When I first beginning working within the translation business and was tasked with prospecting for new customers, one particular of my frequent introductions would generally be… ‘we give high good quality translations’. Normally this was met with slightly blank expressions – and rightly so as not many translation service providers would lay claim to supplying poor high-quality translations. I soon realised that this strategy, and particularly the use of the word ‘quality’, was not best suited to prospecting for new clients. The reason I was so keen to use this word although approaching new clients was since of the impact I had see it had in the course of my instruction, where I had noticed a prospect switch to our firm mainly because of the “poor quality” translations they had received elsewhere. In my thoughts the primary reason consumers would pick out a distinct provider was down to top quality. Although I nonetheless think this to be the case in several situations, other things such as price tag, reputation, and ability to supply the appropriate service can be equally essential.
High-quality, even so, is nevertheless a quite critical issue when choosing your translation provider. The issue comes when trying to evaluate high quality. Often, one of the troubles that face purchasers of translation solutions is the most important purpose they are employing the solutions of a supplier in the first place and that is that they do not have the skills or capabilities in property for a particular language. Unlike most business enterprise services the high-quality of the operate, consequently, can’t be validated the moment the work is delivered. This validation commonly comes as soon as the operate is published. This can be a expensive exercise in testing, particularly if the benefits are that the work is of a poor common or, worse nonetheless, damages the reputation of the company that has published the work.
So how can you guarantee that when you commission a translation service provider you will acquire a high-quality translation and how do you go about measuring this? This post appears at the problem of good quality inside the translation business and examines the approaches in which purchasers can evaluate the good quality of the translations they get.
For many years, the language service sector has theorised on how to define a high-quality translation. Most typically employed to clarify what a high quality translation should really be is that it meets and exceeds the customer’s expectation of top quality. This is a superior regular to adhere to, having said that, the difficulty comes in figuring out what will meet or exceed the customer’s expectation of good quality. Business X’s understanding of (or needs for) excellent may be very unique from company Y’s. It is very important when commissioning translation that all parties involved in the course of action (the buyer, supplier, the translator, etc.) are fully aware of what the expectation of top quality is. A beneficial exercising prior to confirming the assignment is to build a portfolio of examples and samples of excellent translations that can be supplied to the language service provider. This can be utilised as a semi-style guide for the translator undertaking the assignment. It can also be useful to incorporate examples of undesirable top quality translations to aid make your requirements extra explicit. These samples can act as a benchmark to evaluate completed translations. If you are at a stage exactly where you are determining which language service provider you will be applying, it can also be pretty helpful to commission a sample or test piece of the text to decide the expected level of high quality. Ultimately, communicating your specifications and ensuring that they are understood will considerably boost the probability of getting a good quality translation.
All round, when you analyse the top quality of translation operate you are assessing 3 particular elements that make up the translation method the agency, the translator and the actual translation itself. Firstly, you want to look at the process the language service provider makes use of in terms of managing the operate. There are a quantity of European and worldwide standards that provide guidance for translation organizations when it comes to processing operate. The most extensively employed of these is BS EN 15038. Nevertheless, just because a company has accomplished a particular normal or follows particular suggestions, there is no guarantee that they will supply a high quality translation. As mentioned above, Dokument übersetzen lassen if to ask the supplier to provide a test piece of their perform. Alternatively, ask to see a sample of work they feel illustrates their quality. Moreover, testimonials or references need to also be sought from satisfied prospects.
Equally crucial as the agency is who they commission to undertake the actual translation. It is important to know how certified the translator is to carry out the process. This will not only be linguistic qualifications, but also relevant practical experience and additional qualifications in their particular region of expertise. It would also be smart to confirm that the translator is a mother tongue linguist and their nation of residence. With translations that are needed for publication it is also a excellent idea to have a second mother tongue linguist check the function for errors and omissions, syntax and style. If the client works with an agent in the nation where the translation will be utilised it is also a great concept to have the agent study by way of the operate. When all is stated and performed, the client and their agent will often know much more about their small business than the translator and the agent may like to make some suggestions, in particular if they will be working with the translation as a marketing and advertising tool as it is important that they really feel comfortable with it. Any self-respecting translation company should really be much more than willing to function with the agent to achieve the desired outcome and incorporate any suggestions into the translation.