Have you been tasked with buying translations for your organisation? Have you Googled ‘translation’ and been presented with 165 million entries? What do you do next? Procuring translation needn’t be a minefield. Geoffrey Bowden, General Secretary of the Association of Translation Companies gives a point by point guide

For most people buying in translation services is very difficult and a source of frustration, as the quality of a translation can only be assessed after the service has been provided.

Buying translations doesn’t have to be a minefield, as long as you try and follow these simple guides. Above all, do not be nervous to ask the relevant questions and, only when you are satisfied with the answers, place the order.

Here’s my simple ten-step guide that can be used by a newby, or a checklist for the more experienced purchaser of language services.

1. Decide if the document is ‘for information’ which can in general be produced more quickly and cheaply than ‘for publication’ work. Please note that if you aim to sell your products or services overseas you will need to communicate
with your potential buyers in a language and style they will understand. If the document is legal, highly technical or medical this also needs to be considered.

2. Decide what the translation is for. For example, a speech, a website, a sales brochure and so on. It is also important to determine the type of person who will read it. This information will ensure that the translation is prepared for the correct audience. Your translation company partner will ask for this information so make sure you know.

3. Decide where the translation will be used. In just the same way as British English is different from that in the USA, other languages are spoken in more than one place and have developed differently. Make sure you let your provider know where the translation will be used.

4. Ensure that your text is well structured and grammatically correct in your own language. If you send a poor quality document then you may get back a translation which is less than excellent, although most translation companies do try and work out what the author intended to say.

5. Finalise your document before requesting the translation to go ahead, if a translator is working on a draft document it will almost always be more time-consuming (and therefore more expensive) than waiting for the final text. There is also the possibility that with a few different versions the final version may not be quite correct.

6. If possible provide the text in a simple Word format as this will help to keep down costs.

7. Decide on a realistic deadline - a translator translates approximately 2,000 words a day and a reviser about 8,000 words a day).

8. Decide on which translation provider to use. Bear in mind that translation is not a commodity and there are many things to consider before making your selection.

9. Agree timelines, costs, type of translation with the translation company.

10. Provide the required information and assistance – giving the translation company as much background information as possible. This is always useful, often essential, and could include related drawings, previous translations, terminology glossaries, other published information about the product. A contact person who can answer any questions that may arise should also be included.

Further information
Tel: 01273 676777
www.atc.org.uk