According to Cambridge Dictionary, the word “process” means a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result.
Just imagine a workflow that is done not accordingly like this: the third step executed as first, the fourth step is skipped, then the seventh step is forgotten. There is no doubt that this will end in a totally inappropriate outcome.
Performing a chronological process to achieve a task ensures the quality of the final output. It avoids errors that may cause inconvenience and difficulties to the users and consumers. But if an error does occur, it is easier to identify what is missing and which part the mistake took place by going back through each step. From there, it is not difficult to fix.
Once a process is established and you familiarized yourself with it, the job will be faster and more accurate. A process secures every product or service to maintain its high-quality standards. This is why it is universally applied to every industry, as well as in translation companies.
In this blog post, we will enumerate the steps of a translation process and define each of them.
1. Project Review
This is the first stage wherein the preparation of raw untranslated text happens. Complete project information must be provided such as target audience, document purpose, reference materials, and text format.
2. Glossary
A glossary is a collection of terminologies used to retain consistency. In this step, the client gives the glossary if it already exists or if there’s none, then the translation company will create one based on their references.
3. Translation
This is where the production of source language text is translated to the target language occurs.
4. Check
The target language text carried out by the translator is examined.
5. Revision
This part is also known as Editing in TEP process (Translation, Editing, Proofreading) or bilingual examination. This is where both target language text and source language text are compared to each other.
6. Review
Also known as monolingual examination wherein target language text is reviewed for its suitability for the agreed purpose.
7. Proofread
In this stage, the revised target language text is examined and corrections are applied.
8. Quality Control
The last stage reassures the final output to its top quality. It’s run for one last time to search then perform final edits if necessary. Once done, the translation agency will deliver the final document translation within the agreed delivery date.
Having a translation process is beneficial to both clients and translators. It gives both sides a good organization of tasks, a better understanding of the procedure, saves time and energy from revising errors, and shows professionalism.
It is ideal to let clients be aware of how the translation job is done. Whenever a follow-up inquiry comes up, it is easy to explain the progress of the work in detail. Overall, following a process makes any job successful.
To end this blog post, we are including an infographic to share our translation process with you. If you are thinking about to have some document translated and curious about how translation companies do it, then this is for you.
