What is included in a “translation, editing, and proofreading” service?

"Translation, editing, and proofreading" (or TEP) is our basic service and consists of:

- Translation

The translator renders the meaning of the message as expressed in the source language in the target language and produces a text that is consistent with the linguistic rules of the target language. The translation must also comply with the project specifications. Throughout this process, the translator must pay special attention to the following:

  • Terminology: consistency with the subject area and client terminology—or any other terminology provided—throughout the entire translation
  • Grammar: syntax, spelling, punctuation, orthotypography, or diacritical marks
  • Lexicon: lexical coherence and phraseology
  • Style: compliance with the internal or customer style guide, including any register and language variants
  • Local particularities: local conventions and regional standards
  • Formatting
  • The target group and purpose of the translation
- Checking

Once the translation is complete, the translator checks his or her work, making sure that the meaning has been faithfully rendered, that the translation has no omissions or errors, and that the requirements defined for the service have been met.

- Editing and Proofreading

All translations are edited and proofread. The editor is a person other than the translator, who has the appropriate expertise in the source and target languages. He or she must check that the translation fulfills its intended purpose. This task must include, according to project requirements, comparison of the source and target texts to ensure consistency of terminology and appropriateness of register and style.
The editor’s recommendations are taken into account and corrective action is taken where necessary, which may include a new translation.

(see ISO 17100:2015 standard)

What is included in the “post-translation layout or DTP” service?

When a translation is provided, the layout of the source document must often be reproduced and adapted in a target language.

Regardless of the file format, we perform the translation directly in the native source files. Then, depending on the expansion or contraction of the text as a result of translation or other characteristics of the target language (e.g. reversing the reading direction or changing from a Latin alphabet to an iconographic system), we reproduce the layout in the original format so the document can be printed or published digitally.

With our expertise in all professional layout applications, knowledge of all types of alphabets—including right to left languages—and our extensive font libraries, we are capable of meeting all your DTP (desktop publishing) needs.

How do you determine your rates?

Our translation rates are usually based on the “word” unit, depending on the language combination (source language and target language(s)) and the type of content to be translated (e.g. web content and technical documents). The word count feature of the document’s native software is usually used to calculate the number of words in the source file.

When using a translation tool, discounts are calculated for different categories of matches.

Other tasks, such as DTP or testing, are more commonly invoiced on an hourly or different per-unit basis (e.g. page).

All rates are specific to an estimate provided for a given project; we do not have a price list. All estimates are based on documents or content provided for this purpose.

What is a translation memory?

A translation memory is a bilingual corpus of texts in which units of meaning (sentences or segments) of a source language and a target language are matched.

Translation memories are often created and added to while a translation is performed, using computer-assisted translation or localization tools.

The most frequently used tools and systems include: SDL WorldServer, SDL Trados and Studio, Passolo, Catalyst, STAR Transit, and sometimes applications developed by our partners.

What are the advantages of using a translation memory?

Technical translation is characterized by the importance of consistent terminology, repetition, and frequent updates.

Computer-assisted translation technologies offer many advantages in this case, helping to properly and effectively manage these characteristics, including:

  • Ability to identify repetitions or similarities between a text to be translated and the contents of a translation memory, thus reducing completion time and the overall cost of a project
  • Ability to ensure a higher degree of consistency in terminology and style within a given group of contributors, for example, and from one version of a document to the next, increasing the quality and efficiency
  • Creation of a multilingual reference corpus that can be used in any translation project

End FAQ