Technical translation: what does it take to select a reliable contractor

Technical translation: what does it take to select a reliable contractor

Incorrectly translated documents lead to loss of profit: your merchandise might be blocked at the customs or the engineering personnel will fail to set up the equipment correctly. To avoid this it is important to select the right translation agency.

Do not hesitate to ask your potential contractor about their way of working. We advise you to pay attention to the following aspects.

Translator qualifications

Purely linguistic education is not sufficient for a technical translator. A good translator must be an expert in the respective domain. Only then the translator is familiar with the context, technologies and production processes. If there is something this translator does not understand he will know where to look for. He can choose the most accurate terms and ensure high quality of translation.

Quality assurance

It is important that the finished translation is reviewed by a proof reader and an editor. The proof reader will take care of mistakes or typos. The editor ensures consistency of style throughout the document. This is important because high-volume documents are translated by whole team of experts. The editor ensures that the reader perceives the text as a homogeneous whole.

Sometimes it is needed to have the text reviewed by a native speaker. Make sure this native speaker has a linguistic background. An outsider cannot proofread a technical text.

Formatting the translated document

Make sure to check the format of the deliverables. If you submit a DWG drawing and get back a DOC file, you will need to spend time transferring the translated text to the right file format.

Test translation

If you have a high-volume order (over 1000 pages), ask the agency to translate one page. You will be able to evaluate if the translation quality is sufficient.

Prepayment vs payment on delivery

Big agencies confident about the quality of their translation do not work on a full prepayment basis. The works starts with a formal contract stipulating the volumes and timing of translation.

Urgency

If you have a rush order, check with the agency how they are planning their activities, how many pages they handle daily and how they deal with emergencies. Different options are possible: the agency can delivery 500 pages in one day, or it will concentrate first on the most critical parts of the document, delivering less urgent parts on a later date.

These are the key things to pay attention to. Do not hesitate to ask difficult questions and request a detailed account of the work in progress. The agency must always keep in touch. If you are interested to know how we operate, contact us office@interpreting.ru