Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve compiled the most common questions we get asked about our services and answered them below
RATES Our main goal is to create a long term, productive and satisfying relationship with you by simply not compromising quality. If you are not completely satisfied with a completed translation, we will fix it, free of charge, until it meets your full satisfaction. When creating your quote, we take a few factors into consideration, such as the nature of the original text, especially its technical complexity, format, length and the urgency of completion. We'll also need to take into account the necessary time and budgeting for management, coordination, proofing/editing, and quality control, so this may add additional time. In order to be able to provide you with a quote, ideally we would like to receive your document in an editable format, such as Word, PowerPoint, etc., along with your intended due date. Alternatively, you can send a note about the nature and the subject matter of your translation project, specifying the total number of words, and I will give you a rough estimate to be confirmed upon seeing the documents. If you wish to receive a quote for your project or have questions of any kind, please send us an email with the files to translate, your comments and any other relevant information to help us create a quote for you.
TIME Typically we can translate between 1,200 to 1,400 new words per business day, + a day or two for editing, project management and proofreading. Translation can be faster or slower than this, as it depends on our current workload and your timeline, but this is a general guide for planning.
HOW IT WORKS First Contact: As soon as you reach out to us, we are dedicated to your project. Our Project Manager will work with you to determine time considerations and the best pricing strategy to save you money. Once the details are set, the translation will begin. If there are any questions or concerns along the way, your dedicated Project Manager will reach out to you. As well if we find any spelling mistakes, grammar concerns or formatting issues in the source document, we will let you know. We want you to put your best foot forward in all languages. Translation: Now comes the fun part. With your project in hand we start the translation, word by word, sentence by sentence. Along the way we do a thorough consistency check to see if we have done the same text or similar text for you in the past. This is important, as we want the terminology to be the same for accuracy and ensure a clear brand image. We sometimes also need to do some research as to the meaning behind the text. For example, “Please select printer”, does that mean select a printer in the office to print a document or select a printer company to do the required work for you? Even with only 3 words, we need to do our research work to ensure the translation is correct.Once the translation is done, it is off to be edited. Proofreading and Spellcheck At this stage, the completed translation is proofread. It may only be a few words but we need to check it has been translated correctly, spellchecked and reads correctly before you publish it. Also to ensure all the punctuation and formats are correct and appropriate for your target language. Formatting In most cases, the target language will have more words, especially in French. One sentence can contain up to 30% more characters necessary to say the same thing. If this is the case, we will need to reformat some of the text to ensure it fits in the allotted space. Or in more dramatic cases, retranslate it to condense the words. This takes time and we want to make sure it does not change the meaning or the impact of your words. Ongoing Support from your Project Manager From the time the request comes into our office to the time the finished project leaves, you can be rest assured we are looking after it. This means we are dedicated to ensuring it goes through every step in a timely and efficient manner so it can be returned to you in the fastest turnaround time possible. If you have any questions along the way we will be there to answer them.
WHY DOES CHEAP TRANSLATION COST MORE Typically, a cheap translation is achieved by a combination of different methods. •Some agencies send files to the cheapest translators to do. •Some companies use machine translation to deliver the cheapest translations. •Some use free machine translation and then get it edited by cheap inexperienced translators. Why is this more expensive? Often you have to rework your documentation or website to fix errors. We find it’s easier and better to retranslate from scratch than fix a bad translation. It is also usually faster and more accurate. Rework is expensive as you must pay to get the same job done twice. We work with human translators who are qualified trained translators and have industry experience. Their work is in context, consistent and much more reliable and accurate as they understand the industry they are translating for. Every project is proofread to check for mistakes or inconsistencies, so we deliver a perfect product to you.
WHY IS CONTEXT IMPORTANT As translators we must interpret the source text correctly and often will need to reach out to you is we cannot work out something on our own: “What does this sentence refer to? What is the meaning of this word here? What does this acronym stand for?”, are all common questions we may need to ask you. Aware of these complications, translators review all the text first: they look for the answers by carefully examining the context of the text. Unfortunately, asking for external help is unavoidable in those cases when the text does not provide sufficient context.