When hiring professional translation services, you might come upon the terms translation and transcription in their services. The difference between the two is that:
Translation – the act of changing one language into another language. From the Latin “translationem.”
Transcription – the act of making a written, printed, or typed copy of words that have been spoken. It comes from the Latin “transcribere” or “to transcribe.” Literally, to “overwrite.”
(Merriam Webster Dictionary)
So there is a great difference between the two after all.
The best example for the difference between translation and transcription would be this: Take for instance that you’re attending a seminar on how to set up a new business in Singapore. You recorded all the seminar speakers and presentations. The company proprietor wants written versions of the talks given. A transcriptionist produces written versions of the recordings, so this is transcription.
Then, the same proprietor needs to show the talks to his client who only speaks German. Using the written transcriptions, translations of the talks can be written in the German language.
For the Purpose of Business
The benefits of both services have far-reaching consequences if you plan to expand your business in another country. Suppose your company becomes the facilitator of a market research focus group based in the United States. The group is part of a large corporation looking to expand to Germany and France. What your company does is to get accurate transcriptions of what each participant said and have those transcriptions translated to German and French for the overseas audience. Thus, you have transcription by providing an easily accessible form of each participant’s answers and translation by extending that accessibility to the targeted audience.
Imagine then what transcription and translation can do if you can transfer this strategy to online marketing such as social media, or better yet, in YouTube videos using the language of your targeted niche audience.
Translation – the act of changing one language into another language. From the Latin “translationem.”
Transcription – the act of making a written, printed, or typed copy of words that have been spoken. It comes from the Latin “transcribere” or “to transcribe.” Literally, to “overwrite.”
(Merriam Webster Dictionary)
So there is a great difference between the two after all.
The best example for the difference between translation and transcription would be this: Take for instance that you’re attending a seminar on how to set up a new business in Singapore. You recorded all the seminar speakers and presentations. The company proprietor wants written versions of the talks given. A transcriptionist produces written versions of the recordings, so this is transcription.
Then, the same proprietor needs to show the talks to his client who only speaks German. Using the written transcriptions, translations of the talks can be written in the German language.
For the Purpose of Business
The benefits of both services have far-reaching consequences if you plan to expand your business in another country. Suppose your company becomes the facilitator of a market research focus group based in the United States. The group is part of a large corporation looking to expand to Germany and France. What your company does is to get accurate transcriptions of what each participant said and have those transcriptions translated to German and French for the overseas audience. Thus, you have transcription by providing an easily accessible form of each participant’s answers and translation by extending that accessibility to the targeted audience.
Imagine then what transcription and translation can do if you can transfer this strategy to online marketing such as social media, or better yet, in YouTube videos using the language of your targeted niche audience.