How to find a good Italian translator

If you’re wondering where to find professional English-to-Italian translators for hire, I suggest checking my language services to see how I can help you connect with your Italian audience. However, you may be looking for someone working in different fields, or you may just want to learn more without any biased recommendations, so keep reading to learn a few tips to find a professional you can trust. And while I’ll focus on how to find a good Italian translator, most of the tips apply to any language combinations.

Table of Contents

1. Where to find professional English to Italian translators for hire?
2. How to choose a reliable (English to Italian) translator?
3. Get ready to hire a reliable translator

Where to find professional English to Italian translators for hire?

When looking for a translator, many people refer to freelance platforms such as Fiverr, Upwork, Malt, or proZ.com. Most of them gather freelancers from different fields, while others (like proZ.com) focus on translation and related language services only. While this may look like an easy and secure way to find a reliable professional, you must be careful: some platforms (e.g., Fiverr, Upwork) are much used by people providing services as a side hustle, and thus lacking the expertise required to offer the best outcomes. When you find a good professional, consider that most of the time, extra costs are involved, typically a percentage of the translator's charges. Thus, these platforms may be used for project-based needs, but are not the most (cost-)effective option for long-term relationships.

Another source you can use is professional directories (such as ATA’s or ITI’s), especially if you are looking for certified experts. Be aware that what’s meant by “certified translator” may vary from country to country, and from context to context. For translations in fields like marketing or e-learning, however, many excellent professionals may not be featured in such directories, which involve high annual costs that can be perceived as unnecessary in some cases.

Alternatively, you can search LinkedIn and Google. Google may be a not-so-easy option, though, because machine translation tools rank higher in search results pages when you simply type something like “English to Italian translator”. Anyway, when conducting online research, make sure to look for credible profiles. Does the translator have a strong online presence? This doesn’t mean appearing on every social media available, but having a few profiles with clear, consistent information. For instance, I mainly focus on my website and LinkedIn profile.

Last but not least, let’s not forget the old-school method: you can ask your network for referrals! If you know anyone who may work or has worked with a translator, ask them if they can recommend a professional. Someone recommended by a happy client will most likely be a pleasure to work with. And if you know any translators working with other languages, they’ll certainly be able to recommend a trusted colleague too.

How to choose a reliable (English to Italian) translator?

Once you find a translator, you want to make sure they are reliable before spending money on their services. Here are some things you can check:

They should translate into their native language

If a translator’s profile shows they translate into their mother language only, that’s a good sign for professionalism. Indeed, to grant the best results, translators should translate into their native language(s) only (don’t get confused with interpreters, who obviously have to work bidirectionally).

This is what many codes of professional conduct require. For example, Article V, 14, d of the 1976 UNESCO Recommendation on the Legal Protection of Translators and Translations and the Practical Means to improve the Status of Translators states that “a translator should, as far as possible, translate into his own mother tongue or into a language of which he or she has a mastery equal to that of his or her mother tongue.”

To mention another example, the American Translators Association’s Translation: Getting it Right states the following:

“Professional translators work into their native language. If you want your catalog translated into German and Russian, the work will be done by a native German speaker and a native Russian speaker. Native English speakers translate from foreign languages into English. As a translation buyer, you may not be aware of this, but a translator who flouts this basic rule is likely to be ignorant of other important quality issues as well. OK, there are exceptions. But not many…”

Do you want to translate a text into Italian? Look for a professional from Italy or Switzerland, based on the country you need to communicate with.

They should ask questions and show interest in your goals

Another sign of reliability is the translator’s attitude. They must be genuinely interested in your goals and desired outcomes. If they ask questions, that’s a very good sign. Do they propose to have a call? Even better! You may accept or say you prefer to rely on email correspondence only — that’s up to you — but don’t forget to rejoice in them wanting to devote this time to you. If they wish to learn more about your goals, intent, preferences, target audience, how their work fits in your internal workflows, and so on, this means they aim to offer the best service and ensure successful results.

Read about other clients’ experiences

Search for reviews and recommendations. What’s the feedback shared by the other people the translator has worked with? You may find some reviews on LinkedIn, on Google or in the testimonials section on their website.

And once you’ve selected a translator and contacted them, if they are responsive, approachable and communicative, they’ll likely be reliable.

Get ready to hire a reliable translator

These are just a few tips, but they may be a good starting point. If you’re looking for a reliable Italian translator for your English/Spanish/French texts, explore my website or check my LinkedIn profile to see how I can help! From marketing content to e-learning materials, from travel & tourism texts to SEO for the Italian market, I’ll be happy to hear from you and discuss how we can partner up to achieve your goals.