Translation Companies: Getting The Best Out Of Your Translators

（Edited by freelance Chinese translator li – English to Chinese or Chinese to English translation services）


Global trade has necessitated translation to and from the majority of languages of the planet. A complex process, owing to distinct differences in syntax and construction rules in world languages, translation involves a careful selection of translator and reviewer services.

Since you can't evaluate the quality of a translated document, you can make sure that:

1. The document you are giving for translation is of the best level accomplishable.

2. The professional you are hiring meets your top notch requirements.

Before handing off:

1. Initiate the spell check and grammar check: A simple but a completely necessary step. Remember, if your document is error free, there will be fewer translation errors to deal with!

2. Keep a copy of the document with you: This might seem like a silly suggestion but an excessively large number of people forget to do so!

3. In your document: Keep the sentences very brief and clear and avoid using abbreviations (Say can not instead of cant).

Deciding on the translator:

1. Low cost is not best. Your neighbors kid who took a French paper last year might be able to flaunt his French connection but translation is a professional calling. Paying less might turn out to be very expensive for you.

2. Choose a service provider who has a large amount of years of actually doing the work in translating into the language you are seeking out.

3. The translator should be a native user of the language and must be knowledgeable with the culture and details of the language he/she is attempting to translate from.

4. The translator should also be able to understand the finer details of the language he/she is translating from.

5. Choose a translation company that offers to take the entire assignment - from translation to editing, proofreading and even desktop publishing.

After handing over

Handing over the document doesn't ensure great translation. Your feedback will be necessary even after handing over. Time invested here will extract bonuses in terms of error free documents of great quality.

1. Make sure you have a detailed discussion about your project with the service provider to explain your requirements and to understand his/her concerns.

2. Be available to respond to concerns and inquiries whenever the translator requires you.

A few more points of consideration

1. Never push the translator to do a rushed job. Think through your project well and build in time for assessments and translations correctly.

2. Select a good reviewer with the help of your translator.

3. Don't submit a half finished document. Translating corrections and additions can be costly and may introduce errors.

4. Never try to piece together bits of translated material yourself.

Ensuring the quality of translated documents is as much your responsibility as that of your translator. You can ensure quality by also insisting proofreading and verifying that the numbers, dates and figures are error-free.

You also need to share supporting documents like references and glossaries with your translator to enable him/her to do a better job. Most of all, you must set realistic turn around time for your translators.