We share tips on what to look out for and present countermeasures you can deploy to protect yourself against costly mistakes.



Our Campaign for Fair Translation Pricing is a new initiative which we hope will help promote fairness and transparency across the industry.

It is not intended to be a sales pitch. Armed with this information, you will be in great shape to get the best deal, whichever company you choose.

1. CHECK YOUR JOB ISNT BEING DONE ON THE CHEAP

Translation agencies are businesses and therefore theres always the temptation to cut costs to inflate the bottom line.

Unlike almost any other product you buy, you are often not in a position to judge the quality of what you are paying for.

Think about it; even if you are no expert, its quite obvious that, say, a cheap flat-pack table is inferior in quality to one lovingly made by a master craftsman because you can see, feel and hence appreciate the difference.

By contrast, if you paid to have a page of English text translated into Mandarin Chinese, could you tell if it had been translated by an expert translator with 25 years experience or his 10 year old daughter? Most people would reluctantly have to answer no - agencies know this.

Cheap translators are cheap for a reason. They are often based overseas, are unqualified, do not understand the subject matter of the documents they are translating and, critically, are not translating into their mother tongue.

I cant stress highly enough the importance of using mother tongue translators. If there is one thing above all others which will help ensure you get a good quality translation its ensuring you use a mother tongue translator.

SUGGESTED COUNTERMEASURES

To help make sure you receive work of the standard you are being charged for, ask your translation agency if your translation is being carried out by a translator who:

a) Is translating into their mother tongue - accept no excuses. Some translators claim mastery of a second language but, with the exception of very rare truly bilingual individuals, translators work best translating into their mother tongue.

b) Has translation qualifications to at least degree level. Simply having a second language does not make you a translator.

I have a carving knife; it does not make me a surgeon. Ours is an unregulated industry and anyone can claim to be a translator and undertake work as such.

c) Is a member of an appropriate professional body (Institute of Translators and Interpreters in the UK, in-country equivalents overseas). If they are serious about their career as a translator as opposed to just odd-jobbing for pocket money, require them to demonstrate it through membership or go elsewhere.

d) Has several years relevant commercial translating experience. Dont pay top dollar for an inexperienced recent graduate. Practice makes perfect and there is no substitute.

e) Has subject matter expertise. If they dont understand the text, they wont produce a good translation no matter how good their translation skills.

2. DONT LET THEM NICKEL