You are sure to understand that to get a good quality translation you must make sure it is done by an experienced, professional translator who translates into his/her native language and area of expertise, with proofreading provided by an informed colleague.

But do you know how to recognise a genuine translator? And how do you judge the quality of a translation, especially if you don’t speak the target language?

Well, do as you do when you buy wine: not everyone can claim to be a connoisseur, but everyone does buy wine.

When you don’t know which to buy, you choose the most expensive bottle. Everyone does it: lined up in front of the supermarket shelves we tell ourselves that the cheapest wine will surely taste awful and if we go for a higher priced bottle, at least we won’t be disappointed.  If we’re at a specialist wine shop, we may explain to the wine merchant what we’re planning to eat or the type of person we are dining with to get some expert advice. We may sometimes give a price range and trust the wine expert not to make us look bad in front of our guests.

Translation is like wine: it’s complicated, the result depends on several factors combined and we have to master them all expertly to get something that is really excellent.

So don’t just buy any old thing. Ask Fairtrad for advice.