Beyond individual words, each language has its idioms, its proper names and nouns, and more specifically, each field has its expressions and terms which all hold a very specific meaning. For a novice reader or speaker in a language, these expressions and terms can lead to confusion and must therefore be translated with great precision and thought.
For example, when writing about laws, companies or people, translating proper names and nouns can be very tricky, as a reader may wish to research these further and may encounter difficulties in doing so if the translated name used does not exist or is incorrect. In business, for example, this can have a serious impact and may lead to lost opportunities.
Here is one very good example:
"...when underwriting an Accidental Death & Dismemberment policy..."
was wrongfully translated as such:
"...lorsque l'on souscrit à une police Décès et Démembrement Accidentels..."
Now, in French, in the insurance sector, "Démembrement" is a term meaning "Dividing" and is solely applied to ownership rights. The correct term should have read as follows: "Décès et mutilation Accidentels".
Consequently, if researching this clause on the web using the term "Démembrement", a reader will learn a great deal about the stripping and dividing of property rights in estate settlements, but won't find any details on the actual clause they are seeking.
It is therefore important, when translating field-specific materials, to ensure that sufficient research was conducted into the subject previous to translation.