YNOT EUROPE – When you have something translated, the quality of the translator’s work is crucial to your business. A large contract may depend on precisely what your quote package says. Or, if your website is translated incorrectly, subtle cues may turn away potential customers without you realizing what’s happening.

But how do you go about checking a translator’s work to determine if you received quality output?

The only way to be certain a translator did a good job is to have the product checked by someone who speaks the target language. If you are not fluent in the target language, find someone who is. Most freelance translators and translation agencies offer proofreading or editing services as well as full translation services. If you have any doubts about the quality of the work you received, then hire a separate agency or freelance translator to check the work. This type of service will not cost as much as a full translation and will save you money in the long run.

If it is software, a website or marketing material that has been translated, inserting a “pilot phase” in your launch timeline can be helpful. Testing the finished product with local experts prior to launch can highlight potential translation issues.

One of the best ways to ensure a quality translation is to hire a reputable translation agency or freelance translator in the first place. This is not always easy if you are not familiar with the translation industry, but here are a few suggestions:

• Begin your search in a translation marketplace on the Internet. There are many online marketplaces where clients post ratings and comment about their experiences with agencies and freelance translators.
• Ask the translators you are considering to provide a list of references. Check with those clients to see whether they have been happy with the services provided by the company.
• Before you decide to use a translation agency, enquire how they ensure the quality of their translations. If they cannot respond quickly to your question, then do not use their services.

Most good translation agencies employ a two- or three-person process in order to ensure their translations are accurate. Most will guarantee the quality of their work, as well. Often this is why translation agency services are more expensive than those provided by freelance translators, who typically work alone.

In order to ensure quality in the finished product, translation agencies usually process each project through two translators and a linguist who are skilled in the target language. As you might expect, the main translator takes the original document and translates it into the target language. Then, a second translator takes the original and the translated document and checks the accuracy of the work. The second translator also should be an expert in the language pair that is used.

Finally, a native speaker of the target language proofreads the translated document to make sure that there are no linguistic mistakes. The linguist provides a fresh review of the document without having been influenced by the original work.

If the translation agency uses a similar process to the one described above and also has good ratings from previous clients, then you can be fairly sure the translations they perform for you will be of good quality. However, if there is any doubt in your mind or if the project is extremely important or complex, it does not hurt to have the translated project checked by someone who is fluent in the target language.

This article was contributed to YNOT Europe by TranslationsXXX, an adult website translation service employing certified translators in 30 languages.