Why ISO-Certified and Sworn SA Translations Fail Quality Tests The "Certification" Trap in South African Language Translations If you are looking for professional South African language translation services in South Africa, you’ve likely seen the same three terms over and over: Certified , ISO-Certified , and Sworn. To a procurement manager or a business owner, these sound like guarantees of quality. However, as specialists who are frequently called in to "fix" documents already translated by agencies advertising this service, we can tell you the uncomfortable truth: A certificate for a process is not a certificate for linguistic accuracy. The Sworn Translation Myth In South Africa, a "Sworn Translation" is a legal formality. It means an individual has stood before a Commissioner of Oaths and sworn they believe the work is accurate. The problem? There is no mandatory requirement for that individual to have a degree in linguistics, 10 years of ...