Any company that needs to have a document translated must consider various factors before contacting a translator. In order to find the best translator for the job, the company must decide what it requires from the translator and what it expects from the translation.

The translator's qualifications
First of all the company must identify the qualifications that the translator must have in respect of education, experience, technical competence, etc. In this connection it is important to bear in mind that translations by an autodidact translator and translations by a translator who has completed a regulated, recognised and officially approved translation study programme may differ widely. These differences are reflected in the price, and, even more importantly, in the quality. The company should find out whether the translator works under a specific, approved quality standard (for instance the DIN standard) or has another certification of quality. This might for instance be a personal certification based on a degree or a government certification. It can take a long time for the company to discover that a translation is bad, and this makes quality assurance essential. It is also important for the company to know whether and to what extent the translator is covered by professional liability insurance.

The company must decide whether the translator should be experienced in translating within a specific field or in translating similar texts. The company might also consider whether it would be satisfactory for the translation job to be passed on to a sub-contractor, the actual translator remaining anonymous. This is relevant if a translation agency uses an external translator for the job due to lack of capacity.

Choosing a translator
The company may prefer one translator over another for practical reasons. It might require that the translator has a very powerful computer or has access to certain IT tools (such as modem and e-mail) or specific computer programmes (such as CAD, DTP or word processing programmes). This is particularly important if the company needs to work on the layout of the translated text afterwards, or if the company wants the translation delivered electronically. In such situations the company could consider making certain computer programmes available to the translator or letting the translator do the job at the company premises.

The company must specify whether it has any specific safety requirements for storing the source text and the translation, for instance whether the translator may store the translation on his or her computer, or whether the material must be stored in a locked room. The company should remember that the translator must observe professional confidentiality under all circumstances.

Price and schedule
When drawing up the translation budget, the company must bear in mind that price, time and quality are often interconnected. It takes time to prepare a quality translation, so when the company is planning the production of its PR material, etc., translation of the text should be included in the production plan. To obtain a good result, the translator must have time to study the text carefully, research, and compile material. If the company is not prepared to spend sufficient money or is pressed for time, this may have a negative impact on the quality of the translation.

Often printing must be planned and ordered well in advance, and therefore the company should contact the translator at an early stage to agree on a time of delivery. In order to give an exact quote and estimate the necessary time for producing the translation, the translator needs to see the text or parts of the text, or be given thorough information about the text. It should be noted that "urgent" can be a relative term: it is in everybody's interest to have a specific deadline to stick to. The company must also remember that just as the company expects the translator to observe the terms of delivery, it is essential to the translator’s planning that he or she receives the source text and any supplementary material at the agreed time.

A written agreement specifying the price, the nature of the job, copyright terms, deadline, terms of delivery, and other terms and conditions is of the utmost importance.

The text's purpose and target group
To ensure that the translated text gets the message across, the company must clarify its expectations for the translation, the purpose of the text and the target group. For instance, it may be very relevant to a translation into English whether the target group is in the US, the UK or Germany. Many companies are not aware that cultural differences and lack of clarity concerning the text's recipients and purpose may lead to misunderstandings and confusion. Much of this can be avoided if the translator has been informed in advance of the cultural and educational background of the target group and what the text is for.

The company must also clarify whether it wants the text to appear translated, or whether the translator is to adapt the text completely to the target language. For example, the translator must be informed whether names of towns and other geographical terms are to be edited to make the text easier to understand for the reader (for instance names of minor towns can be replaced by a geographical description placing them in relation to a nearby larger town). It might also be an advantage to leave out sections that will be of no interest to the reader (for instance, a description on dividend taxation in a text for foreign shareholders). Such decisions depend on the recipients and purpose of the text. The translation should also take into account any cultural differences between the sender and the recipients, and the company must inform the translator whether he or she may edit the contents of the text, if necessary.

The company must remember that it is essential that the source text is well-prepared and clear. This provides the basis for a good and unambiguous translation that is suitable for its purpose.

Background and support material
As regards usage, the company may have specific terminological requirements. If so, the company should be prepared to make relevant material available to the translator, for instance vocabularies/glossaries, to ensure consistency in the choice of terms and usage in all company literature. In the long term it may be an advantage for the company to participate in the establishment of a term bank to draw on when needed.

Reference material supplied by the company and used as background and support material by the translator often contributes to a good result. It may be essential to the translator who is to do a technical translation to see technical descriptions, drawings and specifications regarding the product in question. General information material about the company shows the translator the profile that the company wants to convey; and any previous, perhaps even translated, texts from the same case (such as reports, correspondence and sales letters), as well as any parallel texts can help give the translator the necessary background knowledge for producing an optimal translation. If the company has specialist literature in the area, it may be advantageous to make it available to the translator, who can then save the time that it would have taken to seek information elsewhere.

In the case of large technical translations it might be a good idea for both parties if the company approves a glossary from the translator before receiving the final translation. In this way the parties can agree on the terms at a relatively early stage of the process, and thus reduce the risk of surprises and disagreements close to the deadline.

The company may also wish to consider whether it wants the translator to return all the supplementary material that he or she has received to support the translation work.

Personal contact between translator and company
Both the company and the translator can benefit from maintaining contact throughout the translation process. In most cases this ensures good communication between the parties and overall satisfaction with the final result. The company should also appoint a person for the translator to contact in case of doubt, for instance on technical matters, preferably an expert within the relevant field. It may also be necessary for the translator to contact the author of the source text in case of doubt.

It is a good idea for the company to allot time for an interview with the translator about the text and choice of technical terms, and possibly to read the first draft of the translation. Particularly in connection with translation of technical texts, it can be very useful for the translator to see special machines or production processes, since this improves the translator’s understanding of the product, and may save time.

Delivery of product
The company and the translator must decide on the document's form (hard copy, diskette, finished print) and format (particularly graphics or word processing programmes) and the way the translation is to be delivered (by e-mail, fax, post or courier). The company should also inform the translator in advance if it has any particular preferences as to the choice of font and font size.

If the translated text is to be reworked, for instance in the form of pre-print editing, it may be an advantage to have the translator do the proofreading to avoid wrong hyphenation, etc. The company must also tell the translator if it wants him or her to arrange for proofreading of the translated text by a native speaker.

Furthermore, the company must consider whether the document needs to be a certified translation.

Check-list

1. What education/qualifications should the translator have?

2. Has the translator taken out any insurance and what does it cover?

3. How does the translator handle quality assurance?

4. Does the translator need access to certain IT tools/computer programmes?

5. If necessary, can the company make special computer programmes available?

6. Should the translator have experience within the field in question?

7. What is the purpose of the text?

8. Who is the target group?

9. Is the translation to be source-language or target-language oriented?

10. When does the translation have to be delivered?

11. How much is the company willing to pay for the translation?

12. What does the company expect from the translation?

13. Does the company have any specific terminological and linguistic requirements?

14. Can the company provide relevant vocabularies/glossaries?

15. Is it possible to provide the translator with background and support material in the form of technical specifications, descriptions and drawings?

16. Is it possible to show the translator any previously translated texts from the same case (correspondence, reports, etc.)?

17. Can the company appoint an in-house contact person?

18. Should the translator be given the opportunity to visit the company to see special production machinery or processes?

19. Does the company want to approve a glossary from the translator before receiving the final translation?

20. Are there any specific safety requirements regarding the storing of the text?

21. Is the text to be proofread by a native speaker?

22. Is the translator to do the proofreading before the text is printed?

23. Is the translator to provide the document with any official endorsements (e.g. for court use)?

24. How and in which form and format is the translation to be delivered (diskette/hard copy/finished print/post/e-mail/fax/courier)?