1. What information do we need before we start a translation project?

2. What is the difference between translation and interpretation?

3. Why should I use a translations company instead of going to a freelancer or a friend?

4. Why should translators only translate into their mother tongue?

5. If all your translators are professionally qualified and only translate into their mother tongue, why does their work still have to be checked?

6. If you have someone to check the translation, does it still have to be checked by us?

7. I am going to do a presentation for a Chinese/Japanese/Arabic/Korean client. Should I have my business card translated into their language?

8. How many different sorts of spoken and written Chinese are there?

9. Why are European and Latin American Spanish different?

10. Farsi or Persian? Are they different?

11. How can you tell whether a Scandinavian language is Norwegian, Danish or Swedish?

12. Can you translate using PDF files?

13. How to become a professional translator or interpreter?

14. What is localisation?

15. How different is localisation from translation?

Question 1
What information do we need before we start a translation project?
Answer 1
In order to be able to give you an accurate estimate of the cost of translating your text, together with a completion time/date, we would appreciate the following information:

• The type of document you wish translated
• The length of the document
• The language(s) into which it is to be translated
• The subject of the document?
• The purpose of the translation – i.e. for personal use or for the public domain.
• The latest time by which it is to be completed. Please remember that translations need checking as well. Also some time is needed to do justice to a well-written piece of text and produce a comparable translation. The translator will average 1000-2000 words per day.
• How you want the text presented – eg as text or page make-up, in hard copy or on disk, CD, film, bromide, EPS/PDF files. If an electronic file is required please state which application (ie; Word, Excel etc.) and platform (Mac or PC)
• If you require a particular type of layout, whether you are able to supply us with the template on disk,  or by e-mail.
• Whether you have any corporate material, such as business logo, brochure etc, reference material or any other text which might help with the translation.
  
  If you would like us to give you a quote, you can send the document for translation by several routes: by fax, as a hard copy in the post, on disk/CD or by e-mail. Prices are determined by the length (eg for longer documents, discounts are available), the language, how technical they are, the subject matter and the deadline you have set. Once we have your text, we will contact the ideal translator for you and quote you with the best rate.

Question 2
What is the difference between translation and interpretation?
Answer 2
Translation usually refers to the written word, whereas interpretation is always oral. There are different ways of interpreting depending on the type of event and number of listeners.

- Simultaneous interpreting: The interpreters will sit in a soundproof booth and the audience will follow the conversation in their own language through headphones. Suitable for large groups.

- Consecutive interpreting: This is for small meetings. No equipment is used and the speaker pauses while the interpreter translates what has just been said.

- Whispered interpreting: This is suitable for only one or two people.
Top of the page

Question 3
Why should I use a translations company instead of going to a freelancer or a friend?
Answer 3
As a translation company, we can provide services and skills of many, rather than just those of one person. Each of our translators has particular areas of expertise and experience. We therefore offer a wide-ranging service and can give you a translator who is an expert in the particular subject matter, eg legal contracts, technical manuals etc. Having a good agency translate your text ensures quality control and greater resources than are available to an individual translator.
We take on the time and effort needed to find the best translator for you, so that you do not end up spending hours getting a bad translation corrected – or being embarrassed when the translation turns out not to be satisfactory to your clients.
TTC Language Services Ltd has access to the best translators specialising in whatever you need, with in-house editing and checking to make sure you are 100% satisfied.
Top of the page

Question 4
Why should translators only translate into their mother tongue?
Answer 4
For a translation to express fully and accurately the original content, it needs someone of the same linguistic and cultural background to be the ‘bridge’.
They need to be perfectly familiar with both cultures involved, as well as having a knowledge of the subject matter.
For example, there are many words for ‘plate’ in English (dish, platter, plate etc).
Would you know how to translate this into French – the dictionary may only give you one choice for whichever English choice you happen to look up. Or an online translation engine may give you ‘plat’ but ‘plat’ is then translated back as ‘dish’.

Let TTC Language Services Ltd make sure your translation is spot on.

Top of the page

Question 5
If all your translators are professionally qualified and only translate into their mother tongue, why does their work still have to be checked?
Answer 5
Just as your original document has most likely been put together and/or approved by more than one person, even possibly a whole department, we like to be sure that all our translations, whether for publication or not, are checked for accuracy and presentation by a second native speaker, also qualified in that area.
He or she checks the translation to make sure it represents the style and meaning of the original and uses the same terms.
We know you would agree that your original document should be quality-controlled in this way, ensuring the best expression as well as absolute precision in grammar, spelling, punctuation etc, so doesn’t it make sense to do the same for the translation?
Top of the page

Question 6
If you have someone to check the translation, does it still have to be checked by us?
Answer 6
Despite our translators being of the best quality, it is still vital to check a translation whether it be for publication, as hard copy or electronically, for legal use, or merely for sharing within your business.

If you wish to decline TTC's service of having the translation checked by a second translator or editor, then please  ensure that person who is checking the translation has a copy of this document.

If the person checking is not an employee of the translation company, you need to be sure they are competent, with a thorough knowledge of the original language from which the translation is made, so that no unauthorised changes that are made (no matter how necessary) alter the original sense. The checking can be done by marking a printout, or on screen with the use of "Track changes".

Make sure the checker:
1. Compares translation and original to ensure there are no omissions or mistakes.
2. Checks that any technical terms are consistent with your company’s usage.
3. Checks that these terms, as well as spelling, abbreviations, style etc are consistent with your style sheet or other documents or reference sources.
4. Is aware of the purpose of the translation, ie for whom it is intended, and the style of the original, so that the translation follows this and any improvements made to it do not alter the meaning.
5. Ensures that any alterations they make to the translator’s work, which differ from the original for reasons of the checker’s preference or for any other reason, are shown as being amendments to the translator’s work.
6. Ensures that the layout and presentation are as requested by you, eg font size and type, format, case etc.

If you wish to request alterations to the document that will entail further translation and checking, this must be agreed with TTC prior to work commencing. 
Top of the page

Question 7
I am going to do a presentation for a Chinese/Japanese/Arabic/Korean client. Should I have my business card translated into their language?
Answer 7
Yes definitely. Whether you are a small business or a multi-national, presenting your business card in the language of the country you are visiting will make a positive statement.

For further information please click this link http://www.ttcltd.com/services/business_card.html

Question 8
How many different sorts of spoken and written Chinese are there?
Answer 8
There are many Chinese dialects, some people speaking only one and some speaking several. These have now diverged to become mutually unintelligible in some cases, owing to historical factors. But Mandarin, the dialect used for all official purposes, is spoken by approximately 70% of all Chinese people and understood and spoken by basically all educated speakers of other dialects in China and Taiwan, such as Taiwanese people speaking Hoklo or Cantonese people speaking Cantonese.

Chinese characters were simplified in 1956 and in 1964 to ease the learning of the language, resulting in two main Chinese writing systems, Traditional or Fanti Zi and Simplified or Jianti Zi.

Taiwan still uses Traditional characters, while the People's Republic uses Simplified characters.

If you are booking an interpreter, you need to tell us which dialect is concerned, since spoken as well as written Chinese has so many forms and it is so easy to have a ‘glitch’ in communication. You also need to be very aware of your market or the target country when preparing literature, as it is important to use the correct Chinese forms and observe any regional differences in culture which would affect the style of the translation.
Top of the page

Question 9
Why are European and Latin American Spanish different?
Answer 9
This is a comparable variation to that between UK and US English. It is idiom and vocabulary that are usually affected, rather than grammar if we are considering the standard form of each type of Spanish.
There are also differences in accent, idiom and vocabulary within Latin America between each of the Spanish-speaking countries, as there are (although even more complex, involving grammar and spelling) between the Portuguese of Portugal and Brazil.

TTC Language Services Ltd can help by making sure your translation hits your target if you are exporting to or communicating with such countries.

Question 10
Farsi or Persian? Are they different?
Answer 10
No, they are not. These two are used for naming a single language.

Question 11
How can you tell whether a Scandinavian language is Norwegian, Danish or Swedish?
Answer 11
Here are some tips:

Look for ö and ä and you know it’s Swedish and not Danish or Norwegian.

Look for softer consonants like g, b, d, and v and you know it’s Danish.
Look for harder consonants like as k, p, t, and f and you know it’s Norwegian.
The translation of the common word ‘of’ (which breaks this rule) is "af" in Danish and "av" in Norwegian.
Top of the page

Question 12
Can you translate using PDF files?
Answer 12
Yes we can translate from PDF files. But we would not be able to retain the format of the file. Please see the option below:

Option 1: From PDF files we can do the translations and deliver it to you in Word format. If say source files are in QuarkXpress format, this means your designers or printers would need to format the text in QuarkXpress. We would only charge for the number of words we have translated. In this option we would not carry out any layout or formatting. 

Option 2: We have an in-house typesetting studio. So we can use your source files (ie QuarkXpress, Indesign etc) and carry out the translations from there and re-format the translations as per English, keeping all logos, tables and format as per original. This would give you a ready to print language versions without your designers or printers having to work on the translations. There would be a typesetting fee for this option.

Question 13
How do I become a professional translator or interpreter?
Answer 13
For further information please contact:
Intitute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) http://www.iti.org.uk/indexMain.html
 

Question 14
What is localisation?
Answer 14
Localisation is the process of adapting content or products to meet the linguistic, cultural, and technical requirements of a specific target market.

Question 15
How different is localisation from translation?
Answer 15
Localisation involves translation (e.g. of manuals and other documentations, screens, help texts, and error messages). However, the localisation process also requires other non-linguistic skills. On the software programming side, screen dialog boxes and field lengths may have to be altered; date, time and currency formats changed; delimiters for figures replaced; and icons and colours adapted. On the content side, programs often have to be changed to conform to national and cultural norms.

Top of the page