How to Find the Right Document Translation Services Company
By: L. Amado – 02/14/2010
Professional document translation service providers have to meet the growing needs and requirements of their clients by providing an increasing number of value-added quality services. But what are some of the aspects to take into account to find the one that is right for you?
In a world where more and more aspects of life and work have become computerized, it is critical that a professional document translation firm bases its services on human translation. What is commonly referred to as “machine translation” produces generally incomprehensive results, and while computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools are useful for large volumes of repetitive texts—as can be the case when translating technical manuals—accurate, high quality document translations can only be created by qualified professionals, i.e. certified human translators experienced in their specific fields. Advanced technology certainly has its place in professional document translation services, but the translation process itself relies on the competence, skill, and knowledge of the professional translator.
Another important factor to consider is that the professional translation services provider of your choice should work with a global network of accredited document translators and can take advantage of their geographic placement. This means that your document translation projects are processed 24/7, independent of your location and/or time zone. In this regard, modern technology is vital to relay materials and make document translation results available on secure web server any time of the day.
One of the most important indicators for a quality document translation services company is a solid reputation for reliability. Longstanding professional translation firms are registered with the American Translators Association and exclusively work with certified document translators accredited either by the latter and/or organizations such as The Institute of Linguists, La Société Française des Traducteurs, Institute of Translation and Interpreting, US National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators, and the United Nations.
The professional document translation service of your choice must also be able to efficiently handle all your specialized translation requirements, using a team of certified translators with the experience and knowledge needed for each individual assignment. It is crucial that the translator team handling your project specializes in the respective field and that all translations are subject to strictest quality control.
Last but not least, the project or account managers—your number 1 contact at the professional document translation company—must be experts in all things translation, able to answer your questions, address your concerns, and assign the right document translation team for every individual project. They also must be able to accommodate special requests, ranging from particular layouts to specific certification and turnaround requirements.
With their specialized teams of professional, certified document translators, their proprietary translation workflow process and proven track record in the industry, Legal Translation Solutions, and its parent company, ASTA-USA Translation Services, are an excellent choice when you are in the market for professional document translation services.
http://www.toptranslationservices.com/
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Professional Document Translation Services
Editing and Proofreading as Part of the Translation Process
By: L. Amado – 02/08/2010
Reviews are an important component of the professional document translation process. As a general concept, reviews can take different forms. The most common ones are usually referred to as proofreading and editing. Different people use these terms to mean different things, depending on the context, while others use them interchangeably. When it comes to professional document translation, however, each terms refers to a very specific concept that plays a vital role in the delivery of accurate, high quality document translations.
Proofreading document translations involves reading copy or proof in order to find errors and omissions. It is always performed in comparison to the original. The professionally translated document is checked for grammar, syntax, figures, spelling and related errors and then compared to the original, making sure that the formatting matches and nothing has been overlooked. While modern text processing software is very helpful, especially when it comes to punctuation and spell checks, it is crucial that a professional translator in the respective language pair performs the review.
Editing document translations means dealing more directly with the text, ensuring readability and flow, verifying that colloquialisms and similar idiomatic expressions have been rendered accurately, and generally checking the correct use of vocabulary and terminology, whether general or project-specific (in some cases, glossaries or reference materials are provided by the client). It involves researching problematic terms and entering corrections or suggesting changes. While editing is particularly crucial for document translations meant for publication, clarity and precision in terms of expression and tone are vital to guarantee proper understanding of any document translation.
Editing and proofreading can be performed as one process, meaning that the professional translator reviewing a document translation checks a document for errors while simultaneously improving the translated text itself where needed. However, when dealing with larger scale and more complex projects, it is helpful to separate the two and first have a professional translator edit the document in order for the text to read as it should, then have another set of eyes going over the edited document and checking the translation against the original to ensure there are no typos or omissions.
Under normal circumstances, reading and correcting a professionally translated document is less time consuming than translating “from scratch”. But it is important to keep in mind that estimating how much time will be needed for a proofreading/editing job can sometimes be tricky. If a project is brought to a professional document translation company that was translated by another entity, it can occasionally happen that the translation to be reviewed leaves much to be desired in terms of accuracy and quality. In this case, it may actually require more time to correct the translation than it would have taken to professionally translate it.
Since different people mean different things by proofreading and editing, it is important to make sure all parties involved are on the same page about the requirements before undertaking a professional document translation job.
For professional translation services companies like Legal Translation Solutions and its parent company, ASTA-USA Translation Services, performing the three steps of translation, editing, and proofing for every single document translation assignment sets a rigorous quality assurance standard that is topped off with a final review and certification.
http://www.translatingdocuments.com/
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Hiring Professional Certified Translators
Professional Translation Services: Hiring and Retaining the Best Professional Certified Human Translators
By: L. Amado – 01/22/2010
As is the case with any business the most valuable resource in any professional translation service company is its people.
A professional translation service company can spend a fortune in the latest computers, professional translation software and translation memory management tools and it all would go to waste if those tools are not manned by professional translators.
Much in the same way, a professional translation service company can have in place professional translation and language quality assurance processes which look great on paper and they will still have little or no impact in the professional translation process if the people in charge of putting them into practice are not up to the task.
Professional translation services companies must strive to hire and retain highly qualified certified professional translators and reviewers with experience in the field and who are highly motivated. It is also important to point out that ideally, in order to assure the highest quality of professional translations, professional certified translators and reviewers/proofreaders should be native speakers of the target language and highly proficient in the source language in question.
Some professional translation service companies choose to work with the linguistics and related departments of universities, colleges and other higher education organizations in the places where they conduct their business for a better chance at catching the best talents.
Most professional translation service companies develop and maintain professional translator networks and databases to have in hand a readily available pool of highly motivated and professional language translation specialists. Professional certified translators and linguists may then be categorized by field of expertise, level of experience and internal professional translation Quality Assurance results.
Emphasis should be on hiring and retaining professional certified translators but also on providing and encouraging training and specialization whenever possible. Languages are living, breathing organisms and terminology changes very rapidly, particularly in highly specialized technical domains.
Professional translation service companies such as ASTA-USA Translation Services (www.asta-usa.com) and its legal division Legal Translation Solutions (www.legaltranslationsolutions.com) understand that the single most important factor for success is their human resources and that it is impossible to consistently provide high quality professional translation services without a readily available pool of highly motivated professional certified translators and linguistic experts.
http://www.translationcompanies.info/
Professional Translation Services: The Process
Professional Translation Services: Some Thoughts on the Professional Translation Process
By: L. Amado 01/18/2010
A professional translation services company has to continuously improve its processes, generate professional translations with the correct meaning, terminology and composition. They must also assure that those processes are in sync with the client’s internal reviewers (when applicable).
The professionally translated document must convey the original message in the target language and, at the same time, it has to be appropriate for the culture of the country in question. In order to do so correctly, the professional translators and editors must be fluent in both the target and source languages and have extensive expertise in the subject matter. It goes without saying that the reviewer must also preserve the subtleties and the context of the message of the source language in the professional translation.
The professional translation must also be corrected for spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. Professional linguists who are native speakers of the target language, who are also proficient in the source language, are required for judging the correctness of the composition.
The terminology should be the one used by actual practitioners in the field. Only a specialist in the relevant discipline has the familiarity to know the contemporary terminology used by the particular industry. It takes a business insider to know the internal jargon in each language. As per professional translation services best practices, the professional translation service provider should, from time to time, ask them for clarification or assistance in order to develop a comprehensive glossary of terms to maintain the integrity of the terminology.
In relation to style, professional certified translators must capture the style of the author of the source material when expressing the message in the target language. To choose among numerous possibilities, the professional certified translator must safeguard the primary need of faithfulness to the accuracy of the message while rewriting the document for the level of education and technical expertise of the target audience.
Sad but true, oftentimes professional translation services companies have to deal with unfinished or draft source material. Unfortunately, professional certified translators are under narrow constraints regarding the liberties they may take to improve a document sent for translation. We know that a translation will only be as good as the source material. If the source material leaves much to be desired, the translation will definitely suffer.
It is important to keep in mind that while the above may true for the professional translation service company, client reviewers are not under the same constraints. Thus, it is expected that client internal reviewers will review the material for the sake of style or added clarity, aside from changes in content. It is the role of the reviewers of the professional translation service company, using their knowledge of the subject and the needs of the users of the translation, to make all appropriate changes.
It is important to take into account that, in general, a majority of the changes made by reviewers are stylistic preferences, not necessarily corrections of errors. Therefore, as the number of reviewers increases, so does the number of changes based upon personal preferences. Remember, just as “Too many cooks can spoil the broth,” too many reviewers can spoil a professional translation.
ASTA-USA Translation Services (www.asta-usa.com) and its legal division Legal Translation Solutions (www.legaltranslationsolutions.com) have worked diligently at refining the professional language translation process since 1991.
