German to English literary translation

There has been much interest in literary translation of late, with research commissioned by the Man Booker International prize finding that translated literary fiction now accounts for 5% of UK book sales, with contemporary authors like Elena Ferrante having a big impact. 

Interest in literary translation is also high thanks to the 2016 Man Booker International prize, which splits its $72,000 prize pot equally between the winning author and the individual who translated his or her work. This year The Vegetarian, written by Han Kang and translated by Deborah Smith, took the top spot. Smith’s accomplishment was particularly notable given that she only began learning Korean in 2010. 

Tomedes is often asked to undertake literary translations for our clients, ranging from poetry translation to the translation of entire novels. Most recently, a client asked us to undertake a German to English literary translation. 

With more than 5,000 professional translators based around the world and operating 24/7, Tomedes was certainly in a position to assist. We approached our leading German to English translator, based in London, to undertake this job and he was pleased to be able to assist. He had previously completed a wide range of translation jobs for Tomedes, including literary works, and we knew his fast, accurate translation would be just what was required for this client. 

Regardless of the size or subject of the translation, here at Tomedes we are committed to using professional human translators. Machine translation is coming on well, but is still not generally able to beat human translation when it comes to making sense of the meaning of a document rather than just the words it contains. That’s why we rely on the work of talented human translators rather than machines. 

This particular job was a substantial one, given the length of the client’s novel. Our translator worked solidly, giving the client an update at the end of each week. She was pleased to be kept informed throughout the job and also delighted at the value for money of the Tomedes translation service. 

After a great deal of hard work on the part of our translator, the client was delighted to receive the English translation of her novel. She is looking forward to reaching out to a wide variety of new audiences as a result. 

Whether you have a book, a website or just a single business card that needs translating, Tomedes is here to help. Contact us by phone, email or web chat for further information or get an instant quote from our website.