Google Translate reminds me of Simon & Garfunkel’s classic opening words: “Hello darkness, my old friend…”

The blunt reading would be that I’m comparing Google Translate to darkness: It lacks context, life experience, a clear objective or target audience, source country or author, etc. As such, often you type in an interesting paragraph and it spits mush back at you.

But on a deeper level, what is The Sound of Silence really about?

Paul Simon treats darkness (and its running mate: silence) as a confidant, an ambience that allows him to indulge in a calmer, more pensive state of mind. Darkness is a place where he can work things out, a tool that surely helped him write many a hit single.

But darkness is an inward-facing tool. It is a place where thoughts are mulled over and lines are worked and reworked. Think of it as where you draft an article before publishing it for public consumption. Darkness is where Simon: a) tried to understand the confusing aspects of a busy day; or b) started to create the melodies of a future song.

And that is exactly how Google Translate works.

It is a useful tool for people trying to understand a foreign text. Trying to find more information on some obscure historical figure from another country? Copy and paste their foreign-language biography or obituary and have fun learning while trying to parse together the full meaning behind the words.

And it is a useful tool for translators in their brainstorming phase, as they hunt for the perfect word and then fit said word into a context and structure that is, quite frankly, too complex for Google Translate to recreate. It’s great when looking for synonyms, can be helpful for building full sentences, but is unable to capture the thesis of a text, to summarize the main ideas into an eloquent message in the target language.

Google Translate, like darkness, is an inward-facing tool, something that helps individuals to understand ideas written in a language foreign to them. But if you are creating content for the public to read, to find and trust in your brand, you need an outward-facing tool.

Just as companies employ writers to understand the company’s goals and target audience and create content in line with both, you must apply the same thought process when trying to reach customers in another language.

This requires translators who understand the company and the ideas that make up the backbone of the text, translators who understand the target audience in the target country and can convey those ideas in the manner that will best reach these new readers.

We have no way of knowing exactly when translation came into formal practice, but if we think of translation as the sharing of culture by way of language, it stands to reason that translation has existed as long as different cultures have encountered each other. The stronger the gravitas of a culture—or the greater the desire of a community to spread its culture—the greater the importance of translation.

As such, though translation was already a known practice, the rise of religion really made translation an important cultural factor on a broad scale. Translations exist for the Mesopotamian story of Gilgamesh, originally written around 2000 BCE, and subsequent Indian, Chinese, Arabic, and Greek translations scatter the next couple millennia. But the convergence of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in predominantly Muslim Spain in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries paved the way for the first School of Translators in Toledo and a cultural revolution that would come to be known as The Renaissance.

Spain, a bonafide melting pot at the time, played host for many reasons, including its geography, as it is situated neatly between Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Northern Africa. Also, it was a relatively open and liberal country, not partaking in The Condemnations going on in nearby Paris. Latin-, Arabic-, and Hebrew-speaking philosophers, scientists, and theologians could intermingle and freely trade ideas, which required translation and even the creation of local pidgins and vernaculars.

This free flow of information between cultures and languages augmented the role of translation in society, as both the frequency and importance of translation grew by leaps and bounds.

This almost 1,000-year-old thirst for knowledge and cultural curiosity has only grown, and with it the ease of information transfer, thanks to constantly evolving technology.

First came the increasing ease of physical transportation, with people being able to cross oceans by boat, traverse on land via horse, carriage, then car, and finally the ability to fly. As people encountered new places, they also encountered new peoples and new cultures and sought to learn from and share with these new communities.

Then came information sharing, through people visiting foreign locations as discussed above, through letters and mail, and now through the internet via computers and smartphones. The information being shared varies, from cultural histories, scientific breakthroughs, and philosophic conundrums to fictional tales, anecdotes, and simple discussions.

From the mundane to the lifesaving, from attacks to budding friendships, communication connects the world—a world with diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Hiring is a delicate process—part art and part science—and one that usually requires more work on the hirer’s side of the equation: going through emails and resumes, comparing and contrasting prospects’ levels of education, experience, fit, potential, etc.

So how does one decide on the perfect translator for their company’s ongoing content or a one-off project? First of all, you have to know what you have and what you want.

What kind of content do you have, what is the content’s current purpose, and what will be the goal of the translated content?

All of these play a key role in choosing a translator. So the first factor is subject matter: choose an eloquent translator for artful or literary content; choose a translator with mechanical engineering experience or education for a technical manual on mechanical engineering; choose a translator versed in medical jargon for a medical translation. You get the point.

Keep in mind that an experienced translator will likely have resources (in-person contacts, online communities, reference books) to handle light technical subject matter that is new to them. But in general, if you haven’t worked with a translator previously, make sure they know the subject they’ll be translating.

Plenty of people know two languages, but that doesn’t make them translators. Just like many people are native English speakers but you wouldn’t want them editing your content. Does your prospective hire have training in the translation field? A degree, some courses, a certificate?

Not all translators study translation in college, and that isn’t necessarily a negative. Maybe they studied the field in which they now translate, or they studied literature or communication. But ongoing translation study is important, even if it consists of a couple webinars a year to stay up to date on current trends and technology.

And if someone seems like a good fit but can’t offer any relevant education? Have them send you some samples or ask that they translate a short sample of your content.

Lastly, you will want to know the translator’s relevant experience. Are they recent graduates? Have they worked only with agencies? In these cases they may not have samples available, as translators can’t share translations without the client’s permission. Do they work with direct clients? Can they provide references or point you to published works they have translated?

Know what you’re looking for regarding subject matter mastery, translation-specific training, and industry experience. And remember, education and experience are useful measures for judging quality and fit, but don’t always tell the whole story.