Word 2 Word Translation Services :: Translation, Transliteration, Translators, Document translation

1. Check the translators being used are qualified, native speakers and that they live and work in their home country. By doing this you will ensure the current cultural context of your translation. New words evolve in all languages on a daily basis and the only way to ensure that your translation uses current terminology is for the translator to live in their home country.

2. Make sure your translators have experience of translating within your specific industry. If you need confirmation of this, ask your Project Manager for the CVs of the translators that will be performing the translation. This is especially important if specialised vocabulary is being used.

3. Ensure enough time has been allotted for the translation process, so as not to adversely affect the quality of the project. As a guide, once a project is underway, one translation team can produce about 2,000 words of general level text per working day. If time is short then it is possible to employ additional teams on a project but this should be kept to a minimum so as not to degrade the consistency of the translation.

4. Translation costs are calculated on a per word basis, usually based on the number of source language words. If it is not possible to conduct an accurate word count, then your total cost will be based on the number of target language words. Please make sure that this cost includes editing and proofreading by a second pair of qualified eyes.

5. If you have an agent or member of staff within your organisation who speaks the foreign language you are translating into, then it is always worth while asking them to be your Œlanguage champion. This person can give the translation a final read through before it is put on general release. This is of most value when working with a new translator for the first time to ensure the style and tone are correct.

6. Confidentiality. All of the work we do on your behalf belongs to you. If you are translating market sensitive or important documentation, ask your agency or translators to sign a non-disclosure agreement before releasing the source text. An agency worth dealing with will have no qualms in doing this for you.

7. If you have an ongoing translation requirement and will be setting up a long-term relationship, then you should be given a Project Manager for all of your translation requirements, irrespective of the languages you require. By having an assigned contact this will enable you to hand over all enquiries to one central person who will feed back to you, thereby simplifying and reducing the stress of the process for yourselves.