Estonian Translation

The case of the object depends on whether the action is complete

The feature of this language that gives translators the most trouble is that the case taken by the object changes according to whether the action has been completed. Turkish has one accusative ending, and it carries nothing about whether the action reached its end. Here the same sentence means either “the procedure was carried out” or “the procedure was under way”, depending on the case chosen. In an official document that distinction decides whether an obligation counts as fulfilled.

Add to this a case system running to fourteen forms and word stems that shift as endings are attached. Since the rules of consonant weakening apply to proper names as well, how the names of institutions and places will appear within the text is a decision in its own right. Long noun phrases are rendered with fewer words than in Turkish, but with longer ones.

Digital documents and signature containers

In this country most official documents circulate not on paper but inside electronically signed file containers. What arrives for translation is often not a plain text at all, but a package that also holds the signature details and a timestamp.

The scope of the translation then has to be fixed at the outset: the body of the document alone, or the signatory, the time of signing and the validation details as well. Turkish authorities frequently want the signature details visible too; when these are translated the validation codes are not rewritten, only their presence is recorded.

Document	Critical point	Use
Trade registry record	Object of activity and authority to represent are carried across exactly	Company matters
Electronically signed letter	Signature and timestamp details are stated	Official correspondence
Diploma and academic transcript	A description of the credit system is added	Recognition application
Employment contract	Job description and term are preserved	Residence and work permit

The main strands of demand

Company formation and remotely run business administration make up the most conspicuous strand. Trade registry records, partnership agreements, signature circulars and tax documents are translated as a matter of routine. The second strand consists of the service agreements, confidentiality undertakings and data processing annexes of the IT sector. Legal and technical registers are interwoven in these texts, so calling the same concept by different names at the two levels is a frequent inconsistency.

The third strand is residence and work applications; the fourth is recognition of higher education. In haulage and port trade, customs declarations, contracts of carriage and insurance policies generate the volume. Because the small scale of the country speeds the flow of information between institutions, even the slightest inconsistency between documents belonging to the same person is noticed quickly.

Repeat documents and terminology management

Corporate files sent into this language have one marked characteristic: for the same company, documents that are almost identical to one another are drawn up several times over in the course of a year. Registry records, board resolutions and annual returns follow the same template, and only the date, the amount and the subject of the resolution change.

This structure brings two advantages. First, once consistency of terms and set phrases has been established, it is preserved of its own accord in the documents that follow; the company name, the object of activity and the wording on authority to represent come out the same every time. Second, delivery is quicker, because the repeated sections are not written afresh.

The precondition is that the first translation is built correctly. Thanks to that same repeating structure, an error in a term at the start spreads through every file, and correcting it afterwards means calling the documents back one by one.

Names, numbers and dates

In identity fields the person’s name is not inflected and is left with the spelling used in the passport; Turkish special characters are preserved. The father’s and mother’s names are kept in separate fields and are not merged into a middle name.

The personal identity number carries the date of birth within it, along with sex and century; a single digit copied wrongly puts the number at odds with the date of birth. Dates are written in the order day, month, year, with full stops. The decimal separator is a comma.

When you send your file, tell us whether the document carries an electronic signature; the scope is set accordingly. See your quotation and delivery date instantly, or first compare unit prices.