What Happens When a Translation Order Is Received?
Some translation clients want to know in detail what happens when they place an order with Affinity Translation. More often clients, especially those who are repeat customers, mainly care that the final delivered translation meets their specifications. Meeting specifications means that the target language translation accurately expresses what was originally conveyed in the source language. Fair enough.
For clients who prefer more insight, here’s an outline of steps that happen behind the scenes to process a professional translation.
1. A translation order is received.
Hooray for the marketing department!
2. A translator is assigned to the project.
This is an important step in the process. Affinity Translation works with an extensive network of translators so there are typically numerous qualified translators available to assign the project to. To help pinpoint just the right translator to assign we consider:
a) Most obviously the language involved. Our policy (with very few exceptions) is to assign translators that are native speaking in the target language (the language we’re going into). So in the case of a project to translate a manual from English-to-Spanish, the translator would be native Spanish speaking.
b) The subject matter of the project. Translators have areas of specialization in many cases. It’s natural since translators are unique in their interests, life experiences, and educational specializations. Technical translators will typically have domain specific familiarity within certain defined areas.
c) Translator availability. Translators may be unavailable while working on another project. The ability to perform the translation within the required deadline is another consideration.
Confirmed acceptance of a project by the assigned translator means they agree to perform the translation and will complete the work within the agreed upon schedule.
3. Upon completion of the translation the output file is passed to another translator for editing/proofing. This step is performed in almost every project, with a very few exceptions, for reasons that we’ve discussed before (see prior blog on this topic). For any text that’s to be published we recommend proofing be performed.
4. After quality assurance editing/proofing occurs then the project is ready for delivery to the client. Projects are delivered by email or by ftp download (for larger files) for the fastest availability to the client. Since written documents are digital files, electronic delivery is the preferred method for nearly all clients.
5. Post project availability to answer client questions and provide any necessary support is part of the process. Questions are rare since the projects have been verified and our translators are seasoned professionals. However, it’s reassuring for clients to know that when questions occur we’ll do our best to answer them satisfactorily and in a timely manner.
