Translation In The Construction Industry

By Chiara Grassilli
In Translation
Aug 25th, 2014
0 Comments
1635 Views

Translation in the Construction Industry

Why would a translator work in the construction industry? At first, you might not be able to think of many responses to that question, but the reality is that there are countless answers. The world needs translators, and the construction industry is not the exception. So, why does the construction industry need translators? To understand, you should first know more about the industry itself.

The Construction Industry

Construction is far more complicated than most people think. You can’t just decide to build something and then go to work. Instead, construction involves creating plans and designs, getting legal permission and meeting certain regulations and laws, financial planning, and more. There are many more people involved in construction than just those that put the physical parts of a building together, and these people can live or come from all parts of the world. Once you know that, it’s fairly easy to see how a translator could be a part of a construction process.

Translators in the Industry

What do translators do in the construction industry? For one, they translate important documents such as design plans, construction and machinery manuals, and more. They can also help people like architects and managers communicate written information correctly – something that is extremely important when building something to be stable and safe. Another thing translators are needed for is to help with communications related to outsourcing. The rise in the use of outsourcing, or contracting work to a third-party business, leads to the rise in need of translators, since many companies that are used for outsourcing are located in foreign countries.

In addition to all this, tools and materials that are used in construction come from all over the globe. Translators are needed during the entire process of getting these materials to the construction companies – from working for the businesses that obtain the raw materials to partnering with those that produce the final goods. For example, an Australian construction company might need machinery from the Netherlands. For this to happen, first the company in the Netherlands would need materials to build the machinery. They might have to get metals from Peru, China, and Japan, plastics from France, and wood from the United States. In order to do that, translators would be needed so that the companies with the raw materials could interact with the one in the Netherlands. Then, once the machinery was made, the Australian and Dutch companies would need translators to translate documents for them so that the machinery could be purchased.

Construction and Translators

Just like a bunch of individual words makes up a language, the construction industry is made up of many different people with very different jobs. One of these jobs is translating important information so that projects can be carried out successfully. Excellent translation is absolutely crucial to the success of modern day construction. If no one could understand each other, or the plans and manuals they had, imagine what would happen. The entire project could fall apart – literally!

References

Sign up and receive weekly tips to get started in translation

Sign up and receive free weekly tips

No spam, we promise.

About "" Has 118 Posts

Since an early age I have been passionate about languages. I hold a Master's degree in Translation and Interpreting, and I have worked as a freelance translator for several years. I specialize in Marketing, Digital Marketing, Web and Social Media. I love blogging and I also run the blog www.italiasocialmedia.com

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.