Use A Translator, A Translation Agency Or Do It In-house

Do you have the ability to do the translation

? If you require a professional translation into Spanish, for example, and you have a Spanish-speaking employee in your company, it is tempting to simply assign him or her to perform the translation services. However, there are several factors to take into account:

A translator is more than just someone who speaks two languages.

A translator has to be perfectly fluent in both languages and will usually translate from her second language, the source language, to her mother tongue, the target language. It is of great advantage if she lives in the country your translation is intended for. She needs to be familiar with the topic that is translated and have excellent writing and editing capabilities in the target language.

Consider this: When you have your marketing material written, do you simply choose any person who speaks English? Or do you select someone with excellent writing skills and still have the text proofread by a second pair of eyes? You should have the same demands for your potential translator. So does your German, French, or Spanish employee have the necessary writing skills in her first language?

If, however, you have such enormous requirements for translation into one single language that you can employ one translator full-time, this might be the most economical option. Just make sure that you have the necessary expertise to choose a competent translator. Remember: this will be the only person to perform all your professional translation services. If you are dissatisfied with the work this person is doing, it will not be easy to switch translators. Also, you will probably still want to have someone else proofread the translation, just as you probably had someone proofread your original texts.

Do you regularly require professional translation services into one language or do you need a one-time translation of one or more documents into several languages? If you regularly need translation services into only one or two languages, it may be worthwhile to hire your own professional translator to work in your company full-time. If, on the other hand, you occasionally need translations into many languages, or if you have very large translation jobs to be completed in a short time, using a translation agency will take care of all the necessary logistics. The agency will find the appropriate translator for each language or possible more than one translator if the deadline is tight, assign the proofreading tasks, and ensure that everything is completed on time and the service quality is top-notch.

The cheapest option to get your translation services done is certainly doing it yourself or having an employee of your company do it. However, there are hidden costs, such as the time spent and possibly inferior quality, that you should consider.

Another option, which is also quite cost-effective, is hiring a freelance translator yourself and skipping the middleman, i.e. the translation agency. If you decide to go this route, make sure that you have the knowledge and experience to pick a qualified translator and to judge the quality of the translation.

How to pick a good translator for the job

The language translator should preferably live in the target country

People lose touch with their first language after a while. If your potential candidate lives in the source country, e.g. in Canada or the US, she should have strong ties to her home country.

The language translator should have some sort of education in translation and preferably also in the subject matter of your documents. However, more important than a translation degree is experience.

Look for a language translator with at least several years of experience in translation, especially in the subject matter of your documents. I have more than six years of translation experience, but there are many subject matters that I won't touch because I don't have the necessary background knowledge. I specialize in scientific and technical translations where I can apply my degree in physics, but I won't even attempt literary translations.

If you decide to hand your job over to a good translation agency, the agency will take care of the selection process. Remember, they add a valuable service because they have extensive experience in picking quality providers. A good agency retains its top translators and uses proven candidates over and over again.

Giving the job to a professional translation agency will take care of everything related to the required translation services. This is the most recommended option for most companies. It ensures that you get the best possible quality, which is the most important factor when deciding which way to go. Remember: You may pay a little more for this service upfront, but you will keep paying for a poor translation for as long as you use, publish, or distribute it. The cost in lost business due to poor quality translations dwarfs the money spent on a good translation. When using a professional translation agency, you also wont need to worry about paying the translator internationally, as it is always a good idea to choose a translator in the target country.

Aunes Oversettelser AS has been in the business for 26 years, and we are specialized in technical translations. We are specializing in the Nordic languages, and can offer services into Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Icelandic. The premier translation agency for Norway and the Nordic region! Technical translation services for businesses in the Nordic countries and translation agencies world-wide.

by: carmen

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