You know Latin, right?

What never ceases to amaze me is how many people working in the language services sector have very little idea about languages.

This happened to me one time...

I received an urgent (aren't they always?) request for a document to be translated into English.

I open the file and I find that it's in...

Latin

Sorry, not one of my languages.

So I ask the project manager why have I received this?

The response: 'It states on our system that you translate from Serbian (Latin). Doesn't that mean you know Latin?'

I was quick to reply that 'Serbian (Latin)' means Serbian written in Latin script as opposed to Serbian written in Cyrillic script, a distinction that is somewhat unnecessary for translator databases as anyone who is translating to or from Serbian at a professional level would know how to use both scripts as both alphabets are used interchangeably on an everyday basis.

This, unfortunately was not an isolated case, but every time it happens it makes me wonder what is going on here? Clients are trusting their language needs, and spending big money in the process, to LSPs that claim to be 'experts in the field' but don't seem to display the required expertise. So be aware!

There, however, is a field in where Latin is still very much in daily use in southeastern Europe... medicine.

A constant feature of medical documents coming not just from southeastern Europe but all throughout the continent is that diagnoses and details about operations are often written in Latin. This is a vestige from the time prior to the standardisation of national vernacular speech into written languages, when Latin was the pan-European literary language. Knowing that all practicing doctors in continental Europe have some knowledge of Latin ensures these diagnoses and details written in the supposed 'dead' language are then understood with no need for translation. However, using Latin likewise is not part of practice for doctors in the UK, Ireland or other English-dominant countries. Still, when translating medical documents from Southern Slavic languages into English, this Latin text remains untranslated because I simply don't know Latin. Besides, there is so much Latin anyway in modern medical English that most doctors in English-dominant countries can get a good idea of what is being said.

👉🏾 In any case, it's always best to trust your language needs with the professionals who actually know what they are doing. To save on cost and know that you're dealing with someone who actually knows the language, skip the middleman and go to direct to the translator.

In this case, if you need text translated from Serbian, whether it be written in Latin or Cyrillic script, I'm your man! Email me at info@nicknasev.com and let's discuss your needs.