With so many options out there, it’s only natural to feel a bit confused when it comes to choosing the best translation service.
After all, what does it mean to be the best in this niche?
As it turns out, the answer is quite simple: the best translation service is the one that fully adapts to your needs as a customer. For instance, if you want fast translation and you don’t really care about accuracy or quality, you’ll be happy with a freelance translator without too much experience.
Still, the task for the perfect translation doesn’t rest solely on the shoulders of your chosen translation company. Sure, we do our best to work with what we’ve got, but if the materials you send are not of the best quality, the result will not be perfect.
As such, you, as the customer, also bear part of the responsibility when it comes to the final result of a translation. So, here are some things you should do before sending off your text to a translator (regardless of who you choose).
Context is Important
Unless you want a straight forward translation, like a birth certificate or a marriage certificate, please tell us a bit more about your text.
Things like:
- Target audience (country, region, age, gender, preferences, and so on);
- Type of content – is this a technical piece or you’re looking to make it more accessible?
- Transmission medium – the translated text will be shared online, will be printed on flyers?
- Tone – casual or formal?
- The idea you want to highlight – it helps to know the focus of your text;
Every little detail is important to make sure we understand what you want your text to do.
Source Quality
The quality of the original text dictates the quality of the translation!
So, if you send us a text that’s been through machine translation, you can’t expect the translation to be a masterpiece. Moreover, we don’t recommend sending handwritten texts either, especially if your penmanship is not impeccable.
Finally, before sending the original text for translation, make sure to proofread it for missing words or spelling errors that could completely change the tone or sense of the paper.
Be Specific
We (and most other translation companies) work with a wide network of collaborators. This way, we can offer native-level translations in a wide range of languages and fields.
As such, your project may be overseen by several people, which is why it’s important to specify the things that are important for the translation’s final tone. For instance, if you want the translator to use a specific term or keyword for an action (instead of synonyms), make sure to specify this in a note annexed to the original text.
Be Available
Our translators know how to do their job, but there are situations when things are not clear. In this case, it’s important that we can reach you, to sort things out. Of course, we’re not going to bother you at inappropriate moments, but it’s best to keep yourself available so we can complete the task as quickly as possible.
Wrap Up
The steps mentioned above are universally valid and it will make any translator you choose happy to be your collaborator. Also, if you want the best translation service, choose only the best companies on the market. The prices may be a bit higher, but the result is worth it!