Hi guys, do you know what to look for when choosing translation services?
Many of you may have been troubled by these questions: What to prepare for the first time? How much does the service cost? What to focus for multilingual translations?
This time we will share the 7 Tips for Getting Quality Translation Services to help you hit the nail on the head!
Tip 1: Clear instructions for regions and forms
Due to regional differences, the same language varies in form and pronunciation, particularly in Chinese.
In terms of form (writing), there are Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, which are used in different regions.
| Form | Region |
| Traditional Chinese | Taiwan (speaking Mandarin) and Hong Kong and Macau (speaking Cantonese) |
| Simplified Chinese | China, Singapore, Malaysia |
Besides form differences, there are also lexical differences.
| Source | Target |
| Video | China→視頻 Taiwan→影片 |
| Taxi | China→出租車 Taiwan→計程車 |
Additionally, although Traditional Chinese is used in both Taiwan and Hong Kong (also Macau), due to the differences between Mandarin and Cantonese, both the terms and writing styles are different.
Although China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong are the world’s three major Chinese-using regions by population, from the viewpoint of regional language variations, besides the form difference (Simplified Chinese vs. Traditional Chinese), communication errors may occur if we are unaware of the lexical differences among these three regions. As a result, even a good translation will become useless and displease the client.
So, it is necessary to give clear instructions for the region and form.
Tip 2: Machine translation
Next, you should be aware of machine translation.
Although AI-based translation machines advance rapidly and can access vocabulary beyond human imagination, AI is not that good at judging the situation, context, and implication of a message that must be decoded with the relevant knowledge, culture, region, and other references.
So, we strongly advise translating documents that may cause direct impacts to the corporate image by professional translators, even though this can be costly .
Tip 3: Right file formats for intended use
Now, let’s discuss about file formats.
While file formats can affect the time required for translating and readership , you are advised to inform the translation service provider of the intended use of the translation.
For example, MS Word and MS Excel are the most common file formats. As they are different formats, they are suitable for different uses.
Here are some examples on the right file formats for intended uses.
Survey reports
While it may not be possible to directly edit graphs or charts in the source, you are advised to provide their original files (MS Excel or MS PowerPoint) to facilitate translating.
Maps in pamphlets (brochures)
While the length of text on a map is irregular, editing is difficult, particularly after files are saved in the PDF format. In this case, we can use the textbox function in MS Word to cover original text. We can also use desktop publishing software like Adobe InDesign or document processors like Adobe FrameMaker to reduce editing time and thereby enhance work efficiency.
Besides helping translators focus more on translating, customers can help lower the unnecessary workload of translation service providers with better preparations. In terms of the service fee and delivery time, customers will be the ultimate winners.
Tip 4: Trial translation
Translation quality check is key to find the best translation service provider. After receiving a trial translation, you can verify the following:
- Do native speakers understand or find it hard to read the translation?
- Are special terms (jargons) correctly and accurately translated?
- Is the connotation of the source text maintained in the translation?
Translation service providers that offer free translation a few hundred words will be a better choice. If no free trial translation service is offered, you should ask for a sample of the related translations. For translation service providers that refuse to provide samples, we advise you to think twice.
At PTSGI, we offer a trial translation service within 300 words. If you want our service, please feel free to try our free trial service.
Tip 5: Fee calculation
Now, it comes to fee calculation. Factors affecting the translation service fee may include:
- Total wordcount.
- Areas of specialization.
- Service contents (with or without layout, image editing, and others)
- Language pair
For some special areas, such as legal or technical documents, the translation service fee can be doubled. So, you are advised to get a quotation from translation service providers in advance.
Tip 6: Terminology or glossary
It is always important to prepare the terminology or glossary. Microsoft’s Language Portal (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/language) is an easy-to-understand example.
With the terminology or glossary, customers can maintain style and vocabulary uniformity. By storing the relevant data in the server, employees from different departments can update the contents anytime.
Tip 7: Review and communication of service contents
This last tip is crucial. When asking for a quotation, please make sure to inform the 5W1H below:
| What | The contents and the message required for communication in the source text. |
| Why | The purpose of translation. |
| Where | The location of readers and intended use. |
| When | The translation schedule (delivery time) |
| Who | The projected readership or number of readers. |
| How much | The translation budget. |
Important 5W1H in assigning translation services
There are always other situations. If you want the translation service from specialists in the designated area, and their schedule is already full, you are advised to confirm the arrangement of translators, service schedule, and delivery time.
What do you feel about this article?
We hope that these 7 Tips for Gettering Quality Translation can give you a guide for choosing translation service providers.
As Asia’s largest translation service provider that offers multilingual translation services, PTSGI is headquartered in Taiwan with a history of over 55 years. We offer professional translation services to Taiwan’s leading enterprises, such as TSMC and Toyota, as well as various listed companies and enterprises.
We offer translation services for over 140 languages, including multilingual translation services. In terms of quality, besides passing the certification of ISO17100 (translation) and ISO9001 (quality management), we have also established the TDQCMP® standard operating procedure to ensure the best-quality service and translation for customers.
Like what has been mentioned in this article, language variations play an essential part in translation, particularly in Chinese. With over 10,000 from different parts of the world, we provide the right style of Chinese for use in Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong. We also offer language localization services for different countries.
If best-quality service and translation are required, don’t hesitate to ask for a quotation from our corporate website. Additionally, you can enjoy a free trial translation service of up to 300 words (source language) that can help you ease all doubts about translation quality. Welcome to try our trial translation service.
