If you, or your business or organisation are looking around for a translation service for the first time then be aware that there may be a number of common pitfalls that should be avoided in the process. When communicating in a different language becomes important, you don’t want to miss contracts or deadlines because the translators were unable to understand your requirements or were unable to provide a translation copy that met your standards of accuracy.
While there is certainly a niche for automatically generated translators that can be found on the internet or are available using some sort of specialised electronic translation computer, they are generally not accurate enough for most document or website translation requirements. They should be left for casual, personal use when meeting someone who you cannot communicate with because of the language barrier. Having a tablet handy with a translation facility on it is great for communicating in the odd face to face encounter, say when you are on holiday. The problem arises when they are used for things like immigration or business translations just to cut costs.
The answer is always to stick to a professional translation service provider when the quality of the translation is important. If you are looking for translation services in Australia, you can be certain that an individual translator who is NAATI accredited meets exacting standards of translation quality.
Generally, a translation agency or translation services provider who employs a number of translators is more likely to be able to deal with a fuller range of documents and languages as well as be able to deliver a translation in the time frame required. Very often a translation agency will offer a premium service that may cost more but can get a translation done more quickly over a weekend or public holiday. Choose the translation provider that can deliver what you want, when you want it.
One pitfall which is easy to fall into is to leave everything to the translator. It is always best to provide the translator with sufficient guidelines about what you want done and how you want it done. Good translation service providers will maintain a line of communication with you through the translation process if it is a lengthy project so that time is not wasted.
