How to choose a translator:
You are choosing a language service provider to partner with. You want to work with an agency that has a pool of well educated, highly accurate, committed professionals with a passion for communicating with force and precision in their area of expertise.
When choosing a translator ask your potential suppliers whether their translators meet these 3 criteria:
- Native speakers. Demand always that the people translating your business documentation are native speakers of the language they are translating into. This ensures that the translation will read naturally (although there is always a risk that parts of the original might not be properly understood). Ideally, the translator will understand the original like a native speaker and write the translation like a native speaker. In the real world, however, totally bilingual people are hard to find.
- Experienced, qualified and full time. Make sure your supplier is using professionals with academic qualifications, linguistic degrees, certifications, etc., and that they have been translating for some time (not just an evening job from home).
- Industry expertise. Does your supplier apply strict measures to guarantee that their translators are subject specialists working with technical accuracy and precision in their field? It is a common misconception that if a person can speak a given language they can translate into that language. But can any native English speaker write a business plan or a technical manual?
A translator must not only be a native speaker but must also be an expert in his or her field, as well as being a qualified linguist and a skilled writer.
