When taking your first steps towards procuring translations, you may have all sorts of questions going through your head, and you may feel quite daunted at first. Some of these questions can range from how will you be able to tell if the translation you receive is fit for purpose and if you can just use google translate, to the most pressing question: what happens if something goes wrong?
We have compiled a list of answers to some of the most important questions we receive from our enquirers. We hope this will shed some light on the translation process and how it can benefit your business.
#1 – Why don’t I just use Google Translate?
Google Translate is a great tool for understanding the gist of a piece of text in a foreign language, however the tools have not been developed well enough to be able to put across text in a foreign language in a way that sounds convincing or fluent to the reader. It also struggles with context: for instance in Turkish, the word “seal” can be translated as “conta” or “mühür” depending on whether it’s in a technical or legal context. Mistranslations in technical manuals or medical texts for instance could have life and death implications. A quality translation from a highly qualified, human translator will communicate your message accurately, and will also have the same style and tone with which you have communicated your original message in English.
#2 – How many staff do you have in your office if you translate over 100 languages?
We have a highly experienced pool of over 500 translators based all over the world, who we vet carefully and submit random checks to every year. All our translators live in the country of the language they translate into, and only translate into their native tongue. We only work with translators who have mastery in their native tongue. In the office we speak English and also have three fluent speakers of Turkish.
#3 – How can I be assured that the team I’m working with is easy to collaborate with?
Our Project Management team are all PRINCE2 qualified and have NVQs in customer care. They have been working together as a team for over 12 years, and there is no situation they have not seen or problem they have not overcome! They are all very friendly and personable, and easy to work with.
#4 – How do I know the translation is fit for purpose?
You can be assured that the translations we provide are of the highest quality and are fit for purpose. Our company has been delivering top quality translation work to UK and international customers for over 24 years. We are an award winning company, accredited by Association of Translation Companies (ATC) and Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) and are also registered for BS EN 15038 European Translation Quality Standard. The Quality Standard defines stringent procedures for quality control and selection and vetting of translation teams. Your work is in safe hands with TTC wetranslate
#5 – Am I covered if something goes wrong?
You can be assured that as well as working with our experienced Project Management and translation teams, our customers enjoy the security of being covered by our £1 Million indemnity insurance policy. Customer satisfaction is our top priority and no work is complete until you’re happy with the result. Your work is in safe hands with TTC.
#6 – What does a Translation Memory do?
The purpose of Translation Memories (TM) is to help our human translators translate your work as consistently, efficiently, and cost-effectively as possible. TMs work by storing translated text and then reusing it if the same or similar text appears again in another document. This is particularly useful if you have translated a technical manual, and then publish a new manual for a similar product. You can then leverage the previous translation, and ensure that the same text is not translated twice and the same terminology is used in both manuals. All good translation companies offer TM discounts for repeated text.
#7 – I have complicated AutoCAD drawings, how could you possibly translate those?
Our team of PRINCE2 Qualified Project Managers and highly qualified translators have experience with all sorts of specialised files types, including AutoCAD drawings. We have developed a tried and tested methodology, where we extract the text from the drawing files, translate the text using our Translation Memory tools, and our DTP teams then place them back into the AutoCAD drawing files. Each stage of the process involves stringent quality control measures.
#8 – How will translations help me grow my business?
We could speak for days about the benefits that translations can offer businesses from all industries. The most important benefit I can fit in with my character limit, is that it opens up your business to entire markets that you couldn’t otherwise sell in. People abroad are much more likely to buy your product if the marketing material and instructions for use are in their own language. You will not have to rely on just your domestic market, and can make your company Brexit proof by using translation services to sell to new markets. In the current climate, we would suggest starting by developing a strategy to sell to the emerging markets in the BRIC countries.
#9 – I need a quick quotation, can I phone you?
Customers who are pressed for time get their quotations using our online automatic quote form at www.ttcwetranslate.com. All you need to do is drag and drop your file, tell us which language you need it to be translated into, and we’ll give you an instant price there and then. If you are happy with the price and time frame, you can place your project at the click of a button and your translator will get to work straight away. We are also always happy to discuss quotations over the phone with customers.
Any time you have any questions, please feel free to contact us on +44 (0)1245 216930 or email us at info@ttcwetranslate.com
