Looking for expert Finnish translation services? Since 2003, Green Crescent has been delivering professional translation services between English and Finnish to clients worldwide. We specialize in a range of industries, including legal, technical, marketing, and business sectors. Our team ensures accurate, high-quality translations tailored to your specific needs. Get a fast, free Finnish translation quote today!
Our Comprehensive Finnish Translation Services
Green Crescent’s skilled team of Finnish translators includes subject matter experts for industry-specific needs. We provide translations that address the specific linguistic and cultural nuances of the Finnish language, ensuring both accuracy and fluency.
- Finnish (Finland)
- Finnish for Sweden-Finns
- Various Finnish dialects spoken across Finland
We specialize in both English to Finnish and Finnish to English translations, offering the following services:
Simple Translation
Our simple translations in the English/Finnish language pair are designed for basic communication needs. These translations are completed by a single Finnish translator without the involvement of an editor or proofreader, and therefore should not be considered final or "Finnished" work for most professional or formal use cases. While they are typically of high quality, simple translations are essentially "rough drafts" that do not go through additional editing, proofreading, or other quality control processes. These translations are ideal for personal letters, informal communications, initial drafts that will later be revised, or for situations where you need to quickly understand the general meaning or "gist" of a Finnish text.
Standard Translation (TEP)
Our Standard Finnish Translation service is designed to provide high-quality translations for everyday use, including business correspondence, websites, reports, presentations, and similar content. This service includes translation, editing, and proofreading (TEP) to ensure the highest level of accuracy and clarity in your Finnish communications.
Organization Critical Translation (TEP+)
Our Organization Critical Finnish Translation service is designed for situations where perfection is essential. This option is recommended for texts intended for large-scale printing, technical documents, legal contracts and patents, medical documents, or any case where an error could be critical or costly. Each translated line is reviewed by a minimum of three linguists, with multiple rounds of proofreading. Subject matter experts (SMEs) may be involved as needed throughout the Finnish translation, editing, and proofreading (TEP) process.
Bilingual Editing
Bilingual Editing for Finnish Translation is the process of editing a translated text by comparing both the source and target texts in the English/Finnish language pair. The editor, fluent in the source language and a native speaker of Finnish, ensures that the translation is accurate, consistent, and faithful to the source text while also maintaining clarity and fluency in Finnish. This step occurs after the initial translation in our TEP (Translation, Editing, Proofreading) Organization Critical and Standard Translation services. We also offer this service as a standalone option for translations completed by individuals or organizations not affiliated with Green Crescent.
Proofreading
With each additional round of editing and proofreading, the error rate of a document approaches the perfection horizon. Our proofreading service for English to Finnish and Finnish to English translations involves reviewing a single-language text to identify and correct surface-level errors, such as spelling mistakes, grammar issues, punctuation errors, and formatting inconsistencies. This step is the final phase in our TEP (Translation, Editing, Proofreading) Organization Critical and Standard translation services. We also offer proofreading as a standalone service for translations completed by individuals or organizations not affiliated with Green Crescent.
Legal Translation
Green Crescent's elite team of linguists, each with subject matter expertise in specialized legal fields, is ready to assist you with the translation of a wide range of judicial, administrative, and private legal documents between Finnish and English. Nearly all countries recognize that submitting documents for translation does not compromise attorney-client privilege. Furthermore, we can implement enhanced security measures to ensure strict confidentiality upon request.
Technical Translation
Technical translations involve any text that features specialized vocabulary or language registers, necessitating additional research and terminology verification. Common technical subject matter includes legal, medical, scientific, engineering, and IT topics, but any text that utilizes industry-specific terminology or neologisms may be considered technical in nature. These translations cannot be executed by generalists alone; they require the expertise of linguists with in-depth knowledge of the relevant technical field in both Finnish and English.
Medical Translation
Green Crescent has established protocols to ensure compliance with HIPAA and HITECH regulations, which you can learn more about here. Our Finnish medical translations are treated as "organization critical," unless otherwise specified, and we are committed to implementing the necessary digital security measures and legal safeguards for every project subject to HIPAA and HITECH requirements. Our team of skilled linguists, specialized in medical terminology, ensures that your translations are both accurate and secure.
Localization
Our translation services are tailored for specific target markets that require non-standard varieties or dialects of the Finnish language. Green Crescent is equipped to accommodate requests for localized Finnish translation, ensuring that your content resonates with the intended audience. Our experienced linguists are well-versed in the nuances of these dialects, allowing us to provide translations that are not only accurate but also culturally relevant and engaging. By focusing on the unique linguistic characteristics of each Finnish dialect, we help you effectively connect with your audience and enhance the impact of your message.
Website, App, and Software Localization for Finnish
At Green Crescent, we leverage our extensive experience in software development to provide specialized Finnish localization services. We excel in adapting your website, app, or software’s content, design, and functionality for Finnish-speaking audiences. Whether you need a fully multilingual solution or specific adaptations for Finnish, our services encompass translating text, adjusting images, and modifying layouts. We also adapt and program code for both mobile and desktop applications, ensuring that your app functions seamlessly across Finnish-speaking regions while adhering to platform-specific guidelines. Let us help you create an engaging and culturally relevant experience for your Finnish-speaking users.
Back-translation
Back-translation is often a crucial component of the quality control process, particularly when translating highly technical documents or for critical translations in the Finnish/English language pair where an error could have significant consequences. This process involves an independent linguist translating a previously translated text back into its original source language—either Finnish or English—without reference to the original document. The resulting text is then compared to the original translation to verify its intelligibility, accuracy, and suitability for its intended use. Back-translation is also relevant in situations such as the translation of legal documents, medical texts, and marketing materials, where precise wording is essential. It can be particularly beneficial when adapting content for different cultural contexts, ensuring that the intended message is preserved and resonates appropriately with the target audience in both Finnish and English.
Peer Review
Green Crescent offers professional focus group services that include a comprehensive "read-through" conducted by one or more linguists who were not involved in the original translation process. This approach allows for an unbiased assessment of the translation's quality, style, and overall fitness for its intended purpose. The focus group can evaluate various aspects of the text, including linguistic accuracy, cultural relevance, and the effectiveness of the messaging in reaching the target audience. Feedback is provided on how well the translation conveys the original intent and nuances of the source material, ensuring that it resonates with readers in both Finnish and English contexts.
SME Review
Subject Matter Expert (SME) review is a specialized form of peer review conducted by non-linguist professionals with deep expertise in specific fields. This process is particularly important for Finnish to English or English to Finnish translations of highly technical texts, ensuring that the content is both linguistically accurate and technically precise. In fields such as legal, medical, scientific, and engineering, SMEs help verify the correct use of industry-specific terminology, adherence to regulatory or technical standards, and the contextual relevance of the translated material. By incorporating SME review into the translation process, we ensure that your final product is not only fluent and culturally appropriate but also technically sound and ready for professional use in both Finnish- and English-speaking markets.
Transcreation
Our Finnish Transcreation Service goes beyond simple translation by creatively adapting your content to resonate with Finnish-speaking audiences. At Green Crescent, we ensure that your brand’s messages, campaigns, and communications maintain their original intent, emotional impact, and tone, while aligning with the cultural and linguistic nuances of the target market. Whether it’s marketing, branding, or advertising, we reimagine your content to feel authentic and compelling in Finnish, helping your brand connect meaningfully and effectively with Finnish-speaking audiences.
MTPE-Full (Machine Translation Post-Editing - Full)
MTPE-Full (Machine Translation Post-Editing - Full) refers to the comprehensive post-editing of a machine-translated text between Finnish and English, ensuring the final product meets the highest standards of linguistic quality. In this process, once the machine generates the translation, a skilled human editor thoroughly reviews the entire content, ensuring that it is not only accurate in meaning but also flows naturally and fluently in the target language. This detailed editing process includes correcting grammar, syntax, and terminology, adapting the text for the intended audience, and ensuring it adheres to any stylistic preferences or regulatory requirements. MTPE-Full is suitable for business-critical texts where precision and quality are paramount.
MTPE-Light (Machine Translation Post-Editing - Light)
MTPE-Light (Machine Translation Post-Editing - Light) is a more streamlined version of post-editing, designed for situations where speed and cost-efficiency are prioritized over linguistic perfection. In this process, the human editor focuses primarily on fixing major errors and ensuring that the overall meaning of the machine-translated text is clear and understandable in the target language (Finnish or English). While MTPE-Light may not deliver a translation that is fully "Finnished" or ready for publication, it provides an efficient and cost-effective solution for internal documents, reports, and communications where basic comprehension is sufficient.
Additional Language Services and Options for Finnish
Certified Translation
Green Crescent provides certified translations of a wide range of legal documents, including birth, marriage, and death certificates, diplomas, school transcripts, passports, and more, between Finnish and English. Our certified translations are recognized for their accuracy and adherence to legal standards, ensuring they are suitable for official use. You can also receive hard copies of our standard certificate of translation mailed directly to your home or business.
Rush Service
If you require expedited service, Green Crescent can often accommodate such requests. However, please be aware that rushing translations may come with trade-offs, which could impact both price and consistency. We recommend consulting with a project manager for more details and to discuss your specific needs.
Discounts
Volume discounts are available for large projects, long-term clients, and for non-profits, charities, NGOs, and government organizations. We strive to provide competitive rates while maintaining the highest quality standards for Finnish translation services.
Minimum Fee
There is a minimum project fee of $75.00 USD per language, which may be reduced or waived for regular clients or for specific projects, depending on the scope and frequency of work.
Additional Language Services
In addition to translation, Green Crescent offers a range of other Finnish language services, including interpretation, transcription, website design and development, and desktop publishing. These services are designed to support your communication needs, whether in business, legal, or technical fields.
About the Finnish Language
Finnish is spoken by over 5 million people, primarily in Finland where it is one of the official languages. It is also spoken by Finnish communities in Sweden, Norway, Estonia, and Russia. As part of the Uralic language family, Finnish boasts a unique structure and vocabulary, contributing to its rich cultural heritage.
Finland: The Cultural Context and Linguistic Features
Finnish is known for its agglutinative nature, where words are formed by adding suffixes to base words. This complexity is a defining feature of Finnish grammar, as it conveys nuances like case, tense, and mood through these inflections. Finnish lacks gender and articles, making it distinct from many Indo-European languages, including English.
The historical development of Finnish was influenced by neighboring countries, especially Sweden and Russia. However, Finnish has preserved its unique identity and distinct grammatical structure, which is particularly evident in its extensive use of cases. There are 15 grammatical cases in Finnish, each serving a different syntactical function, such as indicating possession, movement, or location.
Finland's rich literary tradition is marked by classic works like the *Kalevala*, a 19th-century epic that is central to Finnish cultural identity. This heritage continues to influence modern literature, cinema, and music, with Finland recognized for its contributions to art, technology, and education.
The Writing System: A Phonetic and Regular Structure
The Finnish alphabet is based on the Latin script and consists of 29 letters. It is highly phonetic, meaning that words are generally pronounced as they are written, making reading and writing straightforward once the rules are learned.
Vowels and Consonants: Finnish has a vowel harmony system, meaning that certain vowels cannot coexist in the same word. This rule helps guide pronunciation and word formation. The language features both long and short vowels, which can change the meaning of words. For instance, *tuli* means "fire," while *tuuli* means "wind."
No Articles: Unlike English, Finnish does not use definite or indefinite articles like "the" or "a." Instead, context and case endings provide the necessary information for clarity.
Key Linguistic Features of Finnish for Translation
When translating between Finnish and English, several key differences must be addressed to ensure accurate and culturally appropriate translations. Below are some major considerations:
Sentence Structure: Finnish tends to follow a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) structure like English, but word order is flexible due to its case system. This allows for emphasis on different parts of a sentence. For example, “Minä syön omenan” (I eat the apple) can be rearranged to emphasize different words without losing meaning.
Agglutination: Finnish forms words by adding multiple suffixes to a root word, allowing for highly descriptive terms. For instance, the word *talossani* means “in my house,” with the base word *talo* (house) taking on suffixes for possession and location.
Case System: Finnish uses 15 grammatical cases, compared to English’s use of prepositions. Each case serves a specific function, like indicating direction (*taloa kohti* means “towards the house”) or possession (*talon omistaja* means “the owner of the house”).
No Gender or Articles: Finnish nouns and pronouns are not gendered, which differs from English and many other European languages. This creates a neutral linguistic framework, but also requires careful attention when translating into English, where gender-specific pronouns are common.
Pronoun Usage: In Finnish, the same pronoun *hän* is used for both “he” and “she,” reflecting the language's lack of gender distinction. Translators need to pay attention to context to determine gender when translating into languages like English.
By understanding these linguistic characteristics, Green Crescent ensures that our Finnish translation services are linguistically accurate and culturally sensitive. Whether you need translations for legal documents, technical manuals, or marketing content, our team is ready to help you connect with Finnish-speaking audiences in a clear and effective way.
An Insight into Finnish Wit and Expression
This passage is from Under the North Star by Väinö Linna, first published in 1959. This seminal work is a cornerstone of 20th-century Finnish literature, offering a vivid portrayal of Finland’s tumultuous social and political history during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Finnish: "Tässä seison, enkä muuta voi."
- English Translation: "Here I stand, and I can do no other."