Advice on choosing a Translation
Service Provider
Here are a few points to bear in mind
when selecting a Translation Service Provider:
- Professional translators work
into their native language. This means that
if you contract an English-to-Spanish translation
then it should be translated by a native Spanish
speaker. Ignoring this basic rule is likely to lead
to disappointment.
- Ask for credentials. These
can come in a variety of forms. Both companies and
freelancers providing translation services may hold
certification or belong to professional bodies,
and individual translators may also hold specific
translation qualifications. It may also be possible
to ask the Translation Service Provider for references
from clients working in your sector.
- Who will be doing the translation?
What are their qualifications and fields of expertise?
Can you speak to the translator directly? Working
through a Project Manager or Co-ordinator is all
very well, especially if the project involves several
language combinations, but who will actually be
doing the work? Is the translator in-house, or will
the work be outsourced to a freelancer? Does the
Project Manager have the language and subject expertise
needed to manage the translation job adequately
and provide the standard of translation quality
that your organisation requires?
- How big is the Translation Service
Provider? How many staff are there in the office?
Are any of them native speakers in the language
combination that you require? The vast majority
of Translation Service Providers are small and medium-sized
enterprises. Given that they only employ a few staff,
how many language combinations can they realistically
provide to the standard of translation quality that
your organisation requires?
- Address, telephone numbers,
contact details. These common sense criteria
are equally applicable when selecting a reliable
provider of any product or service. Does the Translation
Service Provider include its address on its website
and marketing material? Does it include telephone
and fax numbers, or is there only a mobile telephone
number, or just an e-mail address? Do you know who
you need to speak to?
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Which Translation Service
Provider model best suits my needs?
Translation service providers
can be categorised under three broad models:
- In-house model - majority
of translation work performed by translators working
in-house.
- Agency model - most or all
translation work is outsourced to freelance translators.
- Freelance model - individual
translators, usually working from home.
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