How to Appropriately Schedule an Interpreter

More often than not many of our clients requiring interpretation are racing against the clock to find a qualified interpreter. Technovate Translations always comes through but you can save yourself a lot of time and trouble by asking yourself a few simple questions…

Onsite or Offsite?

You may want to ask yourself if it is absolutely necessary to have a person on-site or not. Where onsite interpreting isn’t required consider doing interpreting through a conference call. Not only are conference call interpreters easier to find last minute but much less costly as well.

How soon do I need an interpreter?

Trying to schedule a last-minute interpreter for an important event can be extremely difficult. Most interpreters schedule their time well in advance. If you know you will be requiring an interpreter give yourself plenty of time for one to be found.

What do I need the interpreter for?

Specialized interpreters are difficult to find (especially last minute) but most interpreters can handle most situations easily. If you require a specialized interpreter give yourself plenty of time to be able to book them in.

How long will I need the interpreter for?

Interpreters charge by half and full days. Costs vary widely between interpreters based on language availability, subject of discussion, and length of the job. However, if your interpreters are required to talk for more than two hours at a time straight through, hiring a second interpreter is essential.

Technovate Translations welcomes any interpreting jobs and have successfully completed hundreds of interpreting sessions. You can contact us anytime at 1-800-736-7764 or by email at support@technovatetranslations.com

Personal Translations Sometimes Come With Added Quirks

Personal translations seem to come attached with interesting situations. We recently had a client that called me about a letter he needed translated from English to German. It’s not usually a problem but we only had 3 hours to do it! After scanning this letter I realized that it was a personal letter going out to the wife of a recently deceased friend.

It was important to him to get this letter translated before he boarded a plane to Germany. A great responsibility had been bestowed upon us and we got to work. Our translator reproduced the letter in German in record time and we were able to hand it off with plenty of time to spare. Once again Technovate Translations had come through with the attributes of quality and speed we are best known for.

If you have a translation either personal or business and have specific circumstances that need to be adhered to count on TechnovateTranslations.com to deliver every time!

Localize! Localize! Localize!

So you want to make your business accessible to potential customers who speak other languages. That’s great! You’ll be expanding your customer base and increasing goodwill with customers of different language backgrounds. However, you need to be sure you translate your business materials the right way.

Is there a wrong way, you may ask. Yes, yes there is.

Translation isn’t just taking the words you write in one language and writing them again in a different language. If it were that easy, we wouldn’t need translators, just dictionaries. Translations are nuanced and subtle and require a depth of knowledge and mastery of the language. But even this isn’t enough. You still have to translate the right way.

Ok, so what’s the right way, you ask. Well, I’m glad you asked.

The right way to translate business material is localization. Localization is the process of adapting your content to the local market you’re looking to serve. This is more than just using the language spoken by the customers you’re looking to reach. You need to utilize the manners and mores of their local area and their culture in order to appeal to your customers and convince them that you understand the way they live their lives.

Localization is important in an era of globalized business. This is not immediately obvious. Many people think that if you make a website it will have universal appeal. After all, your company is the same no matter who is looking to buy from you, right? Wrong. A company that presents only one face to every customer comes across as monolithic, impersonal, and out-of-touch. It’s a sure-fire way to turn off customers.

So what do you do?

You need to thoroughly review your business materials with an eye toward the culture that will be consuming them. Did you know that colors have different meanings in different cultures? For example, while the color white may read as sleek and clean in Western contexts, in Eastern cultures like China, Japan and Korea it is the color of mourning and death. Obviously, this can have a big impact on your business if you choose colors that read “wrong” in different cultures.

You also need to be sure that contact information is listed in the proper format for the country you are targeting, including postal codes and phone numbers, which differ between and even within countries. In the UK, for example, different areas have different length telephone numbers. Little details like whether to write the date as 18 April 2008 or April 18, 2008 go a long way toward showing your customers that you understand their way of life and are a caring partner in their community.

But it’s not all about image. You also need to be sure that your localized content is appropriate for your audience, does not inadvertently cause offense, and is appropriate for selling your products or services in the environment you are targeting.

Overall, the bottom line is this: Localization is an often-overlooked necessity for expanding a business into new markets. Ignore it at your peril!

How 24-Hour Translation Service Saves the Day!

A good part of the translation industry operates like we’re still in the 1980s - before the internet, before 24-hour service. Our service continues to add clients that rave about our ability to deliver dependable quality and round-the-clock customer service emblematic of the new millennium. We thought a good example would be best told by one of our account managers who deals with after-hours service. Here is his account….

Case Study

Sometimes I’m just amazed at how quickly we are able to put a solution together for our clients. A few weeks back we received a call around 2:30am EST. While translation companies are tucked away for the night we’re constantly on the job. The caller explained that an urgent translation was needed and it had to be completed within the next 2 hours! This client had been calling translation companies all night to get the project done but no one had the resources to deliver on time.

At Technovate Translations we prefer to look at any job as an opportunity rather than a problem. We assured the anxious individual that his translation would be done well and on time. It was a tricky English to (Parisian) French project, but because it was 9:00am in the morning in France we managed to connect with one of our French translators to get the job completed.

As you can imagine, the client couldn’t have been more pleased! Just goes to show you what REAL 24-hour service can do for you.
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TechnovateTranslations.com continues to answer the call whether you need a document translated today or next week. Speak to one of our Translation Account Managers by calling 1-800-736-7764. If we can’t do it .. no one can!

Machine Translation and Human Translation (Professional) - What's the Difference?

When you need documents translated, you have two options to choose from: machine-translation or professional translation. There are plusses and minuses to both, and you need to know the details to make an informed choice.

What is Machine Translation?

Machine translation (MT) is an automated program that translates documents using algorithms and rules. You type in text and the machine compares what you wrote to its dictionaries and phrasebooks to produce and automated, instant translation.

MTs are available on websites like AltaVista’s Babel Fish, and are good for quick translations of single words or short phrases. Users can enter their own text or translate whole websites online.

The benefit of MT is its speed. The drawbacks, however, are many. MTs are word-for-word and quite literal. If a particular phrase isn’t in the machine’s phrasebook, it won’t translate it correctly. Also, MTs don’t understand speech rhythms, fluency, or word choice, so many MTs sound unnatural and awkward.

What about Professional Translation?

Professional translations use real, live humans to translate text based on their expert knowledge of the language. Quality can vary by translator, and those with significant experience produce the best quality translations.

Professional translators can be found at agencies or working free-lance. A good way to determine the quality of translators’ work is to check their references and speak directly with their past clients. Make sure your translator speaks both languages fluently to ensure your translation will be right.

The benefit of professional translation is accuracy. Expert translators know the language and produce fluid, correct, and natural translations. When you need good quality translations, this is the only choice. The drawback is speed. Professional translations take time and money to produce the best results.

The Bottom Line

MTs are useful when you need to get a sense of text quickly, or need to translate only a single word or a short phrase. You shouldn’t rely on MT in any situation where you need to know exact wording or need to produce readable documents in another language.

Professional translation is the method of choice when accuracy and fluency matter. Choose this option when you need to know exactly what a document says or need readable copies that will make sense.

So, the bottom line is: Go with the pros whenever you need to know what’s really being said.

Whether your translation is big or small or simply want a second opinion contact TechnovateTranslations.com and we'll deliver your translated document when you need it. We are also available toll free 1-800-736-7764.

Creating a Clear Line of Distinction in the Translation Industry

Although I’ve been in the writing business for over 10 years, I find myself writing my first blog. I feel a bit like a tailor that has made suits for dignitaries and statesmen, but hasn’t made time to make one for himself. That’s all about to change. My name is Marcel Vilanez and from this blog and many more to come you will get to know a little bit more about me. I find myself trying to communicate a plethora of ideas and thoughts I have about the translation industry in a simple and meaningful manner. Without sounding pompous or pointless, I hope to shed light on certain issues that pertain to both the industry and, most importantly, to my clients (to whom I owe so much).

I came into the translation business, as I have most businesses I’ve created: sprung from something that I needed myself, or after receiving a product that I knew I could provide much more effectively or efficiently. In this case, I needed to translate one of my websites … and had a … not so thrilling experience.

The first problem I encountered was that it took so long to even get a quote (after having to submit my documents and answer umpteen questions). I realized that many translation companies are not run in an e-world. Although I am not saying the word “all”, my research and experiences have shown that I can safely make a general statement to this effect. To my distress, at the time, most agencies wouldn’t give even a ballpark figure over the phone, unless they could see the document first. They made me feel like a fish out of water. Next, after following everyone’s rules, answering innumerable questions, and finally getting a quote, I realized that there were sizeable price disparities between different companies without much reasoning behind one or the other. How was I to know what was standard? Which company would give me the highest quality? It felt too official and detached to me. I didn’t feel that I knew a translation specialist well, who I could call with questions and who had a thorough understanding of my project. In the end, after receiving simply an OK product but with much hassle I decided that I could definitely offer a better product and overall experience.

I’ve made my living catering to clients by, not only giving them what they want, but by doing that and making them feel good about buying from me (ie. delivering a great product under ridiculous conditions) and not making them regret it. I always like being treated that way and am loyal to many people I personally do business with in my own daily life because they share this philosophy. And I’m loyal to them even though I’m not getting the lowest price. For me, it’s always been about who makes me feel good about the situation I’m in, about whether they are able to deliver the product, and deliver it at a reasonable price, and about whether they can deliver exactly what they say they will. I try to do this with my translation division and so far we’re doing great.

I’m a newbie compared to some of the big companies in this industry, but there are core differences that you get when you call us:

For one, you’ll get a live friendly voice when you call us (including after hours).

Secondly, we’re confident in the capabilities of our translators and many times won’t even need to see the document in order to give you a ballpark price. For some reason, most agencies will ask for the document even if it’s a simple marketing document and will regurgitate the same price time and time again.

Thirdly, we’ll give you a flat price for general government documents. Thus, we can eliminate the hassle of bargaining by setting a flat rate for certain translations.

Fourthly, we talk to our callers rather than read from a script. We’ll find out about your project and even give you a quote over the phone. In fact, we close many of our deals in one phone call.

We’re very confident in our highly qualified translators and we’re certain that they can handle their specialty and deliver great quality. We know this because we like to build relationships with our translators as well, and we’ve discussed their past projects, their experience, their strengths and weaknesses... As a result, they would do anything they can to remain in our good graces because they understand we’d do the same. Of course, we’ll (nicely!) weed out competitors who are fishing for info… but even so, we’re always polite.

The translation business is constantly evolving with new software and new upstarts, however, there’s still much to be said about doing business the old fashioned way. After all, even though we’ve gotten much faster and the world has gotten smaller, business is still about people – and everything that comes with that.

If you feel your translation company has taken you for granted and you would like to try someone new, look no further than TechnovateTranslations.com. If our commitment to quality and work ethic doesn’t persuade you ... our charisma and personal approach to our business will.