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.

So what do you need to know about localization? Here are some of the highlights of what you need to be aware of when you begin localization. This will mainly focus on both the language aspect of the localization process as well as the marketing strategy of localization.

The first thing is that you know who you are marketing to. Not every product perfectly appeals to everyone in the same way. Some people will be much more interested in your product and some will not. You have to thus really know who you want to focus on. The language that you use to market your product to your potential customers is also very important, and you should thus make sure that any translation that is produced is reviewed by someone who is either a native of the country, or native currently living in the country. This will ensure that they are caught up with all current trends and know what can and cannot be included to avoid any unnaturalness or offensive language.

On the topic of using a native who is currently living in the target country, it is also important to note that they will be able to help to discern any cultural taboos such as design choices (i.e. colors, placement of letters, layout of advertisements, etc).  When they are reviewing the translation, they not only provide a fresh set of eyes with which to see the translation work, but they are basically acting as if they were a consumer seeing your product for the first time in the region you are trying to expand into. This will help to provide invaluable insight into what can be improved or fixed upon and help to develop strategies for the future.

Another thing that is important to take note of is making sure that the native speaker you ultimately choose is well vetted. Some companies might outsource this to other companies that have reviewers as to avoid some of the cost of vetting and hiring, but it is important to ultimately make sure that the reviewer who is chosen is not only proficient in the language that they speak, but also that they are able to understand the goal of your company as well as its culture so that it can properly be conveyed to the new market.

These are just a few of the things to know when starting localization of a product for a new region. Even for regions with similar cultures to your own, it is important to make sure that you have a native review whatever you have before releasing it. Doing so will save you a headache and possibly a fortune in potential legal fees or redesign fees.

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!