Isn’t translation just retyping words in another language?

The short answer is NO! Read on for the long one.

SWORN AND LEGAL TRANSLATION

Sworn translation (or certified translation as it’s known outside South Africa) is the translation of official or personal documents for use in a country where the language of your document is not understood or accepted. A sworn translation is also the legal equivalent of your original document for use in a court of law.

As an Afrikaans to English sworn translator in Cape Town, admitted and enrolled in the High Court of South Africa (Western Cape Division) and ex officio commissioner of oaths, I will stamp and sign my translation of your document, for the purposes of legal proceedings or emigration, to indicate that it is a true translation of the original or certified document.

I also provide Afrikaans to English legal translation for other documents of a legal nature, and English to Afrikaans legal translation, such as for employment contracts, codes of conduct, terms and conditions, policies and procedures, legal disclaimers, or legislation.

TEXT EXAMPLES

Emigration: birth/marriage/death/police clearance certificates, divorce/adoption orders, medical reports, antenuptial contracts, settlement agreements, WhatsApp messages

Employment: qualifications, professional accreditation, apprenticeship contracts, trade tests, payslips, testimonials  

Study: degree/diploma/trade/matric certificates, academic transcripts, module outcomes, school reports

Corporate/Financial: bank statements, financial statements, certificates of registration, articles of association, lease agreements

Court: affidavits, witness statements, court transcripts, forensic reports, wills, title deeds, trust deeds

SOFTWARE LOCALISATION

Software localisation (L10n) focuses on the English to Afrikaans translation, or South African English localisation of software or software strings. It enables all the users in your target market to experience your website, app or software user interface (UI) as if it were truly made for them. It’s about adapting your product to both the culture and language of the desired end user, so no more ‘Can’t read. Won’t buy’!

I provide English to Afrikaans localisation services (sometimes involving machine translation post-editing or MTPE) to end clients such as Microsoft (Xbox, Office, Skype) and Google (Business Profile, Maps) as well as South African English localisation, so content looks and feels native to product users in South Africa.

TEXT EXAMPLES

Software strings

Help and FAQ documents

Websites

User guides and manuals

Infographics and multimedia

Mobile apps

Social media posts and stories

Articles, newsletters and blog posts


What an incredible experience! Thank you, Laetitia, for your thorough and quick work translating our documents. We were under pressure and you delivered effortlessly. Professional, friendly, fast and accurate – what more can a client want?
(Mariza van der Merwe, Sworn Translation Client)

CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

Corporate communication can either focus on informing clients or stakeholders due to regulatory requirements, such as annual reports, or persuading the public to buy certain products, such as ad campaigns or product presentations.

It can also involve a process called linguistic screening to evaluate potential brand names, company names, slogans and even logos for negative cultural and linguistic connotations. This process is normally done by an in-country translator because they will be most familiar with consumer products in their country of residence.

I provide Afrikaans to English translation, and Dutch to English translation so your company or government department can meet legal or financial requirements. My English to Afrikaans translation services can also help you reach your audience with your compelling marketing message. I have put my corporate translation or transcreation spin on everything from press releases about how knitting with mohair is the next big thing, to brochures and posters about transgender rights.

TEXT EXAMPLES

Study reports

Press releases and newsletters

Annual reports and performance plans

Brochures and posters

Corporate publications

Landing pages

Social media posts

Customer satisfaction surveys

Market research questionnaires

Product descriptions, names, slogans and logos

Radio, TV and print advertisements

Corporate profiles and presentations

PUBLISHING

Publishing or book translation focuses on creative translation where it’s more about the meaning than the words. Translation becomes more of an art than a science to create a text that reads like an original.

I’m an award-winning non-fiction translator and received the SATI prize in 2019 for my English to Afrikaans translation of a university textbook for first-year educational psychology students.

I work with trade, educational, independent and custom publishers to provide English to Afrikaans translation and Afrikaans to English translation of non-fiction, such as cookbooks, sports biographies, textbooks and study guides, as well as for books by self-published authors.

TEXT EXAMPLES

Cookbooks

Textbooks

Study guides

Self-help books

Narrative non-fiction

True crime

Memoir

Sports biographies

Self-published books


Excellent translation services in superb Afrikaans! It was a joy to be working with Laetitia on a comprehensive textbook translation. I can strongly recommend her services!
(Prof Irma Eloff, Author)

South African Translators' Institute
Professional Editors' Guild
Trados Studio

Talk to me

Let ME help YOU:

Email: hello@translatorbee.co.za
Phone: +27 (0)84 511 5079

© Copyright 2021–2025 Laetitia Sullivan – All rights reserved
*Cape Town is the beautiful city I call home and where the picture on my home page of Cortie the blue Ford Cortina was taken:
Photo by Leon Škrilec on Unsplash

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