The world of finance is changing so financial translation as well: increased needs, budgetary pressure, terminological instability, lexical diversity…
We live in a world that is constantly evolving. This is particularly true of economic activity and for the changes and innovations it produces. The financial sector is no exception to this trend and the work of a financial translator must keep up with this evolution. The world of finance is changing, so financial translation is changing as well: higher demand, budgetary pressure, terminological instability, lexical diversity, urgent deadlines…all these factors pose a big challenge for the financial translator.
Higher demand: more and more financial translation
Global expansion and the growth of commercial operations in today’s market greatly increase the demand for financial translation. A professional that specializes in financial translation therefore becomes a very in-demand specialist. Career opportunities in this area are growing, especially since international companies often outsource large volumes of translation.
Budgetary pressure: fewer vested funds
The crises in the economic and financial markets imply budget limitation mechanisms for companies, particularly when it comes to translation services. It goes without saying, however, that these same companies are not willing to negotiate on the quality of the translations they carry out, which is understandable given the financial stakes that are often associated with these translations. A specialist in financial translation must therefore demonstrate flexibility while respecting quality standards to the maximum, these standards being the only basis allowing the different parties to overcome language barriers without jeopardizing the success of a transaction.
Terminological instability: more and more lexical changes
Adapting to the needs of customers but also to changing linguistic realities: economic and financial markets, as we have already said, are constantly changing, as are the languages which describe them. The financial translator must therefore keep up to date with the changes in terminology in all the languages with which they work. The 2007 crisis with its sub-primes and fiscal cliffs is a good example of lexical difficulties that occur when the need to translate a new reality arises, in this case for the general public, and then adapting this translation to the evolution of this reality and its perception.
Lexical diversity: less and less thematic isolation
A translator that specializes in financial translation must demonstrate professionalism, flexibility and also versatility. In most professional documents related to the business world, the boundaries between different specialized lexicons are far from rigid. For example, it is quite common to find texts where financial vocabulary mingles with legalese and with terminologies specific to economic sciences.
Urgent deadlines: more and more demand for fast translations
Because here more than anywhere else, time is money, the urgent financial translation is, so to speak, commonplace: documents and proposals, agreements and other information must be sent faster, and even faster and faster as the financial and economic activities they involve are accelerating. In this context, a financial translation agency must assert its ability to work fast and well while meeting increasingly tight deadlines.
Fewer political boundaries, thematic limitations, stability in terminology, smaller budgets for language services, less time, less room for error…the task of the financial translator is far from an easy one; but it is increasingly important and exciting.
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