Translation Services

Why would a business hire an Interpretation or Translation service?
If your company is involved in international business and needs to communicate with clients in foreign countries, sooner or later you will need a good Translation or Interpretation service. Interpretation Services are for live speech translations.

Translation Services translate business materials, technical manuals, contracts, patents, marketing collateral, business cards and other documents. Translation Services also provide more complex services such as multilingual web site development and software localization.

It is important to pick the right Translation and Interpretation Service provider or you risk poor communication with your partners and customers. A quality translation or interpretation is accurate, smoothly, and uses correct industry-specific terminology. It is meaning-based and clearly conveys the core message to the target audience. You do not want a translator that merely picks one sentence at a time, translates it and glues them all together. Such translations will look like those done by web based translation software.

What are the different kinds of Interpretation Services?

Interpretation Services are offered in four categories.

Simultaneous Interpretation: As the name suggests, Simultaneous Interpretation Service translates the conversation in real time. This enables free and easy communication of ideas as if both parties were speaking in the same language. The interpreter is seated in a sound proof area away from the speaker.  She listens to the conversation and translates with a delay of a few words or sentences. Simultaneous Interpretation is a demanding job. Such interpreters do not work more than an hour at a stretch and need frequent replacements. Simultaneous Interpreters are usually the most expensive to hire and are most suited for conferences or seminars.

Consecutive Interpretation: Consecutive Interpretation is a slower but more cost effective service than Simultaneous Interpretation. Consecutive interpreters listen to the entire original phrase or passage before interpreting it. Unlike simultaneous interpretation, original speaker stays quite while the consecutive interpreter speaks. This kind of interpretation is most suitable for business meetings or presentations and can be used by parties sitting in the same room or conversing on the telephone. The consecutive interpreter is physically present in the meeting room or dials in with the meeting parties to render the service.

Escorted Interpretation: Rather than hire an interpreter for a one off meeting, Escorted Interpreters are hired to travel with the business or diplomatic travellers and are available for the entire trip.  This too is a rather expensive service.

Facilitated Interpretation: Facilitated Interpreters do not interpret all proceeds of the meeting but are employed to meet and greet the guests in their native language to make them comfortable and to clear up any misunderstanding as they arise.

How do I hire an Interpretation Service?

There are several things to keep in mind while selecting an interpreter:

• Interpreting is not just a linguistic skill. Interpreter must have technical expertise in your area and be sensitive to cultural nuances.
• It is especially important to carefully evaluate language and technical expertise if you are hiring a simultaneous interpreter since there is no room for revisions.
• It is important to find an interpreter who has experience in your industry so that she understands the technical jargon.
• Interpreter should be able to record the meeting to transcribe and circulate the minutes.
• Remember to ask for references.

How much does it cost to hire an Interpretation Service?

Cost varies by the type of interpretation service and the required level of service. Compare price quotes from multiple translation companies before you make a decision.

How to hire a Translation Service?

Translation services are offered by free lancers as well as translation service companies.  Translation service companies are generally more expensive than free lancer translators. It makes sense to hire a translation company if you want to translate into multiple languages.  It will ensure consistent messaging across languages and cultures.

Before you hire a Translation Service, ask for the resume of their translators, references, and a test translation. It is important for the translator to have proven experience in your industry. Also look for memberships of well know translation associations.

It is usually better to hire translators that are native speakers of the target language. Translators should also preferably reside in their home country.  Translators living abroad are not able to keep up with the dynamic changes of their native language and slowly lose their linguistic skills. Translators living in the target language country also have better access to local specialists, terminologists and reference materials. They are in a better position to create smooth style and to use up to date vocabulary. Also remember that good translators translate only into their target language.  True bilingual translators are few.

Working with a translator.
Close cooperation with the Translation Services will help improve quality and keep the costs low.  You can help the translator by carefully reviewing the documents and rewording any jargon and removing expressions native to your culture.  For example an expression like “the whole nine yards” does not mean anything to a foreign reader and makes it harder to translate.

Ideally you should have a second person who is fluent in the target language to serve as an editor - to review and proofread the document and ensure translation accuracy.  You can also find a reverse translator to translate back into original language and compare with the original document.

How much does it cost to hire a translator?
Pricing translations can be tricky.  It depends on target language, type of subject, length of document, turnaround time, and quality. Any graphic redesign or desktop publishing costs extra. Typical translation charges are based on number of words in a document and vary by location and quality of service. Some services bill by an hourly rate.

Translation services can also help you translate websites and redesign them but the costs are higher than what you pay for translating documents. Professional translators use special software called “translation memory”. It enables them to efficiently translate a repetitive sentence or phrase. The software compares each sentence with the database and automatically finds translations made previously. If you are getting a series of documents translated (for example user manuals) ask the translator to determine exact and fuzzy matches and give you appropriate discount. You will significantly reduce your translation expenses.