In today’s Internet-based business services market, there is no shortage of freelance translators looking for one-off contracts on Fiverr, Kijiji and similar websites. As a company of any size with technical documentation or product literature, does this method of outsourcing work offer satisfactory results in the short and long term? What are the benefits of spending a little more to work with my translation business (WordFrog Inc.) and my small team of qualified and specialized technical translators?
Here are a few points to consider:
Qualifications and Experience
One of the biggest factors that I take into account in the hiring process is technical translation capability. Every member of my small team is specialized in a different industry, whether through education, an extensive translation background or hands-on experience. These professionals either proofread my own work or perform the translation from scratch, with our established terminology base as a template. As for my own background, I have a technical writing diploma and more than a decade of experience as a technical French translator.
Terminology Base Creation
Part of our new client onboarding process includes term base creation, and this work continues with each and every subsequent translation project. A translated terminology base ensures that any technical or industry-specific terms will be translated in the same way, every single time. This is especially important for companies who wish to have their products distributed in multiple national chains, as Canadian retail companies are known to have strict standards when it comes to language.
Market Research
Our terminology research is based not only on the Canadian government’s linguistic resources, but also on literature created by other large players in your industry, including competitors. For example, we cross-check all product names and specifications with those provided by Canadian Tire, Home Depot and other large national retail chains to ensure consistency and marketability.
If you require any advice on French translation, or are simply dealing with a translation gone wrong (whether on a single document or your entire product catalog), please feel free to reach out with no obligation. We’re always here to help make it right, and you may be surprised by the affordability of our services.
