How You Can Get Your Documents Translation Ready

Last Updated On: September 10, 2019 by The Migration Translators

Professional document translators are needed more today than at any time in human history. The politics of globalisation may be in doubt in many parts of the world at the moment, but the momentum for many businesses to seek out new markets around the world beyond their own borders is not showing any signs of slowing down.

One of the lessons behind successful document translation in today’s globalised world is to ensure that the language used for all material intended to be read by the target audience is customised to suit their culture and linguistic norms. This usually means seeking out specialised language translators for each of the languages that are used by the groups of people who will read any of the material that you are producing, whether this is website pages, labels, manuals, leaflets, instruction sheets, billboards or any other material.

Before sending your material off to the professional translator you need to go through it first to cut down on potential inconsistencies. Are there any images? Do these have captions? Are the images and the slogans or captions culturally appropriate? If not, you will need to change them rather than expect the translator to adapt them for you.
If you expect to use the same translator or professional translation agency for a lot of translation material, you should provide a style guide and you may also discuss preparing a glossary which can be used in future translations if you do not have one already.

The more time spent on editing and proofreading the material or documents you are going to send to the translator the more likely that they will be translated efficiently. The more the documents incorporate slang, jargon, clichés and metaphors.

As far as making a choice between freelancers and translation agencies, there are advantages of each. Translation agencies tend to have a number of professional translators who work for them or with them and if you are looking to translate your documents or marketing material into a number of different languages, this might be the best option. The preparation you then provide for the agency will then be passed on to all the individual translators needed to translate your material into the different languages.

On the other hand, if you just want a one language translation, then hiring a freelancer has certain advantages, too. Communication is likely to be faster and the relationship you build with this individual may be more personal than with an agency.