How to best work with translators? Translating is a straightforward job, isn’t it? Just change the words into your target language and, voilà, it’s done. Well, it’s really not that simple. As an Italian translator and English translator often asked to translate English to Italian, I get requests from clients who are dissatisfied with the work done by previous translators. This may be the translator’s own fault: inaccuracy, not enough research, no final proofreading, even grammar mistakes. However, clients can play a big role in making sure translators deliver quality work through a few simple steps.
Let’s see what these are.
How to best work with translators, step one: select the content you want to translate
It may sound obvious, but sometimes we are asked to translate content that still needs to be revised, is still pending approval or contains parts that don’t need to be translated. For example, before sending the text of a website out for translation, you should check which parts really need to be translated and whether they’re all relevant for your target market; you may even need to write different parts from scratch to attract the interest of a specific audience. This is true for any type of content: brochures, product descriptions, technical documents, procedures, etc. Sending your translator text that has been reviewed, approved and finalized significantly shortens the turnaround time and reduces costs.
Step two: work with professional translators, preferably with experience in your industry
Being fluent in a language doesn’t necessarily mean being able to translate. Of course, you can save a lot of money by having your content translated by an employee who knows your target language well, or (worse) by helpful friends or relatives, or (worst) by improvised translators. However, this does not pay over the medium and long term, in fact it may cost you a lot. Botched translations can be disastrous for your company’s reputation on foreign markets in the eyes of both current and prospect clients. Your translations reflect your professionalism and reliability: what credibility can a company have when it doesn’t care about the quality of its communication? Plus, you’ll need to pay someone else to re-translate your text. On balance, you may lose your reputation and a lot more money than you could have spent by hiring an experienced professional translator right from the start.
Step three: provide reference material and context information
The majority of translation clients just assume translators are all-knowing, and what little they don’t know they can easily find with a little research. This is partly true: your translator should be experienced in your specific industry as well as familiar with the appropriate terminology to deliver quality translations; they should also fill any knowledge gaps by conducting in-depth research. However, even the most knowledgeable technical translator cannot be an all-around expert with deep knowledge in all fields, from quantum physics to molecular gastronomy. In addition, some information can only be provided by the client: the company’s preferred style and tone of voice, any internally used terminology, context and background information, who the target is, etc. Lastly, it’s very helpful for the client to provide a glossary, if available, which the translator can use to ensure consistency with the company’s guidelines and, when this is a requirement, with previous translations.
Step four: be willing to answer questions and provide explanations
If your translator asks (hopefully intelligent) questions on the text they’re working on, rejoice: it’s a very good sign. Professional translators worth their salt will always want to make sure they understand the text correctly without being influenced by their own personal interpretation. So, be willing to take a few minutes to answer your translator’s questions and provide explanations: it will greatly benefit the quality of the result as well as your own peace of mind.
Step five: need to translate creative content? Then you need a transcreator
Do you need to translate creative copy, such as brochures or advertising campaigns? Is style just as important as content? Does your text contain humour, puns, irony, word play? Then you’re probably not looking for just a regular translator, but for a rarer species: a transcreator. Many translation clients are unaware they need this figure, and its existence is mostly unknown. Transcreation is the art of translating creative text that cannot be translated with conventional techniques, as I explain in this article La Transcreation: cos’è, a cose serve e perché è diversa dalla traduzione.
So, if you need to translate creative content, hire the right professional figure right from the start, you’ll save time and money.
Conclusions
As we have seen, there is a lot clients can do to best work with translators and make sure they deliver quality work. However, it goes without saying, a translator worthy of this name will always give clients their all, both in terms of quality of relationship and quality of work. This is my own philosophy as an Italian translator and English translator: deliver flawless as well as smooth, natural-sounding translations while also partnering the client and providing a tailored service completely adaptable to their specific needs.