Arabic Translation Services

In its golden age, Arabic was the language of those at the vanguard of human civilization and major scientific discoveries in mathematics, astronomy, medicine and chemistry. From this point forward, Arabic translation has played a vital role in providing information and knowledge, crucial to the evolution of generations to come.

Today, Arabic is the official language of 24 nations stretching across Africa and Asia, and the native language of some 400 million individuals. It is a diverse, flexible language broken down into three primary forms: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), Classical or Koranic Arabic, and Colloquial Arabic.

Modern or literary Arabic is the “academic” form of the language, primarily taught in schools and professional language practices in order to provide a standardized, globally recognized form of the Arabic language. However, this standard version of the language does not render the work of translators, interpreters or translation agencies any easier. The main challenge lies in the final destination or target audience of the text or speech in question.

Where does Arabic translation stand in today’s business world?

A thriving market

As of recently, the Arab World may just be witnessing its new golden age. With international businesses and tech startups flocking to countries such as the UAE, KSA, Qatar and Egypt thanks to appealing economic incentives, the world’s oil cradle is very quickly becoming a “Global Business Hub”. This recent evolution in MENA’s markets is a key driver of Arabic translation, with businesses now aiming to reach and develop previously unexploited markets particularly through website translation.

A strategic advantage

One fact is unanimously agreed upon by entrepreneurs and international businesses with interests in the MENA region: Anyone contracting a translation agency specialized in Arabic translation is at a significant advantage with their Arabic-speaking counterparts as opposed to anyone who may not.

Taking initiative to understand others and successfully communicate in their language, be it on a political, social or corporate level, is a gesture of goodwill always appreciated by your host. And in case it had slipped your mind, Arabic translation will be necessary for all official documents to submit to the relevant authorities.

The intricacies of Arabic translation

A delicate language

Arabic translation requires, in more ways than one, a certain tact. Here’s how. Translating a text or speech into literary or standard Arabic depends on one’s ability to respect the linguistic rules dictated by the Arabic language in order to create standardized content for Arabic speakers.

However, how does a translator standardize advertising content, initially created in informal register, designed for broadcast or publishing in different Arab countries? The translator simply doesn’t. Such a task requires perfect command of colloquial Arabic specific to each target country in order to lead a successful marketing campaign.

The fact that each Arab country has its own dialect – which in turn, harbors many subdialects – makes Arabic translation an extremely sensitive task. Let’s take the word عافية (A’afiya) for example, which, used in Lebanon within the expression “يعطيك العافية” (Ya’atik al a’afiya) stands for wishes of good health and recovery (particularly after arduous tasks). This seemingly harmless expression, quickly turns into something very different if said in Morocco where the word عافية (A’afiya) means fire, which holds connotations of suffering. Hence, from one dialect to another, your wishes of good health turn into hopes of suffering.

Arabic Translation tools complexity

We’ve all witnessed the immense leap of AI, machine translation and CAT Tools, especially in most recent years. However, the latter still seem, for the most part, incapable of correctly deciphering the Arabic language or providing an accurate translation due to its syntactic complexity.

If your plans include AI or machine translation of your contents into Arabic, it may be wise to contract your trusty language service provider specialized in post-editing services in order to guarantee your work’s quality. Such a task will be assigned to a professional translator for proofreading and correction.

A growing demand for Arabic Translation services

What happens when you combine one of the most spoken languages in the world and across the internet, with an ever-evolving economic and political environment? You get a fast-growing demand for professional translation to facilitate communication.

From commercial exchanges, international exhibitions, interpretation for politicians and diplomats, all the way to educational establishments and international conventions, the opportunities are endless.

With the demand for Arabic translation services covering a large spectrum and with the growing use of the Arabic language across various social media platforms, it is safe to assume that this may only be the tip of iceberg of a spike in demand for Arabic translation services in the upcoming years.

Contact us today to meet your needs in Arabic translation services