Guide to successful translation

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http://www.tradas.com/en

http://www.linkedin.com/company/tradas

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So, what do we mean by ‘successful translation’? A translation may be words changed from one language to another, but a successful translation goes one step further. It puts the reader first. It expresses your message so clearly the reader will feel completely at home. In fact, they won’t even know they’re reading a translation. Your message and style will be as the original text, but words are changed to suit the reader’s language and cultural context. So, a successful translation will obviously be of good quality, but let’s face it – costs and timings matter too. Take a look at this seven-point guide, to help make all of your translations successful.

Introduction

Visit us at www.tradas.com ___________




‘As a customer, I share my company literature.’

#1 Background information





Having a clear picture about how your business works, will help your translation company to deliver successful translations – now and in future. For this reason, copies of any company literature will help your translation company to understand you better. This could include terminology, glossaries, style guides, product or

service documentation, sales and marketing literature and website information – in fact anything you think might be useful to help your translation company understand your company or business terminology. Your literature will be kept on file, to help ensure all of your translations are successful.






Background information has an impact on the quality and time it takes to complete a translation. If, like us, you consider that the quality of work is important, provide as much information as possible to ensure that translations are: • High quality • On time






#2 Document format

‘I send source documents which can be easily edited.’





Contrary to what you might expect, you should avoid sending PDFs for translation. They often come from scanned or converted files, and can be difficult for translators to read - this could slow projects down. They can also slow things down because your translator can’t use professional translation tools with them.

If everything has to be done manually, this could add to your project costs.

#2 Document format





If you send a PDF and want the finished translation to look just like it, your translator may need to enlist the help of a graphic designer. PDF source documents can add to project costs and timings in more ways than one. In short, it’s best to avoid sending them where possible.

#2 Document format





‘ I stay in touch throughout the project.’

#3 Staying in touch





It is essential that you work closely with your translator. This will allow them to : • Manage your expectations and

understand your constraints. • To anticipate incidents such as

delays, unforeseen events, and help prevent mistakes. After all, you don’t read a poem in the same way that you read a technical manual.

Understanding the final message, audience and context will all help your translator to ensure the quality of work.

Thanks to these criteria it’s possible to understand the project scope and identify which competences or skill sets will be needed to deliver a good translation.

#3 Staying in touch





A bad translation can harm your brand. A good translation is an investment that builds relationships with current customers and gets your message to new ones.

#3 Staying in touch





‘ I work in partnership at every stage of the project.’

#4 Working together





Working together is essential to help ensure your translation projects go well. We recommend that you use project management tools to ensure quality, to stay in contact and so you can track the project in real time. You can choose from a wide range of tools which are inexpensive, easy to use, and simple to integrate with third party systems.

We fully encourage you to use them to keep track of your projects, if you aren’t already on the case!

#4 Working together





During the project your translator will ask you to check and sign-off work to ensure you’re happy with everything. This is your guarantee of satisfaction. As well as being satisfied with the quality of work, you’ll always know exactly where you stand with your projects.

#4 Working together





‘I trust the experts to select the best resources for the job.’

#5 The right resources






You wouldn’t call a dentist to mend your car – and in the same way it’s important to choose the right translator, with the right experience, to work on your project. A good translator is more than just someone who speaks another language – it’s someone who understands the culture, can edit text well, and has a fluid writing style that makes complete sense to the audience.

A good translation is written in a way that the reader really understands. You can rest assured your translation company will always choose the person for the job. This will be someone with the right background and experience to meet your needs.





Choosing the wrong resources for a project could have negative impact on your brand, and certainly won’t be good value for money. A poor translation that doesn’t communicate your message properly can actually do more harm than good, and could undo all of your marketing efforts. In fact, if you’re translating a marketing communication, you may even end up losing sales.






‘I plan ahead where possible.’

#6 Planning ahead





With a little know-how and organisation your translation company can deliver translations at short notice. How long they’ll take depends on the type of translation and how much work there is. But a translation is all about good management of material and human resources.

The stages of a project involve a multitude of activities which take more or less time depending on the availability of resources and how well the project was prepared at the outset.

#6 Planning ahead





Sending translation work at the last minute can not only affect quality and cost, it causes unnecessary stress too. Planning ahead and entrusting your work to professional translators will guarantee the strategic role of your communication, ensure better long-term management of your multi-lingual documentation and will be better value for money. Please try to get work in early where possible.

#6 Planning ahead





#7 CATs (Computer Assisted Translation tools)

‘I create a terminology database.’





There are two types of professional translation tools. • Machine translation tools (also

known as automated translation) • Computer Assisted Translation tools Automated translation tools can’t – for the time being at least – take the place of translators. They use bilingual content generated from a statistical model which is then checked and stored in its memory.

They are useful for work with structured text, within a simple context, and for repetitive texts (for example technical manuals). CAT software produces a translation from its memory, which then has to be adapted to the context of the document. The translator then has to correct, adapt and refine the language so it sounds good to the reader. For more information on this topic consult our slide ‘CAT tools at a glance’.



http://www.slideshare.net/tradas/computer-assisted-tools-at-a-glance-31202282












Using tools to help with translations make it possible to get a ‘perfect’ translation, and reduce cost and delivery times too. Computer Assisted Translation tools can give us many benefits and the solutions vary greatly in both price and features.






Conclusion

You’ve got texts across the whole of your business, from sales presentations to technical documents. Although making mistakes is human and it’s impossible to have no errors, one thing is sure – when you do make errors in your communications they can be quite unforgiving. That’s why it’s so important that you closely follow the 7 steps outlined in this document. Don’t be fooled by how simple this document may seem. We guarantee that the good execution of this guide will help you to improve your return on investment, your credibility and your brand image.





Thank you

Visit us at www.tradas.com___________




Business

Guide to successful translation