Professional Academic Translation Services

You’re Proud of Your Research

Use a professional academic translator and your work will get the right type of attention!

If you need excellent professional academic translation services by someone familiar with your field and with academic English, you have come to the right place. Not only will your document be translated to the highest standard of quality, but your text will also be clearer and more concise. No one will read your academic article, thesis or other academic text as closely as a professional translator! She or he must understand your meaning in every sentence and recreate the same meaning in English. Would you rather a peer reviewer ask what you meant—or reject your article—or have your translator ask and make your article clearer?

Professional Academic Translation Services

Portuguese into English Academic Translation

Italian into English Academic Translation

Academic disciplines

Engineering
Computer Science
Mathematics
Physics
Astronomy/Astrophysics
Economics
Public Health
Social Sciences and Education
Humanities and Languages
Law

Who do you want to translate the text you worked so hard on?

A fellow researcher with decades of professional translation experience who will work with you to improve your article and make sure she understands and translates your meaning?
A faceless company that will not let you have direct contact with the translator, and which takes 50% or more of what you pay, leaving little left over to pay the person actually doing the work? Most professional translators will not want to work for these rates, so these companies hire students or non-native speakers of English to perform translations.
Dr. Naomi Nascimento, professional linguist

Naomi Nascimento, PhD, LLB

The main theme of my life has been learning and teaching others. I have four degrees in four different areas, from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of London, and the University of São Paulo (USP):

  • Mechanical Engineering (B.S.),
  • Law (LLB),
  • Physics (M.S.) and
  • Linguistics (Ph.D.).

I have taught physics, mathematics, English as a second language (ESL) and translation. Originally from the United States, I am currently residing in São Paulo, Brazil. I have been a professional translator since 1999 and am certified by the American Translators Association (ATA) for Portuguese. I was a member of the ATA board of directors from 2008 to 2011.

Have you hired a translator before to translate a scientific paper and had poor results? Or tried to translate your text yourself and had your academic article rejected? Entrust your academic manuscript translation to Research Right! I have 20 years of academic and scientific translation experience, translating texts in an enormous variety of fields, plus academic and industry experience. See a list of some of the academic articles I have translated.

Academic Translation from Other Languages into English

I only translate from Portuguese and Italian, but if you need translation from a different language, request a quote and I will help you find a professional translator with knowledge of your field.

Planet Earth

Testimonials

I learn so much when I work with good translators like you. Thank you! — Simone, Historian

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Professional Academic Translation Services

1. How much do professional academic translation services cost?

Prices vary, depending on the translator’s expenses (taxes, office, cost of living in their city). However, you are unlikely to obtain a professional translation at a very low price. Look at it from the translator’s perspective: would you work for the same pay as an unskilled laborer? Would you entrust your hard work to a translator who accepted such low pay?

2. How long does professional academic translation take?

A professional translator translates about 2000 to 4000 words a day, depending on how many hours she works each day. Of course, a translator may have 2 or more jobs waiting to be translated and cannot necessarily translate your text first. Contact me as soon as you know what your deadline is and when your text will be ready.

3. Isn’t machine translation good enough?

Machine translation has its place—for example when you need to have some idea of what a text is about. However, for academic translation, you need 1) correct terminology, 2) perfect grammar and 3) elegant academic style. Machine translation provides none of these. Plus, the output is often gibberish.

4. Can I translate it myself and have you edit my translation?

I charge by the word for academic translation, but by the hour for editing. So, depending on how good your academic English is, paying me to edit may cost more in the end. Additionally, I will assume you know the correct translations for the technical terms.

5. Can you start translating before I finish writing the text?

When you are writing a thesis, it is best to send me each chapter as it is ready. If you are writing a shorter text, like a journal article, feel free to request an estimate based on the unfinished text. However, it is better to start translating only when the text is in its final version. I charge by the hour to incorporate later changes.

6. Do you need to know where the journal article or thesis will be published?

A journal article must comply with the journal’s guidelines (see an example from Elsevier), and these guidelines specify a required referencing system (Harvard, MLA, Chicago, APA, etc.). The English dialect must also usually match the country of the journal (e.g. UK English for a journal in the UK), or the dialect must at least be consistent. Universities also have guidelines for theses. I can make sure your article follows these guidelines.

7. How can I prepare my source text for translation?

a) Be more concise, and write shorter sentences

Native speakers like to read short English sentences. And foreigners do too! In general, English sentences should start with a subject, then an active verb, then the rest of the sentence, which should not go over 30 words. Sometimes, authors writing in romance languages like Italian and Portuguese like to really polish their text before sending it for translation. When doing this, they join sentences together to make very long, complex sentences. This may be stylish in romance languages, but it is considered poor style in English. Consequently, the translator will have to untangle the long sentences and break them up into digestible parts.

b) Avoid the passive, use real subjects and active verbs

In romance languages, academic writers are taught that they should avoid saying we/I in academic texts. Thus, they write all sentences in the passive, bending over backward with awkward syntax to avoid we/I. Then, when I translate the text, I routinely convert all sentences into the active voice and insert we/I or a subject. In modern Academic English, using the passive is frequently considered old-fashioned or poor style. Make it easier on both of us and write your text in the active voice. If you are unsure, look at your references, especially the ones written by native speakers of English. Do they use the passive, or we/I? This can depend on the field.

See how much difference a personal touch can make

Any questions?

Contact me via the Contact Page.