General Question

Brian_Ghilliotti's avatar

Are there non-English books translation services available?

Asked by Brian_Ghilliotti (328points) April 14th, 2017

Are there book translation services out there that can translate books written in a modern non-English language into English? What are there pricing criteria? I would imagine it is based on volume, the complexity of the language being translated, and the rarity of the language knowledge.

I asked since I have many non-English historical books in my possession.

Brian Ghilliotti

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3 Answers

Sneki95's avatar

It depends on which language.

My guess is that you can find the language communities or the “State’s translators association” that would translate the text for you. You need to search for the associations of the language your books are in for that; for example, if your book is in Spanish, you search for the Spain’s translators association or something like that.

Tropical_Willie's avatar

Be prepared to pay for the service.
I know a man that worked during the week at a lawyers’ office; he was translator for papers and the clients, on the weekends he did translations of documents and charged good money.

dappled_leaves's avatar

There are many companies offering translation services; a google search will yield a lot of options. It’s extremely expensive, however. You would probably be best served by someone who charges a per word rate, so that the final cost is fixed before you agree to it. I would suggest submitting a query for an estimate to a company at random to get an idea of the cost, and if you think it’s worth doing, start shopping for a reputable translator.

I have a passing familiarity with the professional translation association in my region, and unfortunately these can be a bit of a scam (although not all are). They charge money to translators for accreditation, but there are no strict requirements or benefits for the translators. In other words, accreditation can be bought, so it’s not a reliable indicator of quality. It’s more of an advertising medium.

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