5 Things to Do for Better Translation

After choosing the right translation service provider, you can still do something on your end to obtain even better translation quality.

1. Provide quality source

Source errors will delay progress. Ambiguous source text results in inaccurate translation. More importantly, the source text demonstrates your quality standard. Translators endeavor to make the translation quality match your expectation. The better the source you provide, the better the target you get. It's worth it to allocate a bit of time to improve the source text.

2. Manage the time

Time plays a very important role in translation quality. The more time you leave for translators, the better quality they can achieve. Be generous in setting the time limit when your schedule is not so tight. After all, you pay the translation fee by word count instead of hours. We recommend you have a look at our tips on timing your translation projects.

3. Explain your needs clearly

Usability is one of the most important measures of translation quality. To ensure usability translators must understand how and where you will use the translation and who will be the target audience. The more information you provide to the translators, the better translation you will receive.

4. Be responsive

It's inevitable that translators have questions about your requirements or source text. On Translia they will post job comments and you will receive an email notification. When you receive such notification, be sure to reply at your earliest convenience. Asking questions doesn't mean translators are incapable. On the contrary, experienced and responsible translators are more likely to ask you questions. The quicker you provide answers, the better quality you will receive.

5. Give feedback

Translators usually work as anonymous authors. For this reason they receive less recognition than any other professionals. When you receive the translation, don't forget to thank the translators. If you have any evaluation of the translation, be sure to share them. Whether your feedback is negative or positive, the translators will be motivated to do a better job in the future.