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Translation

English-Dutch & Dutch-English

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What is a good translation?

Vangarmen translates English texts into fluent and flawless Dutch ones, and vice versa. The result should no longer be identifiable as a translation. Since Dutch is my native language, I prefer to translate from English to Dutch. By request, I can do it the other way around.

Output
I can translate some 2500 words a day. With simple texts, this number may be higher; with more complex texts or subjects, the output can be a little lower.

Quotation
You can email the texts you want translated to info@ondertiteling.net. You will receive a quotation and a delivery time. The quotation primarily depends on the number of words. In case of rush jobs or specialist subjects, a surcharge may be applicable.

What is a good translation?
“Everyone here speaks English, so we may just as well do the translation ourselves.” Of course, in some cases you don’t have to hire a translator, for example if a text is only for in-house use. But when a professional presentation of your company or organisation is important, you don’t want the message you convey to your target group to be unclear or, even worse, incorrect.
Converting a text from one language into another requires more than a computer and a series of algorithms. A proficient translator has to have, apart from a proper training, an excellent sense of language, creativity and an extensive general knowledge. Furthermore, he is able to write clear, intelligible texts, applying the rules of grammar, structure and liveliness.

Cultural differences
A good translation is a rewriting, a reformulation of the essence. It is not just converting language A into language B, but also re-narrating the content. Language is more than just a chain of consecutive words, it is also culture. This involves style, forms of address, subtle humour, degrees of directness, expressions, practices etc. Just think of Flemish and Dutch: they are the same language, but things are worded in completely different ways.

At first sight, the cultures of Dutch- and English-speaking countries may also seem similar, yet there are countless differences. This also holds true among English-speaking cultures. American humour, for example, is not British humour, and even within the genre of British humour there are many variations. A first-class translator must be familiar with these differentiations and interpretations and, if possible, adequately convert them into another language.

Another pitfall is so-called false friends, pairs of words that sound the same in English and Dutch, but have different meanings. Examples include acorn vs. eekhoorn (squirrel), deer vs. dier (animal), monster vs. monster(sample) and half five vs. half vijf (4.30).

Machine translations?

If you have the time. The disadvantages of computer or machine translations can be summarised in one sentence: Computers are no humans. Human translators are able to interpret and translate a text using a combination of knowledge, context, culture, register, style and an understanding of the time spirit.
Translation software like DeepL or Google Translate can turn words and phrases from one language into another, which may be helpful if you instantly want to know what it more or less says or when you want to have large volumes of text translated in a short time. Sporadically, it even produces correct sentences. But it rarely results in a usable, coherent or even comprehensible text. If you do want to have this, a human being will always be required, and on balance this often takes at least as much time as when you hire a translator to do the job from scratch.

Translation

English-Dutch & Dutch-English

Vangarmen translates English texts into fluent and flawless Dutch ones, and vice versa. The result should no longer be identifiable as a translation. Since Dutch is my native language, I prefer to translate from English to Dutch. By request, I can do it the other way around.

Output
I can translate some 2500 words a day. With simple texts, this number may be higher; with more complex texts or subjects, the output can be a little lower.

Quotation
You can email the texts you want translated to info@ondertiteling.net. You will receive a quotation and a delivery time. The quotation primarily depends on the number of words. In case of rush jobs or specialist subjects, a surcharge may be applicable.

What is a good translation?
“Everyone here speaks English, so we may just as well do the translation ourselves.” Of course, in some cases you don’t have to hire a translator, for example if a text is only for in-house use. But when a professional presentation of your company or organisation is important, you don’t want the message you convey to your target group to be unclear or, even worse, incorrect.
Converting a text from one language into another requires more than a computer and a series of algorithms. A proficient translator has to have, apart from a proper training, an excellent sense of language, creativity and an extensive general knowledge. Furthermore, he is able to write clear, intelligible texts, applying the rules of grammar, structure and liveliness.

Cultural differences
A good translation is a rewriting, a reformulation of the essence. It is not just converting language A into language B, but also re-narrating the content. Language is more than just a chain of consecutive words, it is also culture. This involves style, forms of address, subtle humour, degrees of directness, expressions, practices etc. Just think of Flemish and Dutch: they are the same language, but things are worded in completely different ways.

At first sight, the cultures of Dutch- and English-speaking countries may also seem similar, yet there are countless differences. This also holds true among English-speaking cultures. American humour, for example, is not British humour, and even within the genre of British humour there are many variations. A first-class translator must be familiar with these differentiations and interpretations and, if possible, adequately convert them into another language.

Another pitfall is so-called false friends, pairs of words that sound the same in English and Dutch, but have different meanings. Examples include acorn vs. eekhoorn (squirrel), deer vs. dier (animal), monster vs. monster(sample) and half five vs. half vijf (4.30).

Machine translations: if you have the time
The disadvantages of computer or machine translations can be summarised in one sentence: Computers are no humans. Human translators are able to interpret and translate a text using a combination of knowledge, context, culture, register, style and an understanding of the time spirit.
Translation software like DeepL or Google Translate can turn words and phrases from one language into another, which may be helpful if you instantly want to know what it more or less says or when you want to have large volumes of text translated in a short time. Sporadically, it even produces correct sentences. But it rarely results in a usable, coherent or even comprehensible text. If you do want to have this, a human being will always be required, and on balance this often takes at least as much time as when you hire a translator to do the job from scratch.