This graphic novel project is part a type of new media, a pioneering effort by a handful of creators in search of a new medium for presenting art, story, voice, and music. A pool of talents was gathered for an old-fashioned romantic adventure with elements of Arabian Nights, Cinderella, and the Shangri-la myth. The story depicts a romantic adventure that spans modern-day New York City and the ancient, fictional country of Gao in China. In the midst of modern and old, fiction and non-fiction, West and East, English and Mandarin, romance and mystery, the graphic novel indeed is exotic to watch.

The work has been produced into ten video chapters. To give you a glimpse of our translation work, among what has been published: Chapter 3 has the most translation voices so far. The significant amount of Mandarin presented among English voices indeed makes the graphic novel stand out as a unique and interesting entertainment piece!

Monterey Language Services took extra time to polish the translations into Simplified Chinese to ensure not only accuracy, but an enjoyable and colloquial read for native speakers. Some of the challenges for this project were derived from cultural differences in how to translate certain phrases created specifically for the graphic novel.

For example, we have the “golden doom,” which refers to a specific event in the story. Because the event transports people similarly to the Christian idea of the rapture, our translation was “极乐升天,” which means “bliss ascension” in Chinese language.

One more example of the cultural challenge is rooted in English homonyms. The sentence: “They follow the standard of Lord Kang and swear on his eyes.” In this sentence, what does “standard” mean? If we suggested “average or normal requirement,” it actually would be incorrect! “Standard” in this instance means a battle flag—something ancient soldiers would follow on the battlefield.

Another difficulty was dealing with the ambiguity of written words. In spoken English, a person’s tone can very easily denote sincerity or sarcasm — consider the phrase “good job” being spoken sincerely and being spoken sarcastically, and their meanings become very different. While the context and illustrations in graphic novels can alleviate this confusion in text, sometimes the tone could be just missed. One such problem occurred in our initial translation of “What a stunt,” a line which our translator took be said in admiration, when in actuality, it was an insult. Through our editing/reviewing process we discovered the issue, and the translation was changed from “真是好身手” (really good) to “真有一套,” which has a similar meaning in a more sarcastic tone.

We are incredibly proud of the work we were able to provide for this project, and would like to add more viewing pleasure and excitement by sharing the above behind-the-scenes glimpses to our translation work. We wish all the success to the audience and contributors to the graphic novel. The chapters will be published in video format weekly on YouTube until the tenth and final one is uploaded.

One way is automating it. Some of the simplest mistakes that translators make involve mixing up numbers, conversions, or names. The easiest way to make sure that you have correctly reflected every instance mentioned in the source in the translation is to use a text compare. Of course, your translation will be flagged as being vastly different from the source, but it will let you know if the numbers, company names, and other words or numbers that have to be the same in the target as they are in the source are the same or not. It also takes virtually no time too. All you have to do is copy and paste then press a button. It shouldn’t take you more than five minutes to go through everything depending on the length of your project.

Another way is to make it hard to make any mistakes from the very start. If you are translating into a new, blank document, instead try translating into the target document itself. You could even enter the strings into a machine translation so that you can see the translation and the source side by side. Doing this makes it much harder for you to make any typing errors when copying whatever needs to be the same in the target as in the source. If the document you have is not easily copied such as a pdf, you can use OCR to help make the text selectable and then copy it into a word document.

The next tip is the simplest and possibly the most obvious solution. Whenever you see something that has to stay the same between the source and target, just copy it from the source to the target. So for example, if you have a number like 1,000,231, then just copy it into the target. If you want to take this a step further, then you should highlight every instance of numbers or text that need to be the same between the two files and then you will be able to quickly identify the places that need to be checked before delivery.

Quality Assurance is a necessary part of the translation process but often not something that is effectively done due to time constraints or other factors. Hopefully with this post, you have learned a few tips about how you can make the process shorter, but without sacrificing any quality. If you are able to submit a translation that avoids minor mistakes can really help your reputation and make you stand out as a translator who can be relied on.

For the best results when translating, it is important to always think about the context in which the source text was written and how it might be perceived if brought to the target culture. What this means is that language and culture are always very tightly intertwined with one another, so what one language might find normal, another language might find abnormal or outright offensive. For example, in the Hopi Indian language, there is no word for time, so their understanding of time is very different from most of the world where there is a defined word and definition for time. Similarly, divorce does not have its own native word in most Indian languages, and they instead use the English word “divorce,” if they ever want to get a divorce. However, divorce rates are much lower than they might be in other places in the world, due to their culture seeing marriage as a lifetime commitment. These kinds of cultural differences is why you have to do a little research when you are translating.

Similarly, in Japan, they have adapted a lot of English words into their own language and use them on a daily basis, but if an English speaking person heard these words, they might have a different idea of what they mean. For example the word “lamp” might mean a kind of light that you might find on your desk or in the room, but in Japanese, it is used almost exclusively for indicator lights. So when you translate languages that use words that appear in the target language as well, be sure to make sure that they have the same meaning in both languages.

Another thing you should be careful of is avoiding idioms altogether if you can help it. Idioms are commonplace in any language, but there will not always be an equivalent idiom in the target language. Unless the idiom is very essential to the translation, you should try to figure out a different way of phrasing it. For example, the phrase “two birds, one stone.” There may be equivalents to this in some languages, but if the target language does not have an equivalent, then you could instead say “accomplish two things with one action” or something of the sort.

While translation can be a fairly straightforward process of just taking the source words and then convert it into the target language, it can often be much more complex than that. While fields such as technical and patent translation might encourage a more one to one translation, there are some styles, phrases, and references that just won’t translate if you adapt a one to one style. That is where some creative liberties come into play where the translator tries to find replacement words or phrases that won’t always have the exact meaning of the original, but will be able to give the same nuance or elicit the same kind of reaction as the original did in the source language.

It’s always about team work. At Monterey Language Services, we are always looking for the right fit for a translation team which always includes a reviewer. Translation can become a long and difficult process if we don’t choose a right team, but then with the right insights and strategies, it becomes easier to control quality and get the desired results.

Lack of the natural flow probably is the most common scenario to be improved. Other than that, many things could be missed in a translation as well, whether it’s due to careless error or a difficulty of tracking everything that the client wants. This is why we need to start with the right foot by choosing a right team to work with for a specific project , and so we can ensure that the translation is accurate, complete, and easy to read.

Then, how do you know what kind of a team would be the best to use? It’s the same for translators and reviewers, you have to choose one that is the best fit for you and the project at hand. This means that even if you are used to using a certain team, you cannot always use them for every project that you have. The selection usually is based on subject specialization. Someone who writes well and is familiar with how subject terminology is used in their daily business. For instance, someone who has experience with the medical field, ideally familiar with whatever is being mentioned in the document. If a translator or a reviewer is unfamiliar with the subject, they may not catch certain errors or they may misunderstand the real meaning or commonly used terminology in that field.

Additionally, you need a team who are familiar with cultural conventions. For example, in Japanese, there are different ways of writing depending on the audience that the document is written for. If someone is not familiar with the different nuances of the language, they might flag certain phrasing or pronoun usage as errors, even though they are correct in the context of the document. This is why depending on the content, it is important to hire translators and reviewers with a certain amount of experience.

One other thing that you might want to be careful of is more in regards to your company itself. The team should be made aware of what is expected of them and what they expect the finished translation to look like and represent. This means everything should be kept handy and shared, including style guides, terminology lists, stop-word lists or any other kind of documents that they want the translation to adhere to. This will help everyone be aware of what they should be looking for when they are translating as well as reviewing.

To do this, reviewers are used. Reviewers can come in all shapes and sizes depending on the type of project or its size, but typically there is at least one reviewer involved in the translation process. Sending out a translation with a review is a sure way to ensure that the deliverables are in good order and shape. A reviewer is equally if not more important than a translator because they act as the final defense line against quality errors and even more importantly, they increase quality in discourse and presentation. There are reactive and proactive approaches to a translation process.

A reactive approach simply means that when the reviewer finds an error, they will correct it and submit it. Then the vendor (a translation company) might send it back to the translator to make sure that what the reviewer corrected was not a problem. Then if the translator finds an error in the review, they will correct it, which will prompt the vendor to send it back to the reviewer. This process could potentially go on for a long time if there are no measures in place for a more proactive approach.

This is why a more proactive approach is encouraged where there are set processes in place. Expectations are laid out beforehand, and everyone involved receives metrics to help translation and reviewing become more efficient. It also will help to eliminate any potential back and forth that might occur between different people involved. Of course though, the training involved is necessary to make sure that everyone is caught up and on the same page regarding their expectations.  A proactive approach in a translation process keeps projects in control. It’s especially valuable for large projects that involved many resources. A proactive process saves costs and headaches down the road.

Finally, client reviews, if those occurred, are looped back to the reactive and proactive approaches mentioned above. Usually a successful project is the end result of dedications from both the client side and the translation company side. Working closely together with the client is the most enjoyable part for us and that guarantees quality translations every time!

When working on a large project, we have to be organized in our thoughts, in our workflow, and in both our physical and digital space. Every step or the must be clear-cut, and everything must be organized logically and efficiently. This includes labeling all of our files and folders clearly and consistently. When we organize our project documentation, the question we ask ourselves is, “Would the next person working on this project be able to jump in and find everything without any trouble?” This helps us make sure that everything is crystal clear to all of the team members involved, which in turn means that everyone will be able to work effectively. We also create spreadsheets with relevant and up-to-date project information, we keep our files organized in a location we can all access, and we make sure to update each other regularly on what we’ve done and what remains. Ultimately, having clear and understandable organization is the foundation of our work.

We organize the different phases of the project in a way that will help us meet the deadline. In addition to the actual translation, which can take a week or more, there needs to be editing and review, quality assurance, etc. We need to make sure that there is enough time for all of these phases, which are all necessary steps in producing an accurate, high quality translation. For example, in the Japanese-English medical records translation, we received work back from the translators several days before the official due date. We were then able to review the translations and communicate with the translators to settle any possible mistakes or issues. One way we approach this, for example, is to make comments in the delivered file regarding even the tiniest potential inconsistency, and send it back to the translator for clarification.

Another strategy we used, in addition to recruiting multiple translators who had demonstrated experience working in the medical field, was to also include an expert to help us identify less legible doctor’s notes. Part of the source files were handwritten doctor’s notes (which are notoriously difficult to read) so we made sure to find a professional who could help decipher these notes.

Finally, as with any project, there can be unexpected setbacks. We have to be prepared for anything and ready to do what it takes to get the job done, no matter what happens. For example, when one of our team members had an unexpected emergency and couldn’t complete certain parts of the review process that he was going to do, our other team members coordinated to make sure that it would get done.

While these challenges of large projects can take a lot of energy and time, it helps us to remember our end goal: delivering a great translation, and ultimately helping our client. These challenges are much easier to manage when we think about our clients and how they are depending on us to do our best. Our passion for helping people gives us the energy and drive we need to do our best and ensure that we deliver high quality translations!

Look through the translation only
It’s possible to be too “close” to your own work. Artists will say that after hours of slaving over a piece of work and still feeling unsatisfied, they have to step away for a while to give themselves some distance. Coming back later with a fresh view, they might instantly see what’s wrong and know where to put the finishing strokes. As a self-editor, translators should do the same: a few days after you’ve done a translation, come back to it and reread it as if it were originally written in the target language – that is, without looking at the source. The combination of a fresh look and reading the target text by itself can help you judge whether the translation flows well in the target language, sounds idiomatic, follows the structure of the source too closely, etc. Taking a fresh look will also help you identify errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc., which you may have missed the first time around. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can completely toss out the source as soon as the first translation draft is done, which brings us to the second suggestion.

Compare the source and target text
After reading the translation, the second step is to refer back to the source text to see if there are any meaning errors, omitted information, etc. Avoiding any meaning shifts is always on a translator’s mind, but it’s possible to make them without realizing, which is why comparing the source and target again is necessary. Editing a translation, just like translating itself, requires solid command of both languages in order to feel the subtle differences between them and tell whether the translation is a proper rendition of the source text. Be particularly attentive that terminology is translated correctly, and consistently. Make use of term bases provided by the client or agency, and don’t be afraid to ask for them if they haven’t been given.

Format checking
After making sure the content is all good, the last step is to check formatting and layout of the translation. This often may be as simple as matching font and font size, making sure that a few bold, italic, or underlined words in the source are mirrored in the target, or that a hyperlink is in the proper place. Other documents may be formatted in a more complex way, with tables and images which need to be properly recreated or inserted.

The fundamental aspect of producing a translation may be, well, translating, but skilled and careful editing is also imperative. How many authors can write a novel without ever looking at what they’ve written? Following the above three steps will provide a good basis for editing a translated work properly in order to get it ready for delivery.

Our clients depend on us to get their translated texts to them by a certain agree-upon point, so that they can make their own deadlines. To our customers, we and our translators are just one part in a machine that needs everyone to be on time to run smoothly. If we – or any other part of that machine – fail to perform our part in a timely manner, the entire thing will grind to a halt. Time will be wasted, and time is money.

Missing a deadline by one day, or even just a few hours, can have extensive consequences for a business. For example, if the translation of a manual didn’t arrive in time to be sent to the client’s manufacturer, production would not start on time either. The manufacturer has their own schedule and deadlines, and the client’s order may end up being moved down the queue far more than just one day. The same thing could happen at the next step in process as well.

Compare it to making a connecting flight. If you’re ten minutes behind on the first leg of your journey, you don’t just arrive late, you might not arrive at all.

It is our goal to make sure we meet every deadline, to never put our clients in such a difficult situation.

So how do we do it? Our strict management process ensures that every step of the translation is completed on time and any delays are caught and dealt with quickly and efficiently. We follow up with our linguists by phone and email, so nothing is allowed to slip between the cracks.

We know how important making the deadline is to our clients, and we make sure to do our part in keeping their business machine running smoothly.

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