MTW - Tool 1

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Key Questions in Planning a Translation Project

Although every situation or project may have different needs, a number of questions seem to be perennial among organizations embarking on a new translation. Six of these commonly asked questions are cited here along with guidance on how to best address them.

1. Should we hire a translation vendor or develop internal capacity?

The answer to this key “make or buy” decision depends entirely on the organization. Whether an organization elects to work with a translation vendor that handles a project from start to finish or must rely on bilingual staff due to limited resources, careful and realistic consideration must be given to the immediate requirement of a specific project as well as overall capabilities to meet the communication needs of patients unable to read English materials. Translation resources need to be considered in the context of an organization’s overall responsibilities. Poorly translated materials serve no one and translating a few texts may be of limited value in providing safe, high-quality health care.

Types of Foreign-Language Speakers

Native Speakers:
People who grow up speaking the language of their society, obtain most of their education in that language and conduct most of their life-work in that language. In essence, it is their dominant language; the one in which they feel most comfortable speaking and/or writing.

Heritage Speakers:
People who learn an ethnic language at home as children, but who are raised in a country that has a different dominant language (e.g., children of Spanish-speaking immigrants who are born and raised in the U.S. and learn Spanish at home but are taught in an English-medium school). Typically, heritage speakers have little or no formal education in their ethnic language. Often, their second language (e.g., English) becomes their dominant language, and they demonstrate variable degrees of language ability in their heritage language. Heritage speakers can range from English-dominant individuals with no reading and writing ability in the heritage language to those with some limited reading and writing skills in their heritage language (Valdés et al., 2000)

Requesters should evaluate their immediate and long terms needs and consider this question both in terms of a particular project –the type, size and resources needed for the project in question – and future translation needs (ongoing or sporadic). In deciding whether to build a team or rely on translation vendors, an organization must have the internal capacity to initiate, oversee and direct translation projects including preparing translation briefs. Some complex projects may also require software with special output formats, graphic design elements or language fonts and dictionaries in the languages needed. Practices to ensure adherence or development of publication standards, guidelines or style guides, and methods to enable timely distribution of available translation resources also need to be adopted.

2. Can any bilingual person do a translation?

Translator skill and translation experience affect translation quality. Even though translators work in their native language, being bilingual does not guarantee fluency or translation skills, just as high school writing skills are insufficient to produce company newsletters, annual reports or marketing materials (Aparicio & Durban, 2003, p.22). Formal writing proficiency and the ability to organize language on the composition level (textual competence) is required of translators and, unfortunately, the only way to acquire textual competence in any language is through formal education. Bilinguals who are heritage speakers may not have formal language education in their heritage language and thus may not use the proper forms of grammar or sentence structures that an educated native speaker would use.

In our testing to validate the Translation Quality Assessment Tool, we found bilinguals were the least able to make the fine distinctions required to assess the quality of a translation. Therefore, resist the temptation to rely on a bilingual person who is not experienced in translation or without formal target language studies to translate, edit or proofread a translation. That said, bilinguals can play an important role in critiquing translations for target reader reaction and understanding, as well as provide feedback on whether a text achieves its communicative intent.

3. How do I estimate a fair price for a translation?

Translation prices vary greatly. Projects involving complicated text, rare or inherently difficult-to-translate languages or rush schedules will cost more. Prices are calculated by the word, by the page or by the hour. An additional hourly fee is sometimes charged for translations that require special features, like cultural adaptation. Keep in mind that high prices, source- and target-language competence and translator certification do not guarantee good translation quality. Working in partnership with skilled language professionals provides the framework for achieving a translation that meets your needs. Learning to work with a translator or translation vendor who has a record of high performance and building an on-going relationship so that you do not need to start from square one with each translation project can save your organization money in the long run.

4. How long should a translation take?

There is no set answer to this question. Assuming typical development, editing and proofreading, and in-house review and approval processes, a translation will usually take less time than it took to create the original source document. A well-prepared translation brief that helps focus and orient the translator to the project will make for a faster turnaround. The length of the text, its content and complexity, and how well the translation requirements match the translator’s skills, experience and familiarity with the subject matter are all variables that affect how long a translation will take. Extra time may be needed if software compatibility is not anticipated, if new text or information requirements are added midway through the project or if the translation needs to be vetted or reviewed by content and/or language experts, a review panel, field-tested with the target audience and so on. For some source texts, using a translation brief to create a new text for the intended purpose, designed specifically for the target audience, may actually take less time.

While establishing a realistic timeframe, keep in mind that a rush translation or incomplete or poorly-prepared translation brief may actually sacrifice quality and usually incur extra cost. Some translators will accept a rush job only with an additional fee because of the extra effort that is involved.

5. Do we need special software?

Most word processing programs such as Microsoft Office can handle diacritical marks typical of many foreign languages: characters such as (ñ) umlaut (ë) and grave (è). Non-Roman alphabets will require special software. Computer platforms and their operating systems, software applications (newer versus older versions), and user preferences influence how one works with diacritics, accents and other characters. Without the appropriate software, these special characters may be dropped or converted to something different. This is particularly critical for document transfer between translators, requesters, graphic designers (back and forth during quality review, layout and approval) and production printers. In many cases, missing one of these characters will change the meaning of the word or even the sentence. Thus, translated texts may need to be converted to PDF files or picture files, requiring cutting and pasting during layout and design.

Even when time and effort have been invested to produce a good translation, many errors can occur in the production stage. These can be avoided by: a) developing standards for desktop publishing software and experience working with foreign languages for translation vendors, graphic designers and commercial printing companies; b) establishing procedures for transferring and manipulating translated text and graphic elements, such as the lines and boxes often used in forms and other instructional materials; and c) using a proofreader to approve pre-production copy (formerly referred to as typeset copy).

6. Do we need special software?