What are the ingredients for a good translation? Specialists answer
When it comes to ordering a service for the first time, it's difficult to be assured of a successful outcome. These uncertainties might also arise for customers that contact translation companies. Furthermore, there is a misperception that a translation's quality exclusively rests on the translator's skill. This is a myth.
The head of the AIRV translation firm, Evelina Grigonė, provides a thorough explanation of the quality standards for translations and how they are put into practise.
Respect for quality standards
According to E. Grigonė, a motivated team of specialists and instructions that clearly outline how to assess completed work, make improvements to the process, and offer the greatest customer experience, are the most crucial components of high-quality translation. Utilising the most up-to-date translation tools is also crucial for accelerating the process and achieving an effective outcome. “Of course, it's also worth remembering the love and respect for your work. When you value what you do, you also make an effort to satisfy your clientele,” the head of AIRV comments.
In order to guarantee flawless quality in the translation agency AIRV, the following guidelines are observed.
Translators are chosen for each assignment based on the subject, the text's peculiarities, and the translator's qualification.
Assisting the translator as needed during the translation process, the project manager gives the translator with the essential information on the translation assignment, specific deadlines, layout, as well as the customer's needs and the anticipated deadlines.
A quality controller, the language editor, reviews the translation once it has been received from the translator (initial level verification).
After being reviewed by the language editor, the translation is then sent back to the translator for approval and, if required, corrections. The translation is then returned to the project manager for one last review and, as necessary, preparation for the following phases, such as layout or transfer to the customer or certification by a translation agency or notary.
If the customer orders an additional editing service, the text is edited and made ready for publication.
It's important that the entire team contributes to quality improvement.
Evelina Grigonė, who has been in charge of the translation company for 7 years, claims that using cutting-edge tools and technology alone won't guarantee top-notch results. Achieving the set goals requires a team of experienced, loyal and motivated employees – knowledgeable project managers, native-speaking translators and other specialists who are well versed in their fields. The quality of translation depends on the efforts of all the employees who work on orders in one way or another.
“A qualified and experienced project manager is able to properly assess the specificity of the text to be translated, set the most accurate deadline possible, and select the most suitable specialist from a large pool of translators. The project manager also offers extra services required for the particular project, such as notary certification, layout or native speaker stylist and editorial services," according to the representative of AIRV.
Unfortunately, she says, customers are still hesitant to book the latter service in order to save money.
“Our in-house proofreader at AIRV reviews all translations into Lithuanian, but this is not a text editing service.The editor makes sure the translation is error-free and complies with the most recent language and style standards. The editor also ensures that the material is written with the intended audience in mind and that the right terminology are utilised. For the best results, we advise using a separate translation and editing service (TES), particularly for works that are being translated into other languages. The native-speaking editor in this situation will take into account the text's nature, purpose, and target audience in addition to adapting it to the local language conventions," according to the head of the translation agency.
Liaison with the customer
In order to produce a translation that both parties are happy with, customers should participate in the process as well.
“Often customers have their own in-house approved terms or additional sources for certain content, which can aid the translator in comprehending the context and making more precise phrase choices. In these situations, we appreciate it if the customers share the valuable information they possess. We occasionally receive glossaries of terminology or earlier translations, for example, that were utilised for the production of a technical catalogue or another significant document. These sources are also highly helpful for translators since they assist to preserve the integrity of texts and guarantee that the right terminology is used," says the representative of the translation agency AIRV.
Ideally, translations should be done consistently within the same company, which provides professional translation services and uses the latest technology.
“In this case, it is advisable to build company translation memories, for instance, in sdltm format, and to submit and receive updates on them from the service provider with each order. In this way, translation memories are supplemented and updated with each assignment, and repetitive content is automatically inserted in new translations. This saves time, preserves translation consistency, and lowers the cost of the translation,” suggests E. Grigonė.