Since the importance of language service providers’ work cannot be stressed enough, we would like to shed some light on the positives that come from working with language service providers (LSPs).

You might think, “I have a family member who speaks another language, why can’t I ask them to do it?” In some cases, if the situation is low-stakes and simple, that may be helpful. But most requests for translation and interpretation have high stakes and require training that your friend or family member probably doesn’t have: simply being bilingual isn’t enough.

Translators are excellent writers in their native language, and they are trained to research and use technology effectively to help the translation process. They know how to take into account the register, purpose, discourse, and audience of a text in order to translate completely, accurately, and fluently.

Interpreters have another refined skill set, including differentiating key information, using appropriate terminology, and using various memory and note-taking techniques. Language professionals know how to do jobs accurately and efficiently, whereas untrained people are more likely to make mistakes or lack experience in bridging the gap between two languages, which can make a huge difference down the road.

Now you’re convinced that you need a professional, but you don’t know any – where can you find such a person?

This is where LSPs come into play. LSPs have strong networks of vetted translators and interpreters whose performances are evaluated regularly. LSPs know which translators specialize in legal translation, which interpreters specialize in medical and health care interpreting, etc. They also work hard to understand the client’s request and related needs, so that they can find the perfect match for the job.

Finding the right translator/interpreter is one major function of LSPs, but they do much more. LSPs can handle large volumes of work, and they can complete projects ranging from translation of a simple Word document to video subtitling to providing interpretation for conferences. Of course, every LSP is different; some choose to focus on certain domains (such as legal, technical, or medical) and some specialize in only one or two types of projects (audiovisual localization, for example). No matter what they specialize in, the best LSPs have plenty of experience working with language-related projects and can deliver high-quality projects to client’s satisfaction!

The multilingual experience that LSPs have allows them to provide consultations and advice to clients about linguistic and cultural differences that could affect their projects. Different languages have different challenges, and LSPs have experience tackling these. Most importantly, LSPs are typically familiar with different cultures and they can spot any potential faux pas and correct them before the project is finalized.

Our final thought: Most people who find their way to working in the translation and interpretation industry are incredibly talented and passionate about languages! Whether they are translators, interpreters, LSP employees, or other language professionals, they have spent their time training and refining their skills. LSPs like Monterey Language Services are able to harness the talents and passion of these people and channel it into high quality language services for our clients!

Terminology
When translating any document, it’s important to compile a glossary first (or read an existing glossary carefully if there already is one). Translation of terminology in a document should be consistent; specialized vocabulary, including titles and field-specific terms – things like, for example: spirit beings, supernatural other being, invisible other – should be rendered clearly and identically throughout the translation.

When dealing with pronouns, translators usually translate word by word. But if this approach results in an awkward translation, translators need to add, delete or replace words in order to make it sound natural in the target language.

Context
It’s important to refer to context, as this may give some clues as to how to translate, and which translation strategy should be adopted. Translators need to not only retain the meaning of the original text, but also the tone of the source.

Take this sentence, for example: “in very limited circumstances, it may be acceptable to pay for travel and lodging expenses.” “In very limited circumstances” and “it may be acceptable” are two key parts in this sentence. These two elements have certain tonal implications, and translators should highlight these two parts accordingly in the translation in order to stress the tone.

Long Sentences
Documents with very long sentences require translators to recreate the meaning of the original and write in a way that is concise and easy to follow. The solution is to identify the appropriate target-language sentence structure first, and then add the different necessary elements in it. Also, translators, of course, need to repeat what’s been said in the source text in order to avoid meaning shifts or mistranslations.

Here’s an example of a long sentence where we can use this strategy: “No employee, subcontractor, or joint venture partner is authorized to provide payment in any form, or to agree to provide payment in any form, for such expenses without the prior written approval of the Company’s legal counsel for the region within which such payment would be made.”
This is a very long sentence, and a very important one. The first thing to do is to set the sentence structure in our target language (in this case, Chinese), which is “……如果没有……，无权……。” Also, while frequent repetition of the same word or words is sometimes thought to be bad style, it may be necessary in serious legal or other specialized documents which uses standardized language.

Monterey Language Services is committed to bridging the world’s languages by providing quality, professional and efficient translation & interpretation services in over 175 languages.

To assure this, we have developed a rigorous management process, starting with choosing the best translators from our translator database. We always select translators with the subject matter knowledge and experience necessary for the project at hand, using translators who specialize in marketing for marketing translations, medical translators for medical translations, legal translators for legal translations, and technical translators for technical translations.

Using translators unsuited to the subject matter leads to mistakes, and it is the most common problem in translation projects. That is why selecting the right translators is a fundamentally important step in our process.

We don’t rely on just a handful of translators. We have a huge database and network of linguists, many of them accredited and certified, and we are continually expanding it, always looking for the best translation professionals in their fields. We start by screening our translators and testing them to make sure they are able to perform to our standards. We also build and maintain a professional working relationship with them, to make sure they understand our standards and our clients’ needs.

Even after the translation is complete, we further review our translators’ work to make sure they meet our quality requirements. We find, isolate, verify and resolve any issues. With the multi-stage quality assurance process, which uses at least two linguists for every translation, followed by an extra round of QA and Verification, we ensure that no mistakes slip past us into the final product.

Doing the job right the first time is utterly important. It saves time and avoids extra cost. Best yet, it helps our clients increase communication success and business growth. This is our mission every day and we are loving it!

Monterey Language Services strives to provide the highest quality of translation and interpretation services. Please feel free to contact us for a quote.

You have found us – we provide quick & easy solutions for all your translation needs. Tell us about the subject of the text to be translated, its size and the languages you want, and we will provide a quote. Send us the files, and within short order, we will deliver a clear, accurate, complete translation.

That’s it! That’s all you have to do. Simply send us the text you want translated, then leave all the rest to us.

Of course, quite a bit more goes on behind the scenes, starting with doing the translation right the first time. We use a multi-step process to ensure the quality of our translations, starting with the translation itself, then editing, followed by proofreading and QA. Every translation is confirmed by at least one other linguist to assure that the meaning of the original is conveyed clearly and accurately. 

We also check for completeness and formatting and can perform DTP image editing as necessary. We work with any format, from Word documents, to PowerPoint presentations, to Excel spreadsheets, to software applications, to website localization. Whether you’re looking to translate a code of conduct, an employee handbook, company policies, a slideshow, a survey or a script, we can make it happen.

We can also handle any subject matter. Whether legal documents, technical manuals, or medical reports, our highly-trained translators will rise to the challenge. Our specialization is in highly-technical subjects.

Furthermore, we provide over 175 languages (including Arabic, Japanese, Hebrew, Malay, German, French, Indonesian, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Italian, Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, Hindi, Norwegian, Polish, Russian and more).

We treat every project with special care, and our goal is to always try our best to make sure the readers understand the original text in their own language, as clearly and as easily as possible. 

Monterey Language Services strives to provide the highest quality of translation and interpretation services. Please feel free to contact us for a quote.