Choosing your Language Translation Service Provider

When searching for a company to handle one or many language translation needs, here are some suggestions to ensure your translation is right the first time:

• Make sure the translation service provider asks you, in detail, about your translation needs. What is the subject matter? Who is the target audience? How many words does the document contain?
• Do they ask you to describe the original document? Is it available in an electronic format? Is it industry specific? Does it require desktop publishing or certification?
• Determine ahead of time which portions of the document may not require translation. Often times, logos, graphics and slogans do not need to be translated.
• Advise the translation service provider on how fast the project must be completed. Don’t expect lengthy documents to be returned quickly. Competent firms assign one language translator to translate the original document and a different equally qualified translator to edit and proofread the translation. This significantly decreases the chance for error.
• Use a translation service provider that uses professions who translate into their native language. Translators translate into, not out of, their native languages, and most translators only have one native language. Most translators do not have the education and experience to translate technical, legal or medical documents into more than one language.
• Avoid companies that provide translations using machine translations. The accuracy of machine translation (translation performed 100% by computer) is at least 10 years away from being acceptable. If you do choose machine translation, editing and proofreading must still be done by human translators. At this point, machine translation is still not capable of discerning the many nuances of language. And note, documents that are not in electronic format cannot be easily translated by machine.
• Understand that there are variations of many languages. A request for a Spanish translation for an audience in Spain will be different than one for a Hispanic audience in Mexico or Latin America.
• Provide contact names and telephone numbers of those who can assist with questions about the assignment.
• Find a translation service provider who is ready, willing and able to work with you, your deadlines and your budget.

Foreign Translations, Inc. is a 11 year old foreign language translation, interpreting and website localization firm headquartered in Greenville, SC. With more than 1,000 native translators located in over 30 countries, we translate documents ranging from 1,000 words to over several million words in all the major languages of the world.

Some of our corporate clients include Computer Associates, Procter & Gamble, Michelin North America, Fuji, and many more. For a full list of clients, please visit our Language Translation Clients page.
In addition, we hold a General Services Administration Contract ("GSA") with the Federal Government for Government Translations. 
 

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