As the world becomes smaller; people travel around the world more frequently and more business is done internationally, translation services are increasingly in demand. A translation service can now be needed for anything from the translation of a certificate of education to the translation of a web site. Because of the demand there are now hundreds of translation agencies around the world.
Finding a translation service can be daunting. Where do you start to look for a translation service and when they find one, how do they know if they are able to do the job well? What questions should you ask? This article will provide some useful tips on how to find a translation service for your needs.
Where to find a translation service?
There are three main ways to find a translation service.
The first port of call should be your local directory, such as the yellow pages. If you have a specific business directory for your area, then even better. Just look up "translation" or may at times be under "translators and interpreters." Have thumb through lists and allocate part in contact.
The second, and more simple, the means of finding a translation service is through the Internet. By using the major search engines like Google, Yahoo! and MSN can bring hundreds of listings. A further advantage of using a search engine is that it can be more specific with the searches. For example, if you are looking for a local translation service to you type "translation service in London" or "translation services to Oxford." Similarly, if you need a specific language try something like "German translation service".
With the search engine results will be presented with two types of listings, paid listings (advertisements) and organic results (results not advertised). It should keep in mind that those with organic listings are there for a reason, ie the search engine naturally sees them as important sites for translation services. On the other hand paid listings will be from companies that need the business. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but good to consider when making a choice.
The last means of finding a translation service is to ask colleagues, friends or family. A personal recommendation is always best.
contact the translation service
Once you have a list of translation service providers to contact, it is therefore critical that you are prepared with the information needed to get an accurate quote.
Any decent translation service will want to know what languages they are translating to and from, the length of the document (in particular the number of source words), the nature of the text (it is commercial or technical?), The document size (it is a paper document, an e-mail or a brochure?), when you need the translation to be delivered and, if necessary, the format should be handed in. These details will help the price of the translation, your work piece service. However, remember that many providers of translation services, you can not give a concrete quote until they see the document. This is because once they see that they can realize that you under-mentioned because of unforeseen factors such as the format, poor image quality or technicality of the document. It 's always a good idea to have translated into a format that can be sent via email or fax.
When it comes to customer service make sure to explain to your needs fund. A good translation service however will always ask the right questions so you get a decent understanding of what will be needed.
Questions to ask the translation service
Once the cost of translation established is always a good idea to probe the translation service with a couple of questions to get a better understanding of their abilities.
For example, here are 10 basic questions:
1. If you have given the price, ask what their charge is per 1000 words?
2. Will they charge per source word or per target word? For example, if you have a document translated from Italian to English, Italian will be the source language.
3. Is the quote they gave you fixed? that is to say that they can not pay more later.
4. qualified all their translators? What is their procedure for hiring translators?
5. Do their translators work exclusively in their native language?
6. If the deadline is missed as you will still have to pay?
7. The price includes proofreading by another translator?
8. If the translation is specific or technical, do the translators have experience in?
9. What format will they return your translation in?
10. If it is a large job or important, you can request a trial translation - however, this may not always be free.
These questions for the translation service should give you some insight into their industry knowledge and their skills.
Which translation service?
Ultimately for many people, when it comes to crisis choose a translation service based on the cost, the location and speed of service. There are no hard and fast rules on how to choose a translation service and it is really up to the individual to go with what they feel that the best thing for them.
In the overall scheme of things most translation service providers are in good faith and professional clothing. If when asking the questions above to a translation service you sense a level of uncertainty then it may be best to go with the service that seems to know what you want and how to give it to you.
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