The Definitive Guide to Buying Translation Services

1
The Definitive Guide to Buying Translation
Services

• Eliminating the communication barriers
• Table of content 01 Introduction
• 02 Terminologies used in Translation Industry
• Source and target language
• Globalization (Localizations Internationalisatio
  n)
• Interpretation
• Transcreation
• 03 Types of Translation
• Machine Translation
• Computer Aided Translation
• Human Translators
• 04 Quotes and Costing
• Word, Page Line Counts
• 05 Factors Affecting Impact Cost Subject
  Matter
• Technicalities
• Marketing material
• Cost depending on rarity of language
• Formatting
• Output

2

• File format
• Context behind translation
• Reference material
• 07 Choosing the Right Solution
• Machine Translation?
• Do-It-Yourself
• Freelance or Professional Translation Agency?
  Which one to opt for?
• Agencies have extensive range of translators
• Agencies have committed project managers
• Agencies have outstanding proofreading processes
• Should you use your Local Sales Agent?
• 08 Choosing the right partner
• How does one choose the right translation
  partner?
• Experience, the key to best outcomes
• 3 key questions to ask
• Price Vs. Quality
• Frequency of Your Needs
• Check for Accreditations and Testimonials

3
tricky. This guide will explain each segment of a
translation industry and give you a better
understanding of how to tackle it on a personal,
professional or legal level. Targeting a
different community having a different dialect is
tough, but if done correctly can be fruitful at
the same time. E-commerce is the futuristic mode
of conducting business. Supplying of products
and services to the end consumers in any part of
the world requires the adaptation of services to
the targeted regions. For that matter,
translation service providers services are
availed. But sometimes there are business
failures just because of the fact that marketing
message hasnt been conveyed across properly or
due to the lack of essence of the brand in the
translated version of the document. This guide is
so designed to help you acquaint with the
translation jargons, its types, prices, quality
and ways of saving money while getting best of
the best results. Because we believe in the first
time right we want you to get the same results
as well. By the end of this guide you will know
how exactly translation takes place, the steps
used and the process adopted along with multiple
other things. Making you achieve your business
goals! 02 Terminologies used in
Translation Industry Jargons used in translation
industry are numerous, here we will give you a
brief overview of the most widely used
terminologies only. You will come across them
every now and then. Just so you don't have that
confused look while dealing we present to you the
following.
4

• Source and target language
• Source language is the original language document
  which needs to be translated to target language.
  Say if you want to translate your document from
  English to French then English here would be your
  source language and French as the corresponding
  target language. In highly professional
  translation agencies, the target language is
  usually the native language of the translator.
  This is so as to make sure that the translator
  not only has command over the language but also
  masters in the cultural nuances. And considering
  the cultural peculiarities put the document
  through accordingly.
• Globalization
• Globalization takes place when different
  cultures, trading and money fuse together due to
  the advancement of technology. The major rise
  has been witnessed in businesses targeting
  foreign markets for increased sale.
• This is where the role of a translation agency
  comes into play. A translation agency helps in
  localizing and internationalizing the products.
• Localization
• Adapting a product to the needs of a specifically
  targeted country is known as localization. It
  involves considering all aspects pertaining to
  culture, language, dialect, and currency. The
  translation agency will help translate your
  products features and benefits to the
  prospective clients. Localizing the products have
  seen a significant hike in past few years owing
  to its ease of use and escalated sale results.

5

• Internationalization
• This step is usually done one time, which can
  later be adapted to different languages and
  cultures in localization step. It is the
  designing of core code that can be amended to
  local needs whichever you need.
• Localization coupled with internationalization
  leads to globalization.
• Interpretation
• Contrary to the translation of written words,
  interpretation is the rendering of oral spoken
  communication from one language to another.
• Transcreation
• Transcreation is usually used for translation of
  marketing material. Marketing strategy often
  uses puns and wordplay for defining the brand
  image. Transcreation aids in translating the
  document not literally but in close accordance
  with the marketing copy keeping in mind the
  context and cultural preferences, tone and style.
• This very category of translation is best handled
  by highly skilled and professional translators.
  Only can they take on this challenging task and
  put into consideration the cultural nuances and
  deliver a better translate document than a mere
  word-to-word- translation.
• .
• 03 Types of Translation
• Machine Translation
• Machine translation or MT is the automated
  process of translating word for word. MT is
  getting better and popular with time. But there
  would always be limitations to it in that it is
  devoid of the key feature of translating the
  document considering the cultural nuances

6
it gives a literal translation to be exact
lacking the essence of the main text. Machine
translation faces struggles in recognizing the
whole phrases and matching them with the closest
corresponding phrases in the target language. MT
can, however, be used for getting the exact
substitute of the word/s related to more formal
fields like that of legal but for more natural
language application and continuity it lacks
true essence. Marketing strategy especially needs
to use phrases and taglines that are catchy in
their own way. The casual colloquialisms which
bring feel and attracts the consumers are rarely
put that way by the machine translators. Computer
Aided Translation The king of translation in
which a human translator uses computer hardware
to support and facilitate the translation
process. Equipped with the database of words,
CAT offers the right translation, making the
process of translation easy for the translator.
It is more like a spell checker of MS word, which
highlights and offers the correct word or phrase
for any wrong or misspelled word. They store the
previous data of translated source text and their
corresponding target text. It is tremendously
popular among translators and every high ranking
professional translation service provider is
equipped with CAT tools. Coping with the trend
our translators are also equipped with this
advanced memory program. It is widely effective
in long-term projects lying under the same
category, where there are lots of repeated words
and segments. Its benefits can be huge but still
cannot surpass human efficiency and is
7
actually dependant on human input. An incorrectly
used word or phrase can otherwise prove to be
extra problematic. Human Translators The accuracy
and quality that human translators offer are
impossible to beat. Human translation is
considered the most labor- intensive translation
service in translation industry so they can cost
more but the value would be guaranteed in that
case. The machine translations or computer-aided
tools are just for assisting the human
translators in many folding their efficiency.
They cant stand on their own. Dont settle for
any less, when you can opt for the
best! 04 Quotes and
Costing Every translation project will cost you
some bucks. But what should be kept in mind
before handing over your project to the agency?
What pricing methods are there on the market? And
the factors that affect the cost of translation
services? To acquaint you with the frequently
used practices here is a complete guide for the
same Different translation agencies offer
different pricing methods some use rate per word
while others as the rate per page or per line.
Now that wouldnt give you a clear picture of
which one to choose and who would actually be
providing quality services. Word, Page Line
Counts It is always recommended to compare word
count. Always opt for the ones offering their
services and Costing on the basis of word count.
Lines and pages are driven by the margins, size
and style of font and line spacing. If you have
opted for word count such things song matter in
that case.
8
The output of target language can differ from
that of the source language. The translated text
of the target language can be shorter or longer
than the source file because of its structure and
characters. It is therefore advisable to
consider the output format and word count
mentioned in the quote. For instance text in
Spanish can take up considerably more space than
that of English. Though nothing can be said for
sure it is better to have a rough idea and
estimation prior to handing over your
project. . 05 Factors Affecting
Cost As much as length matters in determining the
cost of a translation document, there are
certainly other things that count too in
estimating the cost. Subject Matter Technicalities
The more technical a document is the costlier it
will be. Because it would require extra time,
attention, expertise, and understanding of the
subject matter. So if you are looking for the
handling of your technical document then you
should look into the agency's expertise in the
field of your choosing and look at their precious
records and reviews by other clients to get a
better idea. Marketing material Marketing
material needs equal attention and creativity. If
its not creatively attempted then the end
result might lack in the actual essence of the
source text. We know exactly what our clients
want that is why we handle each project with
equal care and absolute precision. We assign the
task to
9
the most relevant translator having the highest
level of expertise in his field. If you want a
technical document to be translated we
choose technical post-graduates from our experienc
ed staff.
Freelancers can rarely be entrusted with such
responsibilities. Cost depending on rarity of
language There are certain language combinations
that are infrequent. These rare languages are
difficult to tackle and have rare translators
hence are usually costly. Formatting Estimating
the word count and fixing rate is easier and
hence cheaper in word files which are editable.
On the other hand, scanned and PDF files may
have ambiguities in the word count which affects
the cost in return. We for added accuracy run the
document through the OCR tools (optical
character recognition) to get a word count and
accurate quote the very first time. Output As
has been explained earlier, the addition of more
technicalities calls for an increased price. If
your output requires the publication, website
content management or complete designing of
brochures along with translation then the
agency may cost you few extra bucks for those
additional services. Urgency The more urgent a
task is the costlier it will be. A short time
notice would require accommodating all the
services in a few hours or a few days. It is
therefore advised to plan the translation service
requirement in advance so as to minimize the
cost. We on the other hand have and will always
entertain our clients with the most
10
affordable and flexible rates meeting your budget
needs. We dont have any hidden fee and mention
the quote in a straightforward manner. The
above-mentioned factors can heavily influence the
prices of translation. If the document is
urgently required while it also has to be
technically dealt, by giving it a proper website
shape, then that will increase the cost much
more. Proofreading Proofreading plays a vital
role as it eliminates all unnecessary words and
corrects the poorly structured phrases. It has
always helped in polishing the document and
enhancing the end results. Proofreading too
requires specialist expertise to spot the details
and point out the minor or major discrepancies
which an ordinary person is unable to do so. The
cultural nuances if not corrected in the
translated document can have an impact on your
sales and growth altogether. Our proofreaders
are our translators who take on the task and
gives a smoother finer output. . 06
Quality and speed Achieving a high quality, fast
turnaround and affordable price for a
translation is possible as they are closely
interlinked. But there are a few things that do
affect the three factors individually or
collectively. File format An editable file i.e.
in the form of the Word is very convenient for
translators to use, helping them in finding the
word count easily hence reverting with a faster
quote with fair charges. It also consequently
helps in translating the document easily and
quickly.
11
So its always advisable to use proper formatting
while sending the document to the translator for
quick and affordable services. Context behind
translation Giving a context for the translation
could be of great value both to the translators
and clients. Like giving a slight description
about audiences that who must they be and who is
being targeted. One should also give the details
about the purpose of translation i.e. if its
for escalating sales or if the document needs to
be submitted for immigration purposes. Also the
final format of the document (e.g. website,
magazine, pamphlet, brochure, technical
manual). Reference material While additional
relevant information could also be of great
benefit
pertaining to that of previous translations,
glossaries etc. .. 07 Choosing the Right
Solution Machine Translation
company style guide,
As already discussed, machine translations are
free and best suited for finding a substitute of
a word or two. But! They have limitations of not
understanding the context correctly and their
accuracy is always at stake. It is not a
guaranteed way by any means. Such tools are just
for aiding people and cant stand on their own
for carrying out guaranteed accurate results.
They eventually, if used, can tarnish your image
in the business world leading to reduced sales
and decelerating pace of growth. If you still
arent convinced, try it yourself by translating
from there first and then assigning the same to
a professional translator. You will see a huge
difference. Nothing in todays life is for free
if it
12
doesnt cost you a thing here it would cost you
the huge deficit in your business. And you cant
afford any risks in todays competitive
age. Do-It-Yourself Some people rely on their own
skills or of their immediate colleagues or
friends, who are so-called fluent in the source
language and the corresponding target language.
The considerable free options kind of always
attracts but they always come with consequences.
Being fluent or bilingual cant ever be
equivalent to the techniques that a professional
translator uses. Professional translators are
equipped with the in-depth knowledge of
translation techniques, a very wide vocabulary,
research skills and experience which you or your
colleague may lack. So never attempt do-it-
yourself unless you are dead sure that you can
yield the same results as that of a professional
translator. Freelance or Professional Translation
Agency? Which one to opt for? People are usually
faced with the quizzical query of whether to
choose freelancer or translation agency to
entrust their translation with. The
proliferation of the internet has significantly
changed the dynamics of the working environment.
With everyones reach to the web world, the
possibilities of landing a job for any and
everyone is equally alike and easier than
before. With it also comes, the advantage of
working on one's own. But on the contrary,
affiliating with a company the credibility
doubles up. What should a client do in that
case? Should he opt for a freelancer or an
agency? The answer is quite obvious that is a
translation agency, not being biased but it
takes the responsibility head-on while also
offering a number of other features. Following
will brief you about the advantages a
translation agency could bless you with, unlike
the freelancers. This
13
is said with such surety because many clients
come to us after having a poor experience with
the freelancers and DIY techniques. Agencies have
extensive range of translators Agencies have
translators ranging from one and all fields. They
know better who would be suitable for your
translation knowing their expertise better. They
work closely with translators ensuring best
results. Having a number of translators also give
the upper hand of having a multitude of the
workforce. This gives the agency the ability to
beat deadlines as they can use a number of their
translators instead of just one trusted
translator who might be busy with some other
task. Agencies have committed project
managers Larger translation agencies have
dedicated p88roject managers who make sure to
communicate and simplify the process for you.
They act as mediators between clients and
agency. They also make sure to minimize the
problems if and so any arises. They get back to
clients with one simple email comprising of the
copy of document and invoice avoiding
unnecessary emails and confusing points id
contact. Agencies have outstanding proofreading
processes Proofreading helps in polishing the end
result. It aids in eliminating all mistakes big
and small. Having numerous translators,
translation agencies can hand down the
translated material to anyone of them who can
recheck the whole document for any kind of
misspells or wrongly used phrases and correct
tricky technical mistakes if there are any.
14
Should you use your Local Sales Agent? In most of
the cases, companies employ sales agent in a
certain geographic location instead of having to
bear the extra expenses of allying satellite
offices of employing staff. Such partnerships are
better strategically for growing sales but they
should not be considered for translation
purposes. Its because of the fact that they lack
experience in the translation field. They hence
lack in the communications methods thereby
devoiding the brand message of the actual
essence. They might as well be the
representatives of other brands and using them
may hegemonies your message. . 08
Choosing the right partner How does one choose
the right translation partner? By now you would
have understood how important it is for your
brand to be projected in the right manner by
dedicated and most proficient service providers.
They can be none other than the translation
agencies who take full responsibility upon
themselves to give you best experience of your
life. Since youve realized the fact you
wouldnt want the local sales agents or
freelancers to undertake your project and in
return give you a sloppy, inaccurately attempted
translation. Most of the clients that come to us
have some sour prior experience with local sales
agents, freelancers, and local in-country staff.
Where we as translation agency strive to meet
ends by beating deadlines and providing best of
the best quality services, those sales agents,
unfortunately, failed to do so. Where our staff
comprises of thousands of skilled individuals
having years of experience, then
15
how can an inexperienced freelancer match our
standards and efficiency. The global market has
flourished by leaps and bounds over the years so
in order to come at par with it businesses look
for highly competent translators. Those of them
who are expert enough in the terms you use and
the terminologies of relevant industry of the
language you are targeting also knowing about the
medium you are using for projecting your message
(e.g. website, brochure, print, electronic
etc.) What is it that you should look for while
shortlisting a translation partner? Experience,
the key to best outcomes There is no substitute
for experience. Experience can beat all the
odds. In case of translation, experience should
be considered from 3 main perspectives. Time
served the translation companys time duration
in which they have served the industry tells
about their reliability. If they have been in
the industry for more than a decade then it sure
would be providing something worth it that is
helping in moving it. Also, check statistics
about how many clients have they served so far
and how many of them returned again for availing
their services. This can reassure the fact that
it is their quality services that force a client
to come back and have their excellent services
again. Industry Experience a business thats
been established and running great must be doing
something right to have achieved such a level of
growth. But its not just what they are selling
rather it also includes a number of other
features like their marketing strategy, what
they have been translating and how accurately
well are they projecting their image. This will
help you in reassuring that they
16

• have right kind of translators who are helping
  them achieve great results. Also, make sure that
  the translation agency has specific language
  experience. This will assure you to relax as far
  as clarity of document is concerned.
• Service Experience documents that need to be
  translated fall under various categories. The
  category of a document can be legal, marketing,
  sales development with the website as a medium,
  brochure, good magazines or technical user
  manuals. The translation of every type differed
  from that of the other. While some can be casual
  toned others can be highly formal or even emotive
  depending on the type of document it is. So
  always look through such features thoroughly and
  then rest assured for better results. If you see
  the track record of a company having translated a
  user manual in Spanish for a manufacturing
  company then know that you can rely on such
  agency with your task.
• 3 key questions to ask
• How long has the agency translated for?
• Who has the agency translated for?
• What been translated for them?
• Asking these questions before giving your
  translation to some agency will give you
  countless end results and you would be confident
  enough about who is handling your translation for
  you.
• Price Vs. Quality
• Price is one factor among many in choosing a
  translation agency. The whole credit cant be
  given to just this one factor. If you entrust
  your translation to any translation service
  provider solely on the basis of price then you
  are being unjust to your business leading to
  results which you wouldnt have ever imagined.

17
The lack of quality and accuracy will cost you
further by again giving it for a refined final
look. We have dealt with such scenarios a number
of times when clients come to us with an
improperly put translated document or an
incomplete one. Some people send their documents
to different translation agencies for getting
quotes and go for the lowest per word cost. But
if this was the only way to choose then every
big industry too would have done the same. But
they dont because they know the real worth of
their product so consider all aspects while
choosing a translation agency. The real value
comes from professional translations that help in
communicating the brand in the most accurate way
possible understanding the cultural preferences.
So the only way to choose an agency is based on
the prices coupled with quality and accuracy. If
you think that quicker response/ quote from the
translation agency means efficient results then
you are wrong in thinking so. they might just be
using an automated pricing technique rather than
taking into account the actual requirement of the
translation document. We, on the other hand,
take 30 minutes in reverting back to our clients
only after carefully going through the details
and requirements minimizing any chances of
discrepancies that might arise in later
stages. Frequency of Your Needs If your project
demands continual updating and its ever ongoing,
make sure that the company you choose has the
larger workforce and staffing capabilities to
meet your needs as per requirements. Larger
translation agencies are able to accommodate
larger projects within the shortest time
possible. This will give you the satisfaction of
not having to worry about quality, delivery time
and professionalism.
18
Check for Accreditations and Testimonials In a
matter of choosing great translation agency, it
comes with tremendous benefits. They offer
testimonials in any sector. They also explain
their processes and can offer CAT tools to give
even better value for money by recurring
terminologies and phrases. Always look for ATC
and EUATC accreditation when looking for a
reliable translation agency. We are proud members
of these two accreditation companies. Theres no
magic formula of getting the right kind of
translation services, you just have to be
vigilant and adopt the above mentioned tips and
tricks for best results.