator will work.

 

This does NOT mean that it is impossible to translate texts into a foreign language that you know very well because you have studied it in depth or lived abroad for a long time. However, you will rarely have the same confidence as if you translated the text into your native language. Hence, in such cases, a native speaker reviser is usually asked to review the translation and check the fluency and truthfulness of the text.