How to be an Educated Consumer of Language Services-Part Two

As it was discussed in the first part of this article, knowing how to choose the right language professional for accurate translation services can be a complex process. Therefore, to ensure your business receives translation services of the utmost quality this article contains more helpful points all language services consumers should read carefully before getting started.

5. Q. What should Language Services Consumer look for in a Language Service Provider?

Language services providers are not created equal. There are too many “shops” who are mere brokers between a consumer and language professionals, collecting their fees without any verification of translators’ credentials. Choosing your language services vendors, it would be prudent to inquire about their quality control process, qualifications and specializations of interpreters and translators, as well as what measures are taken to ensure confidentiality. Ask them to outline their project management procedures, continuing education requirements, and terms of professional liability insurance. Finally, ask to provide references. Yes, all these steps are time-consuming and cumbersome, but completing them will save you a lot of money and grief in the long run. It will also help you to secure a qualified vendor to help you with all the linguistic projects to come!

6. Q. What are the Responsibilities of a Language Services Consumer?

a. Good translation starts with a good original text! Make sure that your message is clear, your text is well written, and that is does not contain an excessive amount of culture-bound terms, idioms, metaphors, and jokes. Those are very difficult to deliver in a foreign language in a way that will make sense to people with different cultural background.

b. Allow realistic deadlines. How long did it take to create your original text or develop your materials? Translating your manuals or brochures into another language or languages may not take as long, but planning for the process with a reasonable amount of time will save money on rush charges. If you have an urgent project and are prepared to pay to have it expedite you should also prepare to be flexible, because your project manager may have to split it between several translators to meet your deadline. With the proper QC processes in place, this should not affect the end result.

c. Communicate with your language provider team members. Inform them about the purpose of your project and the intended audience. Make sure to provide them with meanings of specific industry jargon and abbreviations.

d. Be ready to answer questions and clarify ideas. An inquisitive translator, who takes time to gather in-depth information, is more likely to deliver a much better end result.

e. Remember an old expression: You usually get what you paid for. If you have invested good money into making you materials look good in English, don’t skimp out on quality when it come to translation of your materials.

As our world continues to shrink, growing your business globally may be the next step that you need to take. At that point, finding a reliable translation services provider becomes as essential as having a great insurance agency, shipping service or graphic design vendor. Today, successful business is a global business and effective communication in any language is the key.