Now, that may seem like a bizarre post title – I mean, how hard can it be…’make this text Spanish, would you?’ – but there will hopefully be things to learn for everyone in this article, be you a translation purchasing virgin, or a seasoned pro’. The aim here is to help you to help us which, in turn, will hopefully result in more satisfying project outcomes for you. Let’s begin…
Firstly, let me outline to you what we at Web-Translations consider to be quality. We understand that you only want to pay for what is of use to you, and that’s it; nothing else in our world constitutes quality.
To get there, though, there are certain steps you can take which will facilitate the process.
1) Define what quality means to you…
Set your goals – is accuracy to the original document, speed, editorial flair, or a native like translation your primary concern?
2) Provide reference materials…
Previously translated material is the best way for a translator to understand your style requirements and will save time by eliminating the need for post project amends. To maintain brand and company consistency a glossary is a must. That way, esoteric terms can only be translated in a way in which you have previously approved.
3) Provide contacts…
If you have an in-country colleague, we want to know about it. That way, any issues that come up during the project can quickly be resolved and, again, will save time by removing the need for post project edits.
4) Align your preferences with colleagues…
If you are a large company with many different people buying translation, make sure your preferences are set and made common knowledege, or inform us otherwise. Or else, we may be working on a piece with the criteria of one employee in mind, when you have quite different preferences yourself.
5) Provide good source texts…
Whether it’s a word document or an html file, it is important that you provide the best possible source materials. Poorly punctuated copy, littered with spelling and grammar mistakes gives the impression that you don’t care, and that is not the stance you want a translator to take.
If you don’t want a brand name translating, highlight it in the text and make that apparent when purchasing your translation; if you want monetary amounts leaving in the source language…you now know what to do. All these things speed up the process and make it as hassle free as possible for you.
With websites, in order to get the most localised and natural results, places, times, brand names and so on, should all be researched in your target country. If you are having your website translated into French, and have worked with clients like, say, Boots, Argos, Carrefour and Renault, the latter two of those four are obviously going to resonate more with your target audience, see?
2 September 2008 12:52