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Translation done right is an invisible process. A consumer of translation
should not be able to glean from the text that the original was written
in another language (unless of course the text is purposely explicit
in this fact.) But while it’s clear to many that a translation
should not contain un-natural language or word-for-word conversion of
idioms etc., the other background work necessary to produce a well-researched
translation is usually not so apparent. Beyond simply rendering natural
language, a great deal of research must be performed on everything from
determining proper country codes for telephone numbers, to differences
in international governmental rules and regulations,
to name just two examples.
We offer the American Translators
Association's publication,
"Translation, getting it right," (see
sidebar) to help you prepare for your translation project and get the
most out of your translation agency. Undertaking a translation project
can sometimes be daunting, so if you have any questions about how to
prepare your materials, what to include, etc., give us a
call and we'll
be happy to advise.
We've also put together
a list of frequently asked questions ("FAQ")
- How much will it cost?
- How long will it take?
- Can you give me a “ball park” estimate?
- What do “source language” and “target language” mean?
- What sort of credentials do your translators have?
- Can you translate web sites?
- What is the difference between translation and localization?
- What is the difference between translation and interpretation?
- What languages do you work in?
- Do you use software tools to assist in the translation?
- Will the translation be certified?
- How can I get you the documents?
- Don't see your question? Contact us!
The main factors that determine cost are the subject area and level of complexity
of the documents. Send us your source files and we’ll be able to get
back to you right away with a quote, usually based on a per-word cost.
This depends of course on the complexity of the subject matter, but in
most cases we are able to turn around a minimum of 2000 words per day
per language, with an extra day necessary for overhead.
Sure. Send us your documents and we’ll get back to you right away,
usually within an hour.
Source language is the original language of the document. Target language
is the language that the document is translated into.
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All of our translators are accredited by the American Translators Association
or have equivalent standing. We are proud to say that our pool of translators
consists of the most skilled and conscientious available. In fact they
are generally downright anal-retentive. This is not a quality one usually
seeks in a friend, colleague or business partner, but it is of enormous
value in a translator, who must keep a constant eye out for the smallest
of details.
Yes. In fact localizing web sites is the largest part of our business.
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Translation is the process of taking the ideas and concepts of one language
and rendering them into another. Localization goes a step further and
considers factors related to your target audience, their cultural norms
and conventions, and other local parameters. For example, an English
document containing measurements in units of inches would be translated
into German with the inch units kept as they are. In localization, we
would convert the inches into centimeters.
In most cases, localization is what we do. Throughout
this web site, we use the better-known term “translation” even
though we usually mean “localization.”
Simply put, translation is the conversion of the written word from
one language to another, while interpretation is the conversion
of the spoken word. Because of the nature of the two modes of
communication, translation tends to focus more on accuracy and
completeness. In interpretation the focus is on making oneself
understood.
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Arabic
Chinese
Croatian
Dutch
English
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Portuguese
Russian
Serbian
Spanish
Yes. While we don’t use machine translation (MT) software,
which is all but useless except in rare cases, we do use translation
memory software for projects as appropriate. Translation memory
software does none of the actual translation. Rather, it aids translators
in keeping terminology consistent throughout the project.
Certainly. Many of our clients, especially law firms, require our
translations to be certified and/or accompanied by a notarized
affidavit of accuracy. We are
happy to provide these upon request.
You can submit your documents to us in a variety of ways. We use
a special web-based project management system,
which makes exchanging files very easy. You
can also use email,
fax (+1 .520.829.3438) or regular mail.
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