Basic Translation Terminology - Help to order a translation

At work, you will be asked to find a translation agency that will translate a larger number of documents as quickly and cheaply as possible. However, when you start making phone calls, the project leaders ask you questions about many things you've never heard of.

·         "Do you already know how many standard pages/words the text to be translated contains?"

·         "Do you also have a glossary or do you want us to do the DTP?"

At the same time, they explain to you how much discount they offer you for what they call "partial and complete repetitions," and by the way, they also mention that they can also create a term base and a translation memory with what they call translation software.

So that next time you don't wonder if you've actually called the correct phone number, read our post or forward it to the person responsible for ordering translations. 

1. What is a native speaker of the target language?

Translation agencies often point out that their translators/proofreaders are native speakers. Unfortunately, this tells you very little as the customer. All translators/proofreaders have at least one mother tongue. However, it is important for you that the translators are native speakers of the target language.

Let's explain this with an example: If you have a text translated from Spanish into English, you need a native English speaker. Of course, the translator must also know Spanish very well and know the difference between good and bad Spanish.

But that's not all. Before you submit the text you want to translate, you may also be asked if you need the translation for the UK or American market, for example.

You can find out why you are asked this when you ask about the localization.

2. What is a standard page?

A standard page is a standard unit that contains 250 words or 1500 characters without spaces. The default unit for the calculation is also a standard line that contains 55 characters without spaces.

In Word, you can check the number of characters by clicking Check - Count Words - Characters (no spaces) in the top of the program bar.

If you ask us for an estimate, we will of course comply with this and send you an estimate based on the actual document we have received from you.

When ordering a translation, also check whether the agency calculates the number of standard pages based on the number of words/characters in the original text or translation.

3. What is TRANSLATION software/computer-aided translation (CAT tools)?

First of all, it must be made clear that this is not a machine translation (e.g. using Google Translator) that we will discuss in the next question.

Nowadays, it is difficult to find a translator who does not use at least one translation software in his work. This allows him to speed up his work, do it more efficiently and achieve a higher quality and consistency of translation.

When translating with translation industry, it divides the source text into meaningful units or segments (these can even include only one word/phrase/sentence/whole paragraph).