When should you start taking steps to change your professional language translator?
For translation services, it is possible to employ a professional language translator as part of your team. The individual will work in your organization and translate solely for your organization. The advantage of this is that the translator will become very knowledgeable about your organization and know how best to translate the documents. It is a big advantage if you have an in-house translator as they will have good knowledge about specific departments, teams and projects.
A disadvantage to employing a professional language translator in your company could be large extra expenses. You will have to be paying the employee a full-time salary. The need to train the staff and buy tools for translation will also arise. This will lead to increased cost when you have to translate documents to many languages. This is due to the fact that you will need more resources and staff to achieve this.
What you need to look for in a professional language translator
Experience in Languages
It is vital to consider the languages the translator knows before hiring him. He should be very fluent in the 2 languages – the language you want to translate from as well as the language you want to translate too. In most cases, they must be native speakers of one of the languages, preferably the language you want to translate to. When you want to hire a translation agency to translate for you, you will need to check how proficient their translators are in both languages.
If you want to translate to more than one language, it will be easier to hire a company that can translate to all the languages you require. This will lead to better consistency and an easier process. Make sure their translations are proficient in every language you intend to hire them for.
Do professional translators use Google Translate?
Professional translators use Google Translate from time to time. They get phrases and words translated from machines. However, they refine the results before adding them to a project. Professional translators can know instantly when Google Translate displays an inaccurate translation. This is why tools like Google Translate should only be used by experts in a professional setting.
Which is the best language translator?
The best language translator today is Google Translate. It offers multiple services from document translation to image and voice support. It is very useful in everyday conversations. However, it cannot replace the human experts because it does not understand the cultural aspects that affect languages. Only human experts should be contacted when you need an official translation.
What is a professional translator?
A professional translator is someone who has the necessary qualification and experience. They also have specialist knowledge of one field. For instance, a professional legal translator will have a law related degree. A professional translator is the only one who can provide you with an accurate translation of an official document.
How much does a professional translator make?
The amount of money a professional translator makes varies from one country to the next. In the US, the average amount a translator makes per hour is somewhere between $35 to $60. But since professional translators are more qualified and have plenty of experience, they can make up to $80 per hour.
Expert in Industry
Another major factor to consider when hiring a professional language translator is to hire a linguist that has being around in the industry for some time. Knowing how to speak both languages fluently does not automatically imply knowledge of the industry’s technical terminology. Every industry, either science, financial or legal, has its own jargon and terminology set.
Choose a company for translation that can translate in line with the specific needs of your industry. Companies that offer translation services should have specialists in and have the equipment for dealing with various industries.
If your industry is not one of the core niches of the translation company you wanted to hire, then it might be best to look for another translation company. The company that will serve you the best is the one that has translated for your industry in the past and has probably worked on a similar document that you want to translate. They will be able to properly translate the jargon and terminologies of your industry.
A translation company that has experience in your industry will also know the different tones for different document types. Should the tone be casual or formal? Who are you addressing to document to? A competent, industry-experienced translator will know who is getting the document and how best to address the person. With this, you will be able to get a better translation.
Availability
Time is an important factor for translation. How much time do you expect your documents to spend with translators, before you get it back? There are instances where urgent issues could come up and you will want your job done within a short time. You will need a company you can depend on to always meet your deadline when it comes to translating your document.
You might, therefore, want to hire a company for translation that is available at any time of the day and every day of the week. When you employ a professional language translator he can’t be available at any time of the day as he will have working time. You will therefore have to task them during their working hours alone and even when you can make them work overtime, they will need to rest. An urgent need could come up when they are on vacation or busy with a different project.
Translation companies on the other hand usually have high availability as they have more translators, no matter the field. They would be able to assign medical, technical or legal translators to your project, depending on your needs. They know urgent translations sometimes come up and could have translators on shift, sometimes in other countries. You should be aware of the availability and working hours of a translation company before hiring them. How many translators do they have, how soon do they deliver projects normally and how soon can they deliver urgent documents. When you know this, you will be able to hire a professional language translator, based on the information at your disposal.
Low Translation Quality
You must have heard the phrase “the customer is always right” a thousand times, and if you are working as a translator, then you should know that this phrase applies to the translation industry too. Nobody wants to have angry clients, but sometimes it is the process that allows you to grow professionally. Sometimes listening to an upset client helps you learn to understand different perspectives. If your client is complaining about low translation quality then maybe what they mean is that the translation is not how they want them to be.
Good quality work is of no use if it is not the work that was required in the first place. A low translation quality complaint does not always mean that your translation was not good, it could mean that you didn’t approach the task with your client’s requirements in mind. So by listening to your client, you can understand the problem and fix it instead of worrying about your work’s quality.
Digitally Aware
Even though you won’t consider it essential but being informed about all the digital trends really enable your professional language translator to serve your needs better. Whether you need a business post, a birth certificate translation or a website localization, if your translator doesn’t have any idea of how trends change in the digital world and what impact they could have on your translation, all you will get a text, only that the language will be different. However, this is not what you need.
For instance, if you want to localize your app or website, the language knowledge isn’t enough, having the idea of how websites are operating in that certain region and how the terminologies work there, will definitely be of huge assistance. So always insist on a translator who’s fresh and likes to stay updated with every digital trend. Because old-fashioned translations are not enough for today’s world.
