The Little Nuances That an Italian Translator Can Help With

Perhaps you have heard that Italian is one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn given its Latin-based vocabulary, straightforward pronunciation rules, and fascinating culture that one can get immersed in. These factors are very enticing for English speakers and many have become interested in the Italian language.

While it is not particularly difficult to achieve a good level that allows one to converse with people on the streets of Rome, where natives might happily excuse your small grammar mistakes, relying simply on basic Italian skills for translation work in your business is truly not a wise idea. Whether you are trying to communicate with a company in Italy or simply would like to expand your business’s reach to the Italian community in your area, the little mistakes in your messages can give others the impression that you do not care about the quality of your products or services. In these situations, working with a professional translation service provider is the best way to ensure that you are putting your best foot forward, especially when a translator who is familiar with the Italian language and culture will be able to catch the following nuances:

Article usage

Despite the fact that both English and Italian have definite as well as indefinite articles, they are not always used in the same way. In fact, definite articles are used much more often in Italian than they are in English. This is something that English speakers find difficult to predict when they learn Italian and might make the mistake of simply saying musica instead of la musica or tennis instead of il tennis.

Sometimes, however, an article is not needed in Italian where it would be required in English. Being able to decide whether to add in or omit an article in each situation is a skill that can take a long time to master as it demands a deep understanding of a language–something that a high-quality translator would be sure to have.

The two past tenses

Italian comes equipped with two common ways to express past actions: the present perfect and the imperfect. For many learners, knowing when to use each tense is simply one of the most trickiest parts of the language. Even though textbooks and online resources can give a rough outline to help you along (eg., the present perfect is for completed actions while the imperfect is for incomplete actions), there are still quite a lot of situations where the answer is not so clear cut.

Truly, however, only a translator who has spent enough time with Italian and has experienced these tenses being used in a variety of contexts can be confident in making the correct inflections needed to write a clear message that native speakers will fully understand.

Sentence length

For English speakers, short and straightforward writing is generally preferred. People are encouraged to sum up their ideas into as little amount of words as possible and avoid redundancy. When it comes to Italian, the opposite holds true as it is common to write longer phrases or sentences that are padded with descriptions and information. While English speakers might simply say February, Italian speakers can turn the word into a full phrase: il mese di febbraio (“the month of February”).

English sentences that have been directly translated from Italian can sound pompous with the many extra words that have been added in. However, Italian sentences written in the style of English speakers might sound uncomfortably brief to native ears.

As a result, is important to have translation work done by someone who understands the two languages well and can get messages across in the writing style that caters specifically to each party, ensuring that everyone has a smooth reading experience. Please contact us for more information about our translation services and how we can help enhance your business.