Translation is a creative process
It's important to keep in mind that translation is a key component in getting your message across to your audience. Next to copywriting, translation is one of the most creatively intensive tasks in the communications industry, and as such, should be performed by qualified individuals.

Translation companies do more than just translate. The value of seeking professionals for language translation tasks is their ability to select translators and editors with the appropriate linguistic and subject matter expertise and their ability to manage multilingual projects. Professional translators typically work into their native language and its important to make sure your translation service provider uses native speakers of the target language whenever possible.

How professional translation companies help their clients
A professional language translation company will always assign a project manager to coordinate the workflow and serve as the single point of contact for their client. The project manager makes sure that all language versions are prepared in the same format and oversees quality control. By working with networks of translators skilled in different languages and industries, translation companies are able to meet a variety of needs, and translators are matched to the specifications of the project. This oversight and coordination are critical for multilingual projects or for projects requiring graphic or Web design to be localized for a particular region. In addition to coordinating large projects, translation companies often prepare and maintain glossaries in specialized fields. In our firm's case, we create a style guide for each of our clients, which we continually update as the client's products or services evolve. Our style guides also reflect changes in language or new words introduced to the language and culture. We also have specialized dictionaries and online resources to asist our process.

The value of working with a professional translation company
Language translation requires a highly specialized skill set, and service rates often reflect this. When searching for a language translation company, look beyond the price. You could pay a low price and incur high costs because the translation you receive is of substandard quality. Many of the projects that make their way to us sadly reach us as substandard translations that have caused incalculable damage to the name and credibility of the company they represent through misspellings, missed accents or other grammatical errors. Conversely, costs for translation services can be lowered by using a service provider that consistently delivers high-quality services.

Pricing for translation services varies depending on: the language desired (non-Western languages are at the higher end of the price range), length of the document and its complexity. For example, a document featuring complex medical terms, scientific ingredients or industry-specific terminology will require additional proofing and verification, whereas a simple narrative or business document will require less time to translate. The level of complexity of the document can only be determined by the translation company. Rates for translation services should be all-inclusive, meaning that not only the translation, but also project management time, editing and quality asssurance procedures are included.

A word about regionalisms
We are often asked, "what's the difference between Mexican Spanish and Puerto Rican Spanish?" This is a troubling question because there's no such thing as "Mexican" Spanish. Spanish is Spanish, and its the same language spoken in 20 Latin American countries worldwide. Its differences from country to country are called "regionalisms" or "colloquialisms." Much like British and Australian citizens have unique words for certain items, so do Latin Americans and they vary from country to country.

Any translation service that admits to there being a universal version of a language is not being truthful. No such thing exists. What a professional language translation company will provide is what's known as a "neutral" version of a language. In our case, we analyze the range of synonyms for a word, including all regionalisms to select the one that will be best understood by the greatest number of individuals. Oftentimes, we resort to providing additional synonyms within parenthetical references to aid in comprehension.

Our stance on "back translation"
Occasionally, clients ask that we provide a "back translation" of a project. The general consensus in the professional translation industry is that re-translation of the text back to its source language to check translation accuracy is a waste of time and money. The most effective way to ensure a translation is correct is to have the translated text be read vis-a-vis the source document by another translator. Instead of a back translation, we provide clients with a findings document that details any material changes made within the translation. Overall, it's best to steer clear of back translation, unless you want to see translation costs tripe or quadruple.

Dos and dont's
The following items are a quick list of do's and dont's when working with a language translation company:

• Finalize the source text before you hand it over for translation. Our firm's policy is that once translation begins or is completed, we will begin from scratch to translate the document again if changes are submitted. Looking for changes within source text is like looking for a needle in a haystack. With the rare exception of one clearly defined sentence, most clients end up submitting radical changes to source text, which forces us to start over, and usually go over budget on a piece.
  
  
• Don't ask your bilingual staff member to do the translation.We see a lot of instances where clients try to save some money by having a staff member perform translation. It almost never works. Think about it, just because you can speak and read a language doesn't necessarily mean you're adept at spelling, grammar or punctuation. Besides, is this the best use of your employee's time and skills? The fact is, many of the projects we're called in to "fix" are the result of employees who were repurposed as translators.
  
  
• Remember the expansion factor. Translated text may be longer than the source text. The average Spanish-language translation of an English source document is 20 percent longer.
  
  
• Inquire about the translation service provider's area of expertise. Our firm's area of expertise is translation of marketing materials for the Hispanic market.
  
  
• Make sure you're assigned a project manager, not a software package. This is an indicator of the level of professionalism a translation company will offer. Software-based translation services are only good for business document and quick lookups. Meaning in language is provided by context. There's not a single piece of software available that can determine context and translate appropriately. In our firm's case, all of our translation tasks are performed by humans.
  
  
• Be involved. An inquisitive translation service provider is good news. Always provide the information they ask for, as it will result in a better final product. If you own any glossaries or other reference materials, do provide them to the translation company.
  
  
• Be specific. Disclose who the target audience is and discuss the conversion of currencies and units with your translation services provider.
  
  
• Reconsider "back translation." Don't confuse this with "editing" or "proofreading." If you're unsure of your translation company's work, ask for references before hiring them or get a second opinion from another translation company. Also, any reputable translation company should be able to notarize a translation if requested. Don't ask for a "back translation." They're a waste of your resources.
  
  
• Provide feedback. Be it positive or negative, provide honest feedback to your translation services company. Feedback will improve future projects.
  
  
• Don't rush. Remember that language translation is a creative process. If it took a month to create the original piece, don't expect to have it translated overnight.

Forging a partnership
Taking the time to select a translation services company that will meet your needs will not only save you money, but will also lead to the development of a long-term, profitable partnership. The value of this proposition is inmense, since the translation service provider will get to know your product or service intimately and will be able to develop a specially trained linguistic team.

Credit where it's due
I would like to extend my thanks and to credit Beth Podrovitz and Jiri Stejskal, authors of the article Success in any language, which was published in Quirk's Marketing Research Review. Their piece was greatly influential in the authoring of this blog entry.