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Translation: 14 Things You Can Do to Stay on Budget
Delays and budget overruns in translation projects usually occur
because key information is not communicated at the onset.
Because
translation comes at the end of the project cycle, time is often
an issue. Translation quotes are requested on a rush basis and
confusion over final edits and internal approvals may ensue.
Here are useful tips on how you can avoid these pitfalls to meet
your deadlines and stay on budget.
1. Be direct say what you mean in the original document so that
the translation will also clearly communicate your message.
2. Eliminate sports analogies expressions like he went the whole
nine yards are meaningless to foreign readers who do no
follow American football. A similar expression may not exist in
the target language.
3. Longer is not necessarily better Keep in mind that the number
of words or characters may increase by 20%-60% when
they are translated into many other languages. This expansion
can affect the layout of PowerPoint presentations, marketing
materials, and your website.
4. Keep internal acronyms and jargon to a minimum Who is the
intended audience? If they dont work for your company o
if they are not in the same line of business, the translation
could miss the mark.
5. Include country codes for telephone and fax numbers in your
text. If your product instructions are going to Mexico and
your call center is in the U.S., your consumers need to have the
complete phone number in order to make the call.
6. Measurements in inches, feet and quarts need to be converted
to the metric system. Even the British stopped using
imperial measurements.
7. Check your dates. Formats vary from country to country so
spell out the month. 8/9 is August 9th in the U.S. but it is
September 8th in many countries.
8. Make sure that the original document is finished and will not
need any more editing. If you make changes to the origina
after you have submitted it for translation, you will be paying
for extra, unnecessary work.
9. Run a spelling and grammar check before submitting your
materials for translation. If your document has a typo and i
says weed where you meant to write seed, the same mistake will
probably be in the translation.
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10. Be specific. The more information you provide at the
beginning will pay off with a more targeted translation. Usefu
information includes where the translation will be used, and who
the audience is (consumers, B2B, engineers, etc.), and i
there are graphics or tables. Sending a sample of the document
is required.
11. Plan ahead. If it took you a month to write it, it may take
the translator just as long. Look at your schedule of
international trade shows for next year and pick up the
phone.
12. Send only what needs to be translated. Remove notes that you
dont need translated from PowerPoin
presentations before sending it to your translations
company.
13. Translation pricing is per word. Thats the industry
standard, and thats why tips #8 and #12 are included in this
list.
14. Ask questions. Your translations service provider is there
to make your job easier. If you are unsure of something
or have questions about some of the material to be translated,
they can help. Just ask.
http://www.pandltranslations.com
