Linguistic Quality in Translation and Localization: Things To Consider

One of the most important aspects in the language industry is Linguistic quality in translation and localization. Quality is one of the most common words that is used in day to day conversations. What one person might consider as being quality, the other might not. It is a similar case when clients deal with translation services. When a client considers getting a translation service done there are dozen factors to consider. Both the client and the translation service needs to work mutually in order to deliver a truly successful and quality result and in this article we will understand how to do just that.

Understanding The Level Of Quality

An important aspect to note is the fact that a translation quality doesn’t only end at translating the entire meaning of the source or original text. The most important aspect is how the translation services meets the clients expectations and requirements, no matter the size of the project and this is what TridIndia has been constantly doing for the past 12 years.

Major Responsibilities Of The Client

In order to make sure that the linguist meets the client’s preferences and expectations, it is the responsibility of the client to explain his or her requirements to the best capacity. It is not the job profile of the linguist to understand the client requirements but it is the responsibility of the client to explain his or her requirement properly so that the work gets delivered on time and with the highest possible quality. When ordering a translation service, the client needs to clearly define the specifications of the project to the linguist. The terminologies that the client expects the linguist to use must also be clearly defined and stated by the client.

After the translation is complete, the footnotes, acronyms and the change in currency if any should be properly defined by the client as well, because only then will it be an Accurate Content Localization. The most important aspect that the client needs to define is target audience and the main purpose the translation, because without this key piece of information the translation might not be meaningful, thereby not serving its purpose.

Just by placing an order for translation and following up on the delivery date, one shouldn’t expect a quality translation. Providing the linguist with the above mentioned information and keeping a check of the initial drafts is also of utmost importance in order to ensure the highest quality of translation.

How To Measure Quality

As mentioned above, what may be a quality translation to one client may not feel the same to another. Thus there is the need of comparing it with a standardized and global system. Standards like LISA or Localization Industry Standards Association, the Canadian Language Quality Measurement System and ISO or the International Organization for Standardization are most of the most important benchmarks against which a translation needs to be compared.

Other than this, the client needs to do an in depth study to ensure the translated document is free of Errors in Translation such as grammatical mistakes, spelling, terminologies, style and omission. However when assigning severity of errors in a translated document, one needs to be unbiased and not subjective to their own mind-set and expectations. A trick which can be used by clients is to set up a scale and rate the translated document in accordance to that, for e.g. great, poor and medium.

Analyze Translation Quality

With time as an organization expands its business more translated content needs to be generated. This undoubtedly involves the involvement of efforts of several individual translators and subject matter experts. Therefore over time it might become difficult for the translation agency to set a standardized quality and deliver accordingly. Additionally due to the advancement of technology, the final result may get affected.

Analysing the translation quality of each completed piece solely replies with the translation agency handling the project. The best way to do is by having an in house linguist auditor who will make sure that all translations are of the same quality. Additionally while hiring in house translators, a thorough interview should be taken and quality of previous worked should be checked.

If a translation agency doesn’t have a linguistic auditor in house, they can always outsource it to an independent contractor. He or she will act independently and identify the gaps present in the final translated piece. Additionally he or she will suggest ways in which the gaps can be bridged in order to meet the client specifications and expectations.

Benefits Of Assessing Linguistic Abilities

Over the years your company’s business will increase and so will the volume of content that has been produced, thus increasing the Need Of Translation Services. When you plan on expanding and to take the help of translation services for your localization efforts, it is important to asses all the content that you have produced over the years. This makes it easier to identify and take action against duplicate and obsolete content and localize those which are of key importance.

Mentioned below are some of the advantages of assessing linguistic abilities:

1. When you have your translated projects assessed, you know that all of them meet the global benchmark.

2. This will help you identify which content is working and which is not.

3. You will be sure that all your projects are of the highest quality and all of them meet their desired purpose.

4. It helps come up with a list of parameters on which you can pay the translator, thus making sure that everyone gets their due share.

If you choose to hire an independent linguist auditor, you can easily identify the gaps in each of your projects. If you are working with multiple vendors, you can understand who delivers the best quality and advise that vendor changes to implement in on going and all future projects.

Considering all the above mentioned points, you can now understand the importance of translation in today world, and also improve your translation efforts by several extent and get access to the. You can create a terminology set and a glossary as well. Over time you will be easily able to identify which is the best translation quality and then improve on it to make it even better. All this points summed up equates to the best quality of translated materials at all times.

Translation For International Marketing Success

As you might have already noticed, in order to truly succeed in this business a high linguistic quality is of utmost importance. The efforts are more when you are undertaking localization projects. Having a high linguistic quality across all your projects will improve your chances of succeeding in the international market. A critical aspect that needs to be considered for success is to provide the best localization quality when you want to attract the attention of a target group of audience.

Over the years, the competition in this industry has severely increased. Now there are multiple players both national and international who compete for the crown of the right language services provider. Having said that, succeeding necessarily doesn’t mean that you have the highest quality of translation. It simply means that your organization understands the needs and standard of the market and consistently makes effort to achieve the same without any reduction in quality.

When taking on translation and localization projects, you need to communicate to the client that he or she should not expect absolute quality. He or she should keep in mind that analysing the quality of translation is very subjective. Rather to analyse the quality of translation, check the qualities and goals of the project which was mutually decided at the beginning of the project.

Define You Own Parameters Of Quality

For any business across the world to succeed, they need to understand and set their own standards of quality. This is especially important if you are on boarding localization projects. Having your own standard quality will help you defend yourself from client questions, because assessment of translation quality is mostly subjective.

All in all, you need to find a translation partner who understands your organizations motives and business aims and drafts a strategy accordingly. He or she should be able to deliver quality translations based on your specifications and set standards.

We at Tridindia have been ranked as one of the best Quick Translation experts in the world. With several years of experience in this industry, we will always ensure that you get the best and most accurate translation service each and every time while ensuring the integrity and safety of your data. Reach out to us today via our contact us form or by calling us at +91-8527599523