Here are several points that will help you determine the level of quality you will receive from a professional language translator. What you should know is a professional language translator who respects and listens to the professional opinion of his or her employer would never submit a translation unless it was perfect.
Does the translation firm insist you provide as much detail as possible about a translation project before providing a quote?
A professional language translator should do the following before offering a price quote:
- seek out information about the source text,
- ask what the translation is to be used for,
- ask what the language level is of the intended readers.
Will your chosen translation company put you in direct contact with the professional language translator? If it does this makes communication far more difficult. A truly Professional Translation company should not hide the identity of its translators.
Does the translation firm have a professional language translator(s) who has the depth and range of experience with communication at an international level to meet your requirements? Depending on what countries your translations are aimed at you will need to be sure that there are competent translators available for the languages you require.
What sort of quality control measures does your chosen translation service use? There are different methods used to complete a translation. Unless you specifically state what level of translation you want, you may find you only get a basic translation or even a machine translation which involves no human input. Make sure that the translation company you decide to hire uses qualified, professional language translators and a 2nd text translator will edit each document.
Summary of important points
Provide the translation service with as much information as you can about the translation project. This includes the details about the source text origin, what the translation is to be used for and how sophisticated the intended readers are regarding the subject matter and the language. Ensure your organization establishes direct contact with the professional language translator for each language, even to the point of providing the names of 1 or 2 contacts who are able to answer any questions regarding the source document’s contents. This level of contact ensures that any ambiguity of meaning in the document can be sorted out quickly and accurately. If you don’t want any delay in getting your translations you may need to contact key personnel out of business hours.
Make sure you schedule your translation projects as far in advance as is practically possible. This means you won’t be in a hurry to find a professional language translator so your costs won’t be so much as you can seek out the most suitable translation company at the price that best fits your pocket. One thing you should remember to do after the professional language translator has completed your project is to provide favorable for any other potential clients who are looking for a competent translation services.
