Translators can be curious creatures – usually they are not only willing to do the necessary research to learn more about the topic of their source text, but they might even enjoy this process. When you have a job dealing with a wide range of issues you’d only had some general idea about before, and you end up learning new skills and discovering previously unknown territories, it’s cool and rewarding. Embarking on this journey, however, translators could do with some help from the author of the source text. When your translation service provider comes back to you to ask for some clarification, it does not show a lack of expertise or research skills. On the contrary: it is a sign that they pay attention to detail, are aware of possible pitfalls, the importance of context, different ways to address the reader, etc. They want to make sure that the final version of the text reflects the original as much as possible.
Feeding your source text into a machine translation service will produce instant results, with no questions asked. But if you have no way to check it, keep in mind that the instant solution might not be the one you need. There are good reasons to engage in conversation with your translation partner. Even if they don’t have to amend the translation after receiving answers to their questions, the step of clarifying details, such as tone of voice, purpose of the text, context etc., still serves as a quality assurance tool.
Translators sometimes have to ask questions, as they are not able to read minds. Nor can they read palms. Speaking of which, no two palms are the same: in a gardening context, the palms with fingers are probably not the type you would expect on a tree. (Yes, this is another one from the collection of true gems mentioned before.)
Angéla Görbe 