The stakes when looking for a translator are high, no matter the circumstances why you need one. A translation mistake can lead to miscommunication on an important business deal, trouble with getting international documents accepted, or extra work for proofreading and fixing documents.
Most people know that the quality of translation work is important. However, they know less about how to find the right translator for their needs, especially if they’ve never had to work with someone in this field before.
There are a few steps that you can take to find the best translator for your job. Follow this advice and you will have successful collaborations with the translators you work with.
Work With a Company Providing Translation Services
Instead of looking for an individual translator, look for a company or agency that provides translation services to clients. This takes a large part of the guesswork away from you when it comes to finding a good translator.
Working with these entities means that you have a higher likelihood of finding a good translator. Every translation company has to vet the people that they work with and they will take pains to ensure that you receive timely, meticulous work. If you find an individual translator on your own, there is no vetting process where someone checks the quality of their work.
It is in the interest of translation companies to ensure you have the best possible work. Many offer guarantees that their translators are native speakers and legally certified to be translators. Other companies offer in-house quality control procedures and proofreading, so the work you receive is at a high standard.
Finding the right translation agency still requires some research and reading reviews to find which one is right for you, but it is easier than trying to find an individual translator that meets your requirements.
Check On Their Specializations
When looking at a translator or translation company, you’ll notice that most list out their specializations, such as business, law, or medicine.
For translators, specializations are industries or document types that they choose to focus on. Many specialized translators choose focus areas based on their previous work experience: for example, you’ll find many law school graduates working on legal document translation.
Specialization ensures that the translator has the vocabulary and formatting knowledge to complete their job. Certain fields have very niche vocabularies that only someone who has worked with them extensively can know. For example, even in your native language, you probably don’t know medical terminology unless you’ve studied medicine.
For that reason, when looking for a translator, make sure that you find one whose specialization matches the work you need completed. Medical documents should be translated by medical translators, and so on. Beware of translators who claim they specialize in everything, as they probably lack the specialized vocabulary to complete what you need.
Ask if the Translator Has Cultural Knowledge As Well
Translation is not just about transferring words from one language or another, but also about translating cultural norms. Some specialists offer only localization services, which means adapting international content to fit local norms and customs.
Language is a vehicle for communicating cultural norms, and getting it wrong can be problematic. For example, English has only one form of the word “you,” while other languages, such as German and Japanese, have several different types of addresses depending on the level of formality. Making a mistake in the translation could offend somebody.
Making sure that all of your communication is culturally sensitive is particularly important when expanding your business abroad. A translation error could ruin your relationship with local partners and cost you valuable partnerships.
For that reason, always ask if a translator has lived in the country where the language is spoken or is a native speaker. This type of first-hand knowledge is the best way to absorb the cultural knowledge that is necessary for accurate translation.
Ask About Their Previous Projects and Qualifications
When you’ve found a translator that you think might work with your project, the final thing to do is to ask about previous projects that they’ve worked on.
Even if they have the right specialty, if you have a specific type of document, you may want to know that they’ve seen that form before. Asking about previous projects can also help you check their credibility if they have done similar work before.
Many translators may not be able to provide you with samples as they have confidentiality agreements with their clients, but some can. Take a look at the samples to see the quality of the work that they have done before.
Another thing to ask before committing to a translator is what their qualifications are. For certain documents, especially legal paperwork, you may need a translator’s seal or apostille to have the translation accepted. Only some translators have this authorization, so double-check before paying for any work.
When In Doubt, Ask Around
As with finding any professional, the best way to find a high-quality translator is to rely on your network. Ask people that you know if they’ve worked with translators in the past and if they have any recommendations.
If you have a specific field of translation that you are looking for, ask other people in your business niche for advice. For example, if you need medical translation, ask other people working in the medical field for recommendations on who to work with.
Most people are happy to pass on the contact information of translators who produced work they liked. That way, you also know that you can trust the translator because you know they’ve produced work that satisfied their previous clients.
Finding the Right Translator Does Not Have to Be a Hassle
Finding the right translator for your business starts with narrowing down what it is exactly that you need done. Knowing which language, specialty, cultural specificity, and other conditions such as legal authorization makes it easier to narrow down the field and find the right translator for the job.
Finding a quality translator that meets those requirements is easier if you trust the verification done by someone else. Whether that means working with someone recommended by your network or finding a translation company that vets their collaborators, using someone else’s recommendation gives you more peace of mind about the quality of the work.
