All Portuguese translators develop their own style over a period of time and learn some good and bad practices in due course. In order to understand what the different practices followed in Portuguese translation are, one must study what is expected from successful Portuguese translators. Professional translators are expected to value their commitment. They should have a good vocabulary, and a good command of both source and target languages. They should have knowledge about both cultures and be familiar with modern technology. The approach of Portuguese translators is to deliver accurate, complete and efficient translations. They can keep deadlines and work under time pressures. Now that it was understood what is expected from professional Portuguese translators, let us see what the good and bad practices followed in Portuguese translation are.

Let’s start with bad practices followed in Portuguese translation. There are many translators who do not insist on complete accuracy. If they fail to translate a work accurately they don’t bother to look up for the exact way to express this word. They don’t even bother to insert a translator’s note to that effect expressing their inability to translate that word accurately.

Most of the time translators tend to take a job that they cannot do justice with. This is one of the bad practices followed in Portuguese translation. They are also inclined to summarize a paragraph instead of giving a complete translation. Only in case translators are expected to provide only a summary of the text to be translated, it is good to provide a summary; but when no such demand exists then they should provide a complete translation.

When verbatim translation is expected then it is essential to provide word-by-word translation. But sometimes in order to keep the deadline some translators summarize and deliver their job. Being outdated in terms of the source and target languages can be considered one of the bad practices followed in Portuguese translation. It is very harmful for translators to reach a stage when they feel that they do not require any improvement.

Now let us understand what the good practices followed in Portuguese translation are. Above all, being an all-time student of both source and target languages is good practice. An effort to read as much possible helps professional translators to a great extent. Particularly if this reading is a specific subject then it helps better. Reading newspapers also helps. It is also a very good practice to collect good dictionaries.

The best practice will be to eventually build your own compilation of word lists, reference materials and glossaries. This database helps in any translation assignment. Another good practice in Portuguese translation is when translators enjoy doing their job. Only when they wish to learn more and to earn experience instead of money, they grow to be successful Portuguese translators.