As a customer, you can influence both the quality and speed of your translation. Taking a moment to provide a clear brief and prepare the necessary materials will pay off many times over. In this article, we’ll share 5 tips on how to give your translators the best possible brief to achieve the best results.
A translation based on a precise brief will be:
- Processed faster, which will reduce the final cost
- Consistent with the terminology used within your company and industry
- Of higher quality, as the translator will fully understand the context
You don’t need to worry that leaving out context or specific translation details will automatically result in worse conditions. It’s the translator’s or agency’s responsibility to guide you through the brief and gather any missing information.
At PatentEnter, for example, each translation project is assigned to a dedicated team member who is responsible for ensuring its quality. This person will stay in touch with you if any clarifications are needed during the translation process.
To get started with a quote and begin your translation, we only need a few things:
- the text you want translated
- the target language
- and the deadline for the translation
However, to ensure the best possible outcome—one that captures the essence of the original text while improving the quality of the translation—we recommend providing a few additional details.
Translation Specifications
Context of the translation
Even though the field of the translation and the type of text can be easily identified from the provided text, the function of the original and target texts may not always align. If you know who the target audience is and what the text’s purpose should be, be sure to include this in your request. This will significantly reduce the number of revisions and adjustments, which can increase the final cost – especially when dealing with large volumes of text.
Need for Localization
For certain types of texts, it’s important to clarify whether the text needs to be localized, i.e., adapted to the target cultural environment. This could involve changes such as converting units (e.g., from centimeters to inches), changing currency (e.g., from Czech crowns to dollars), or altering the target audience (e.g., from professionals to the general public).
This step should never be skipped. For some texts, localization is essential to ensure the readers’ understanding (e.g., blog articles), while for others, it’s crucial to maintain the text’s fidelity to the original (e.g., patent applications).
Terminology Dictionaries
Terminology dictionaries are lists of terms that frequently appear in your field and in your texts, along with their corresponding English/German/Spanish terms commonly used in your company. For example, terms you use when communicating with foreign customers.
While a translator can work without your dictionary, having one available speeds up the process. The dictionary helps specify the brief by providing precise terms you regularly use. This ensures all your (old and new) translated texts are consistent.
At PatentEnter, we have specialists in various fields – from pharmacists and chemists to electrical engineers, civil engineers, bioengineers, and more. We often create our own dictionaries, which we then consult with clients, supplement, and update.
In addition to the points above, there are a few more things that, while not essential, are helpful for a translator to have. These include:
- Clarification of formatting requirements
- Definition of the text’s tone
- Sharing reference texts the translator can rely on
Bonus: Long-Term Cooperation
If you have a large volume of texts that need to be translated (whether all at once or over time), it’s beneficial to have them translated by the same translator or agency. Distributing similar texts across multiple translators makes it harder to maintain consistent terminology and style across all texts.
Another advantage is that such an agency can gradually build the aforementioned terminology dictionaries during the translation process. With each new text, new terms are added, making future translations faster.
Long-term cooperation usually makes each assignment easier, as you don’t need to redefine your needs every time. The translator will also already know your preferences and how to deliver the translation to your satisfaction.
Upon agreement with clients, we also use AI and CAT tools to reduce the time required for translations. These tools allow us to upload the created terminology dictionary, so the translator is automatically offered relevant technical terms during the translation process. While AI and CAT tools are helpful, they still require oversight by a specialist to minimize the risk of errors. That’s why at PatentEnter, all translations are checked by two pairs of eyes.
