Translation

Our wealth of experience in managing translation on every conceivable subject, across a full range of languages, allows us to offer a translation service which is second to none. Whether your document is for worldwide publication or simply for internal information, we can provide an accurate, stylish translation appropriate to your needs. With our network of qualified, experienced translators and revisers, all with specialist knowledge of their subject, we cover all technical and commercial subjects and all language combinations. We use only the best available translators and revisers - our system of testing, evaluation and revision of translations, and rigorous in-house checking, ensures this! The combination of our experience and systems, together with our up-to-the-minute knowledge of software and hardware for all kinds of data treatment, puts us at the cutting edge of new, innovative solutions for translation and presentation. We are committed to offering a translation that is:

• Accurate:  the most accurate rendition possible of the original text
• Stylish:  written in a style which reads as well (or better!) in the target language as the original in the source language
• Appropriate:  using the correct terminology and an appropriate style for the purposes of the text
• Efficient:  reliable and fast – speed without compromising quality. If we don't think we can give you a high-quality translation within your deadline, we will say so.

How we work

We are committed to providing the highest-quality translations possible. This means that a translation job passes through a number of different stages, in order to ensure that the translation we return to you matches your requirements in terms of style, accuracy and presentation.

Stage 1: In order to ensure that the translation we return to you is the best possible version of your document, we first find an available translator with the right kind of experience who has enough time to do a thorough job. We have many translators on our books who we have worked with before, and who we trust to be reliable, thorough and professional. The process of contracting one of these translators may take a couple of hours. If, however, we need to use a translator we have not worked with before, or who has not translated on this subject for us before, we will test them before offering them the work. We ALWAYS test our translators. Similarly for the reviser - if we find someone who has not worked for us before, we need to ensure that they will work to our standards before contracting them. This initial contracting process may take some time, but we believe that it is crucial for producing a quality translation and for saving time in the long term.

Stage 2: The translators we use are experienced in working to tight deadlines where necessary. However, this does not mean that they will be able to translate a large amount of text in a short time. Translation, especially good translation, may take considerably more time than writing the original - the translator has to take time to read the text, to establish an appropriate style for the translation, and may need to do some research into the context or terminology appropriate to the target language, before beginning to translate. It may be necessary to return to you with queries in order to clarify the source text. While translating, a translator will often need to spend time searching for the appropriate phrase or expression. (Remember - if you searched for the right turn of phrase, the translator has to spend even more time doing this - first of all finding an appropriate phrase in the target language, then ensuring that it gives an accurate rendition of the sense and style of the original.) A good translator will also always read through and check his/her translation before submitting it.

Stage 3: As soon as we receive the translation from the translator, we send it to our reviser. The reviser will check the translation thoroughly against the source text, and revise it accordingly. This revised text is then sent to the translator for acceptance or rejection of the reviser's amendments, before we are finally ready to return the finished translation to you.

Stage 4: If you require camera-ready copy or other layout work on the translated text, this will be done in our office. However, layout of the translation may require extra time as text expansion usually occurs during the translation process, and the text will need to be adjusted to fit the format required. This is especially true for straplines, headers, tables etc. Occasionally, it may be necessary to go back to the translator to ask for alternative translations for certain phrases or sections, if the text does not fit. We will not return the job to you until we are completely happy with it.

Don't just take our word for it!

Check out samples of our translation work.