Translation

The business of translation is extremely subjective. In other words, the results depend very much on who performs the translation. There is never a single way to translate a sentence; there is always a range of possible translations. The job of the translator is to choose the best translation. While most of those who profess to be translators do not make many blatantly incorrect translations (the use of dictionaries helps . . .), there are varying degrees of appropriateness (. . . but a dictionary can't tell you what feels best).

The quality of a translation depends on the appropriateness of the translator's choice of words. The appropriateness of such choices is especially crucial in the field of intellectual property. For example, claims must be translated as precisely as possible, because the scope of protection of a patent may hang on the interpretation of a single word. On the other hand, preciseness often comes at the expense of comprehensibility. A translator might choose to sacrifice preciseness in favor of comprehensibility when translating a general document. A good translator knows all of the possible choices and knows which choice is the most appropriate.

The ability of a translator to make appropriate decisions depends on at least three key factors: The ability of the translator to grammatically understand what is written in the base language (reading comprehension). The ability of the translator to write meaningfully in the final language (written expression). The ability of the translator to technically understand the subject matter (technical and legal knowledge). We at Sonoda & Kobayashi promise to be able to offer our clients the highest-quality translations available, because our skilled staff of translators boasts the true proficiency in multiple languages and knowledge in technical fields which are crucial to the business of translation.