| Best Practices Guide |
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Real, Expert Advice on Best Practices for Language Translation
In-House employee translators - Are they the right choice for your firm?
Translation Services Best Practices
Before you decide to use in-house employees to translate your material, it is critical that you have
a system in place to evaluate the written language skill level of your prospective in-house
translators in order to ensure the quality of your translation and the value of their translations to
your organization. A well translated document conveys your information in a professional,
accurate and idiomatically correct fashion – in short, no one will realize it is a translation. A
poorly translated document creates a negative impression of your organization and is a liability
rather than an asset.
Your firm might have a large pool of employees that speak another language, but how do you
evaluate their ability to accurately translate your materials in a timely fashion? Start by getting a
sample translation from your prospective in-house translator that can be peer reviewed within your
company. The sample text should be comparable in word count, format and context to the
material you need translated.
Here are 6 steps that can help you determine the quality and value of the translation your
employees produce:
Step 1. If your document is technical in nature be sure to select a translator who has an
educational background related to the subject matter or enough familiarity with the subject to
ensure his or her knowledge of the terms and concepts found in your document.
A translator is a multilingual word smith. Seemingly simply documents such as employee
newsletters will often require familiarity with human resource related terminology in source and
target languages, as well as excellent writing skills in order to accurately and professionally
translate your human resource and employee benefit related terms.
Step 2. Ask your translator to translate a sample document for you that is similar in length and
content to the types of materials you need translated.
Step 3. Once your prospective translator has completed the sample, ask a peer with at least
comparable written language skills to review the translation. The reviewer should note any
changes to the translation using a systematic format, e.g. utilizing the track change function in
Microsoft Word making note of grammatical, spelling and inaccurate content errors, so that they
can be reviewed with the translator. Be sure your translator and peer reviewer uses spell check
software in the target language(s).
Step 4. Review the changes to the translation with the translator and the peer reviewer. The
end product should be a grammatically and stylistically correct translation of your material. If your
translation project is on-going, ask your translator and peer reviewer to create and maintain a
glossary of terms for future reference.
Step 5. Ask a third party to read the text and offer its comments regarding the readability of
the text. If the translation is successful your second reviewer won’t notice that it is a translation.
Step 6. Keep track of how long it takes both the translator and the peer reviewers to complete
the project. Don’t forget to include the time it takes you to manage the project into your
calculations.
Consider the amount of time required to complete a project when calculating the cost of producing
your translations in-house vs. outsourcing the work to an agency. On average, a professional
translator can translate somewhere between 4,000 to 6,000 words per day. A professional
translator who is proofing a project can edit and proofread between 6,000 and 10,000 words per
day, depending on the complexity of the text and the quality of the translation.
If the in-house team you’ve put together passes the test you are ready to proceed! If not, you may
need to consider other options such as using a professional translation service.
In the Next Issue –
How do you choose the right translation services provider for your project? Are there differences
between translators and translation companies? Language translation isn’t a one size fits all
proposition.
Translation Services Best Practices©
By Robert Burgess
Director, Client Services
(415) 651-4554
best translation services, llc©
Download a copy of this article in PDF format
www.Best-Translation.com
All rights reserved 2008. best translation services, llc™
In-House employee translators - Are they the right choice for your firm?
Translation Services Best Practices
Before you decide to use in-house employees to translate your material, it is critical that you have
a system in place to evaluate the written language skill level of your prospective in-house
translators in order to ensure the quality of your translation and the value of their translations to
your organization. A well translated document conveys your information in a professional,
accurate and idiomatically correct fashion – in short, no one will realize it is a translation. A
poorly translated document creates a negative impression of your organization and is a liability
rather than an asset.
Your firm might have a large pool of employees that speak another language, but how do you
evaluate their ability to accurately translate your materials in a timely fashion? Start by getting a
sample translation from your prospective in-house translator that can be peer reviewed within your
company. The sample text should be comparable in word count, format and context to the
material you need translated.
Here are 6 steps that can help you determine the quality and value of the translation your
employees produce:
Step 1. If your document is technical in nature be sure to select a translator who has an
educational background related to the subject matter or enough familiarity with the subject to
ensure his or her knowledge of the terms and concepts found in your document.
A translator is a multilingual word smith. Seemingly simply documents such as employee
newsletters will often require familiarity with human resource related terminology in source and
target languages, as well as excellent writing skills in order to accurately and professionally
translate your human resource and employee benefit related terms.
Step 2. Ask your translator to translate a sample document for you that is similar in length and
content to the types of materials you need translated.
Step 3. Once your prospective translator has completed the sample, ask a peer with at least
comparable written language skills to review the translation. The reviewer should note any
changes to the translation using a systematic format, e.g. utilizing the track change function in
Microsoft Word making note of grammatical, spelling and inaccurate content errors, so that they
can be reviewed with the translator. Be sure your translator and peer reviewer uses spell check
software in the target language(s).
Step 4. Review the changes to the translation with the translator and the peer reviewer. The
end product should be a grammatically and stylistically correct translation of your material. If your
translation project is on-going, ask your translator and peer reviewer to create and maintain a
glossary of terms for future reference.
Step 5. Ask a third party to read the text and offer its comments regarding the readability of
the text. If the translation is successful your second reviewer won’t notice that it is a translation.
Step 6. Keep track of how long it takes both the translator and the peer reviewers to complete
the project. Don’t forget to include the time it takes you to manage the project into your
calculations.
Consider the amount of time required to complete a project when calculating the cost of producing
your translations in-house vs. outsourcing the work to an agency. On average, a professional
translator can translate somewhere between 4,000 to 6,000 words per day. A professional
translator who is proofing a project can edit and proofread between 6,000 and 10,000 words per
day, depending on the complexity of the text and the quality of the translation.
If the in-house team you’ve put together passes the test you are ready to proceed! If not, you may
need to consider other options such as using a professional translation service.
In the Next Issue –
How do you choose the right translation services provider for your project? Are there differences
between translators and translation companies? Language translation isn’t a one size fits all
proposition.
Translation Services Best Practices©
By Robert Burgess
Director, Client Services
(415) 651-4554
best translation services, llc©
Download a copy of this article in PDF format
www.Best-Translation.com
All rights reserved 2008. best translation services, llc™
| In this issue – In-House employee translators - Are they the right choice for your firm? Six steps you can take to determine if your team has what it takes to translate your firms documents in-house. |
| If you have ever needed language translation services, you already know that getting your materials translated into another language can be an expensive and time consuming process, with sometimes disappointing results. This blog offers you advice on the best practices for language translation that you will be able to use whenever you need translation. |
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