Languages play an integral role in the business world. The way we do business, make a plan and find solutions are based on the language we speak. What about the languages that you are unfamiliar with?
The translation is a deeply rooted part of the business world. Technical domains of the business are well supported with an accurate translation which is why you need to pay close attention to it. If you have experienced working alongside a translation agency beforehand then you must be aware of how important technical translation is.
You want your customers to have a hassle-free experience with your brand and the best way to reach your audience is to translate the information correctly.
Why Technical Translation is So Important?
Technical translation is far cry from a regular translation. It’s easy to get lost in translation so a translator needs to deliver an accurate version of the information about the relevant product. Besides, technical content contains all complex information that otherwise can lead to daring consequences.
Technical documents such as manuals or health and safety instructions regarding products contain critical information. If users fail to understand what’s being communicated, it can lead to hazardous consequences. Therefore, it is essentially important to hire skilled professionals for technical translation. It’s their responsibility to provide their client with a perfect and accurate version of the technical content.
Language is always evolving and so the requirement by the client keeps changing too. Constant information updates become mandatory to keep the product in the game. Always choose a subject matter expert with a deep understanding of his responsibility as a technical translator.
Here are some things to remember in order to ensure successful translation:
- Work with Subject Matter Experts
One cannot emphasize enough the importance of working with an expert. Not all translators are the same. Some cover all basic information while some translators are subject specialists. They understand the general and specific requirements of the content and have years of experience to spot the errors that may arise in the translation.
If you want a precise, reliable, and accurate translation, you need to hire a subject matter expert. Their expertise lets them work in the desired manner. You need to ensure you have
- The right guidelines for the translator to work on
- Hired project managers with years of experience and upon whom you can rely easily
- The essential tools (like neural machine translation) to upscale the translation process
- Plan and Organize the Information
As a business owner, you can never start a project blindly. First, you need to organize every detail in a sequence. Moreover, conduct meetings with the technical translator before starting the project so those translators have all the necessary details.
Make sure the documents you handover are editable. Although some translation companies translate all document formats there are some services that do not support all formats. So make a wise decision.
Once you are going over all the details, also prepare the glossaries to ensure consistency in the translated content. Also, focus on the images and product descriptions, and you can take help from past technical translations as well.
To get your documents translated in fast turnaround time, you need to organize every detail beforehand.
- Identify Your Audience
Learning about your target audience helps a lot too. It’s easy enough to determine who will read the translated documents. For every market, you need to translate the document accordingly so that your audience can understand the information easily. Once you learn details about the audience it will help a translator immensely to convert the document according to audience requirements.
For instance, if the translation is about safety guidelines regarding the product you need to target the workers and customers both by assembling a set of instructions. For workers, you will use different terminologies to describe the instructions while for the customers you will use easy terms because they are unaware of the technical terms.
Instructions rely on the nature of the document too, it needs to be precise with good readability score and according to the taste of the audience.
All factors combine will display the quality of the content of the final document. Sometimes businesses are short on resources, so what they can do is limit the content and keep it short.
- Define the Purpose of the Translation
What purpose does technical document serve?
It’s important to determine the objectives of the technical translation. You need to determine your short term and long term goals before the content are translated. If you are targeting international audiences a detailed translation of technical documents is necessary.
If a document will be read frequently, then you need to keep updating the information, which means you need to be aware of all updates and add those updates in the glossary as well.
For short term goals, the document is short and to the point. You need to avoid lengthy translations, make it sound simple and easy to read so that whoever may read it can learn from it.
Either a translator can help negotiate the terms of document or you can do it with your team before finalizing a linguistic partner.
- Answer Translator’s Queries
If a translator is asking you questions it means you are moving in the right direction. The more translators inquire, the more he/she can relate to the company. This way they can work comfortably and translate according to your expectations.
For satisfaction at both sides, arrange a meeting (or a series of meetings) between the product developers and translator. Now, what benefit will it drive? They can lay out the plans and details about the said product and clear any ambiguity either one may have in mind.
It is important to communicate with the translator so that they understand the product and audience and deliver results as per your expectations.
For your utter satisfaction always ask for a translation sample. This will give you a clear insight into the translator’s capabilities.
Time to Work with a Language Partner
Technical translation services are known for their accuracy and reliability. Always choose your translation partner after thorough research and event, then make a list of top contenders. You can keep your customers happily satisfied with a competitive edge with the help of a professional translator. Do you think you are ready for one?
