If you plan on hiring government translation services and are looking to make sure you hire the best option available, we’ve prepared some tips you’ll find helpful.
At The Cakov Group, we speak to clients looking for translation services through Southern Florida every day. These tips give them confidence in the accuracy and efficiency of the service they’re choosing. We’re sure they will for you, too. Here’s what you should keep an eye out for.
Whatever the documents or languages, some points will come across with poor clarity and awkwardness if not attuned to the intended audience’s culture. That usually happens because of overly direct translation.
Translators with a native-level understanding of the language have the capacity to avoid this pitfall by keeping the meaning intact while adjusting for cultural nuances.
The easiest way to discover this is to simply ask if they have translators on staff who possess these qualities. But if you’re short on time and don’t have the luxury to pose this question to every organization you’re considering working with, simply shortlist the ones that translate dozens of languages. Chances are they’ll cover the language you’re seeking to translate to or from.
An added benefit of this approach is you can call on them and build a strong partnership for when you’ll need translations across other languages.
Even after asking, however, inquire further to find out if there’s a strong and uncompromising policy of pairing clients with native-speaker translators.
While cultural sensitivity ensures clear and elegant communication, industry expertise enhances this for more technical documents. If your project involves regulations or terms meant to be legally binding, this is a vital consideration.
The same applies to documents that require technical expertise, where niché terms tend to have less-than-obvious equivalents across languages.
Strong expertise is a necessity for translators who’ll be handling your legal, financial, and scientific documents since the slightest missteps can water down or altogether alter the intended meaning. And when that happens, terms that were originally legally enforceable or necessary to proceed with the broader project may no longer be as effective.
But if the expertise is there, this is an easily solved challenge.
The most important certification to look out for is GSA Approval. It signals that the organization has authorization to sell its services to the U.S. government. Yours might be a state or local government project, but a company with the capabilities to earn this approval is highly likely to provide the quality you’re expecting.
While certifications point to a competent government translation service, don’t stop there. Ask if they have a thorough translating, editing, and proofreading process. Multiple levels of QA are critical for consistently delivering high-quality translations.
Government projects tend to have strict deadlines, and yours probably doesn’t stray from the rule. And that makes it crucial to find out if the service you plan on picking has a history of providing timely translations. But don’t take them at their word. For total confidence, ask for references.
After translating the first batch of documents, you may find there’s more to do as you prepare to roll out your project. That’s why you’ll need a service you can quickly call on to tie these loose ends and additional translations that’ll come up.
Not only do we meet the confidence-inspiring standards above, but we do so with the bonus of competitive pricing. And we handle all translations of integrity and confidentiality. We have an extensive network of translators across 78 languages, ensuring you’re always paired with a relevant language expert. All our work focuses on localization so the message gets across with maximum impact and its meaning intact.
Schedule a call with us today for top-quality translations you can have full confidence in.
The Cakov Group Language Solutions, Inc.