How to Get High-Quality Translation Services Through a Streamlined Process

Every product or service that we introduce to the market as a consumer good must meet at least a few requirements. And in many cases, it’s more than just a few, as in the case of language solutions where we know that businesses are seeking high-quality translation services.

The reasons why? Because the content they need to translate calls for professionalism and reliability; not only that but in many cases, it has greater implications than you might think at first glance. Some of these are legal, others are ethical; others may compromise people’s health and integrity, etc. Imagine a translation of a medical manual that contains errors, how harmful could it be? To what extent? 

In this blog, we’re going to cover everything related to this topic, so you can be sure to choose a translation partner that will guarantee you a great outcome.

Quality Control and Quality Assurance: Two Members of the Same Team

Some people may confuse quality control with quality assurance, and while both are key players in the same team, they’re not the same thing. Let’s consider their distinction.

Quality Control: The Antidote for Curing Errors

To obtain a high-quality translation, you need a partner that meets your expectations and checks the final results against guidelines, regulations, and more. For that, they should establish quality control steps (ideally, at least two), where the focus will be on identifying mistakes and failures to solve them before the translation gets to you. 

Now, what happens when there’s a similar error not in a single text but in the process? Sometimes, it happens that certain problems are systematised and, therefore, linguists may commit similar mistakes multiple times. In this case, it’s necessary to correct not only those errors but also to analyse (and enhance) the step-by-step process. This is where the distinction between quality control and quality assurance comes in.

How Linguistic Quality Assurance Works

As the overall objective is to guarantee perfect results for every project, the most important aspect is the planning of an efficient and effective process. Thus, it’s necessary first to think about failure prevention, which will also contribute to saving time and resources.

For this, it’s crucial to make clear the guidelines, regulations, etc. Also, your translation agency partner should write down where its professional team can find all useful resources for further consultation.

Once the prevention strategies have been addressed, the next step to ensure a high-quality translation service is to make step-by-step planning explicit through a written process, specifying the responsible for each task, the time frame, etc. 

#OptimationalTip: Even if there are no frequent or repetitive errors, it’s advisable to periodically review QA check processes to ensure their optimisation.

If you’re interested in learning more, read about the differences between quality control and quality assurance.

The Process: 3 Crucial Steps to Obtain High-Quality Translation Services

The process of each language solution provider may present some variations. But, if you’re looking for professionalism and thoroughness, it should include at least three steps. Let us analyse this in detail:

#1 Planning

Linguists and project managers agree on the project scope and the tools they have to use. PMs then make resources available, from the required software (if necessary) to glossaries, translation memories, style guides, and reference material.

#2 Implementation

The translators start following the previously established agreements. As they carry out their work, they check some QA aspects with the help of technology, as CAT tools incorporate useful features. This way, they can ensure that the business document translation is as clean and precise as possible before moving on to the next step.

#3 Quality Control

This is where the actual QA monitor begins, in which editors check the texts to solve grammatical errors and other issues, which we will cover further in this article. They also ensure that the translation complies with client-specific guidelines, e.g. the use of a particular term instead of another and so on.

#OptimationalTip: Proofreading is an additional QA step that helps to detect errors in the second stage and also to check the text’s readability. Bear in mind that in addition to being grammatically correct, the content should run smoothly.

Challenges for Achieving High-Quality Translation When Aiming to Go Global

Everything is easy and rosy? Well, the answer is no. When planning for an international content strategy, there are always challenges that are tied to the cultures and regulations of each region. Also, the expectations and specifications of the clients (and sometimes the target audience) play a key role.

The sunny side is that despite the challenges, a professional and skilled team can overcome them without much hassle—and without increasing the translation services’ cost.

Here is a closer look at the matter.

Fidelity to the Source Text

Sticking to the original shouldn’t prevent you from getting accurate and reader-friendly texts. If, when translating literally, the target text results ambiguous or uncomfortable to read (for sounding unfamiliar), it’s time to think about localisation as a high-quality translation service alternative. 

With this approach, you’ll be able to retain the spirit and sense of the messages, but in a way that resonates with the target audience. Keep in mind, however, that there’s some content (e.g. legal documents) where localisation isn’t possible.

Failure to Allocate Sufficient Time for QA Check

Sometimes, it is not considered the time it takes for a QA monitor to be effective and timely. It may happen because of a lack of awareness of its value, others due to the urgency of having the business document translation ready. And sometimes, it’s simply due to poor planning.

You know what your business needs are more than anyone else, so you’ll know when you’re really under time pressure. However, we recommend organising projects upfront and talking them over with your language provider to find a happy balance. After all, it’s unlikely that the translation services costs will reduce without the QA step.

Different Expectations of What Is “High-Quality”

While broadly speaking, there are certain precisions about what would be a good outcome (or at least what would make it bad), in certain places or industries—and companies—people may be more rigorous about this. 

Therefore, to ensure that the translation meets the criteria for good quality, there are two key aspects linguists should consider:

• Checking what the QA standards or general guidelines are.
• Maintaining regular communication with the client.

And you, as head of your brand, should allow these communications to take place and provide them with the necessary referential material.

#OptimationalTip: Try to allow room for linguistic quality assurance to take place; this way you will not have to invest time and resources later on in editing and fixing errors, and you’ll be able to easily scale up your content.

Most Common Errors and Most Relevant Tips to Prevent Them

This article wouldn’t be complete without a look at some of the most common mistakes that can jeopardise high-quality translation.

But it would also be incomplete without talking a little about some important measures not to correct the errors themselves but to prevent them.

Let us split these two concerns to analyse them in detail.

Common Mishaps

• Misspellings: Deviation from the conventionally accepted way of writing a word. Note that this often depends on regional conventions; for example, it is “localize” for American English and “localise” for the UK variant.
• Formatting mistakes: Issues related to the formatting established for each type of document (such as line spacing, paragraph length, etc.) or, sometimes, the use of units of measurement, such as currencies, dates, etc.
• Grammatical errors: Mistakes in not following standard grammatical rules, such as subject/verb agreement, word order, verb tense consistency, etc.
• Contextualisation pitfalls: Thinking of the units of meaning within a broader context. So, not only should the sentence make sense by itself, but also in a particular paragraph and text.
• Terminology issues: Non-compliance with specific writing requirements or incorrect use of words or phrases according to a specific industry or field.

Would you like to know more? Then, learn about the most common translation mistakes.

Tips on Preventing Them

• Native speakers. Work with a professional partner who will ensure that your project will be handled by native linguists. Only those who speak the language on a daily basis know how to make the content sound natural.
• Team up with professionals skilled in the use of tools. This allows the QA check to capitalise on the technological options available and optimise turnaround times. This is key to getting high-quality translation services.
• Seek professionals with knowledge in the area you need. For example, if you have technical manuals to translate and rely on technical translators, you can ensure greater terminology adherence. 
• Avoid using machine translation software. It can be useful for interpreting messages in general and for personal use, but it’s prone to errors, mainly due to a lack of contextual understanding. 

#OptimationalTip: If you’re interested in learning more about why human translation is the only way to ensure quality results, this Forbes article tells you how to take your business beyond Google Translate to get really successful content.

Final Thoughts on Obtaining High-Quality Translation Services

If you have documents to translate from multiple formats, industries or languages, you may want to consider working with a translation agency. This will save you time searching for the right professional for each task. More importantly, it’s a guarantee of getting results of the expected quality.

Furthermore, by partnering with a translation agency, you can agree with them on how to handle the flow of translation projects in case you need services on an ongoing or recurring basis. For instance, you can designate the individuals responsible for the communication (a PM and someone you choose from your company, in case it is not yourself.) This will facilitate the exchange of information and the coordination of the following steps.

Finally, with an agency partner that provides custom solutions, you can discuss linguistic quality assurance and what you expect from it. Ultimately, your expectations are just as important as your needs.

Ready to find the high-quality translation services you need? At Optimational we would be happy to provide you with a tailor-made proposal. Contact us today to find out more.