How to select a translator or translation agency
This is a question I have been asked many times so here goes.
Assuming you accept the need for professional translation rather than using machine translation (which I hope you do!) for your external communications, then here are some things to look for when selecting an agency.
- Mother tongue. It should only be translated by a person whose mother tongue is the target language. In other words, if you want to translate something from English into Turkish, it should be translated by a person whose mother tongue is Turkish and who understands English. Preferably that person lives in the country concerned too or has a close connection with that country.
- Subject knowledge. The translator should have a good knowledge of the subject too, and in highly technical subjects for example the law, or aerospace engineering, should have training or experience in the subject area.
- Training and experience. Some of the best agencies take lingusitcs graduates and train them in translation techniques. Some are trained in project management too so that they can manage large projects and make sure that deadlines and quality standards are met. The best translators are not necessarily formally trained but are very experienced in their subject areas.
- Checking. When the translation has been done it needs to be proofread by another translator to check that the right meaning has been conveyed. Alternatively it could be proofread by someone in your company or by a business partner in the country concerned.
- Many translation agencies now use computer aided translation software (CAT software). The idea is to make it easier for the translator and to provide consistency between translations. The software searches its database to look for similar sentences from past translations so that the translator can use them if appropriate. The software is not machine translation; a translator is still needed. The benefit of CAT software is that lots of time and therefore cost can be saved.
- Glossary. If you are translating things for the first time into a new language it can be helpful to produce a glossary of industry terms. You can start this process internally by compiling a list of English terms you use in your literature which are specific to your industry or products. You could take it a stage further by asking someone in the country concerned (an employee or a distributor who knows your business) to give you the translation of each one. You then give this to the translation agency to use.
- Prices. As quality is so important it may not be such a good idea to go for the cheapest quote unless they have a good quality record and references. To give you an indication of prices, UK translation agencies charge around £120 per 1000 words for to/from Western European languages, a little more for Eastern European languages, and around £150 per 1000 words for Middle Eastern and Asian languages.
It’s always great to read blogs about the importance of selecting the right translation provider for your needs and you have included some really important things to look for. We’d like to suggest one more thing – it’s also useful to look for translation companies which are certified to ISO 9001 and/or the European standard for translation services, EN 15038. Of course, it’s not a guarantee, but it should also help purchasers get a good service. Here at Robertson Languages International we offer many language services which can support your export drive. If you are interested – give us a call on +44 (0)118 934 6000 or visit http://www.robertsonlanguages.co.uk
I suggest that for mother tougue: it is easier to do this in European countries. But for Chinese and English translators, they always have to do translation both ways as Chinese is not as popular as English or Spanish or French. A native speaker as editor is always a recommendation, though.
The extent of “native” also depends on the experience abroad. For example, if a person lives in another country for, like 20 or more years and uses his/her second language during this period of time, I think we can regard this kind of people like native speaker for his/her second language. However, as he/ she has been away from his/ her mother tougue, he/ she may not be so familiar with the recent development of his/ her own language, which is the so-called “language devolution”.
So the boundary of native or not is not that objective. So I don’t think it should be the first standard when considering agency. I think other ways of measuring the language level can be found, instead of simply “native or not”.