ProvidingBusiness Translation
Services in over 90 different languages
How to choose a Translation Professional Company
What should you look for in a Translation company's linguist?
Ask the following 10 questions of any potential translation
vendor before deciding to work with them. Make sure you feel comfortable
with the answers provided, and don't hesitate to question any
answer with which doesn't seem right. Ultimately, a truly accomplished
translation is the product of cooperation between client and vendor.
For even more information about choosing a translator or translation
services, please visit the translation resource links below. To
find out more about Schreiber Translations, visit STI's Translation
FAQ.
10 Questions you should ask your translation vendor:
First and foremost, make sure that you are talking to a full-service
company rather than an agency that simply passes your document
or request through to a translator or interpreter and then pretty
much bows out of the process at that point. At STI, although 95%
of the initial translation work is done by outside freelance personnel
(so that we're able to perfectly match a linguist with a document's
language pair AND subject matter), all material comes back through
our office to undergo our multistage QC process. This QC process
includes multiple levels of editing and proofreading. For interpreting
assignments, our in-house staff remains involved every step of
the way, keeping both interpreter and client informed and remaining
available to take care of any last-minute issues or problems.
2. Tell me about your linguists.
Translation companies' linguist pools can vary. The important
thing is that you feel comfortable that your situation will be
handled by a linguist with both professional translation/interpreting
expertise and the necessary subject matter expertise. If, for
example, a company handles most of their translations in-house,
is it really possible that they will meet your specific subject
matter requirement? At STI, our pool consists of more than 3000
qualified professional translators and interpreters. Each of them
additionally has background in a specific technical discipline
or disciplines. If by some chance we don't have a linguist in
our pool with both the language pair and subject matter expertise
you require, we match the most qualified linguist with a non-linguist
expert in the given field and they work together.
3. How do you ensure confidentiality?
Make sure that you feel very comfortable with this answer. How
is your information handled while in the company's hands? Where
are your documents stored? If the company is sending your material
out to a freelancer, how do they ensure confidentiality on the
part of the freelancer? At STI, we have our translators and interpreters
sign a work order for each and every project with which they're
involved that includes a confidentiality clause for that project.
Furthermore, we're always happy to sign client-provided confidentiality
or nondisclosure agreements.
4. Who handles your translations from English
into foreign languages?
The answer, with very little exception, should be native speakers
of the target language. The target language is the language into
which the material is being translated. Only a native speaker
has the ability to capture all of the idiomatic nuances as well
as the cultural references. Only a native speaker can come closest
to creating a translation that doesn't "sound" like
a translation. At STI, our translations are always handled by
linguists with native ability in the target language. When appropriate,
we even turn to those in our overseas pool who live day-to-day
with the language in question.
5. How do you handle feedback from clients?
What you are looking for here is some kind of system that the
company has in place specifically for dealing with feedback. In
other words, you want them to say something more than just "very
well." At STI, we handle feedback in a proactive manner.
At the beginning of an interpreting assignment, we find out as
much information as possible about your preferences for the interpreter's
capabilities and at the beginning of a translation assignment
we work with you to determine at the outset whether or not you
have any preferred terminology choices. If you have any questions
or concerns once an assignment is completed we have a system in
place for handling such inquiries. However, never expect that
a company will automatically make any changes you ask for free
of charge - changes to the original material or stylistic or preferential
changes to the translation will result in an additional charge.
6. Can you handle monthly or yearly updates
to my materials?
Although it may not be obvious to you at the outset, there is
always the possibility that you may need updates made to previously
translated materials. If you are having your website translated,
for example, you may very well want to consider updating the information
on a regular basis. If you are having a business contract translated,
you may need some changes made a year from now when the original
contract expires and you are negotiating a new one. At STI, we
have procedures in place to handle these situations, from dedicated
project managers who are familiar with your needs to a highly
customized database and document storage system that allows us
to retrieve any previously translated document in seconds.
7. How quickly can you translate my 500-page
document?
If two days sounds too good to be true, that's because it is.
The best that can be produced when translating 500 pages in two
days is a first-run draft translation, and you should be very
wary of a company that tells you otherwise. The only way to accomplish
such a feat is to use machine translation (see number 10 below)
or numerous translators and neither method will produce a polished
translation. At STI, we handle these situations by being very
up-front with our clients and explaining that we can have the
translation back to you in a very short timeframe, as long as
you can work with a draft initially. If requested, we will, of
course, handle follow-up editing and given enough time, provide
a final, polished translation.
8. Can you provide me with simultaneous interpreters
for my multilingual conference tomorrow?
Simultaneous interpreting, especially in technical subject areas,
is a highly specialized skill. Professional, experienced interpreters
are often booked months in advance. Thus, be very wary of a company
that instantaneously assures you they can provide this service
in such a short timeframe. Will you really be getting qualified
individuals? That's not to say it isn't possible. At STI, we are
very up front with our clients. We will be happy to check in with
our pool to see if by chance someone is willing to give up a few
planned days off or perhaps has had a cancellation. Once we have
checked we can get back to you and answer your question.
9. Can you translate my brochure into 5 languages
and provide me with electronic files?
Here again, be wary of a company that supplies you with an unqualified
"yes". It is likely that they can provide you with electronic
files in five languages, but will you be able to read them? Especially
if languages with non-Roman alphabets, such as Arabic, Russian
or Japanese are involved. At STI, we always consult our clients
carefully when such a request is made, to ensure that you will
be able to work with what we provide. If, for example, you don't
have the foreign language capability to read a Chinese file, we
will suggest alternate solutions, such as providing a printable
file for you to work with.
10. Do you work with machine translation?
Machine translation, or translation software, refers to software
that takes a source text and "converts" it into another
language. This process remains highly suspect as language is a
complex human function that cannot be reduced to a one-to-one
exchange of information. Still, machine translation does have
some limited uses and you simply need to determine whether it
can work for you. At a minimum, it must be combined with a human
editing component. And be especially wary if your material has
special subtleties, such as a marketing or advertising piece would.
At STI, we work only with people; we do not employ machine translation.
Where appropriate we work with translation tools, or translation
memory software. These tools help with such things as terminology
management, but do not replace the human process.
We have experience in working with all of the languages listed above. If you have a project which requires expert knowledge of a language other than those listed, please contact us.
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