German–English–German Translation

Quality Control at trans-k

Your publications play a decisive role in shaping your clients’ impression of your company. Poorly worded (or badly translated) copy can be as damaging to your company’s image as a poor layout or substandard print quality. This applies to user manuals just as much as it does to advertising copy. Not only the final product – the translation – should be of a high standard; the service, too, must be right: a missed deadline can delay a product’s time-to-market, resulting in missed opportunities and lost profit.

  Procedure

• Before accepting work, the customer’s needs and expectations, are assessed and checked against available necessary subject knowledge and resources.
  
  
• Throughout the project, the customer receives feedback on progress and any technical and administrative issues are clarified.
  
  
• Subject- and client-specific glossaries ensure consistency of terminology both within the current project and in subsequent translations.
  
  
• The first draft then undergoes a thorough revision, in which the following points are checked:
  
  
  • Grammar
  • Style
  • Suitability for purpose
  • Ease of comprehension
  • Spelling and punctuation
  • Consistency of terminology
  • Completeness and conformance with source text
  • Figures, units, etc.
  • Layout (if applicable)
  
  
• On request, the translation is reviewed by a second translator (as specified by standard EN 15038:2006 Translation Services – Service Requirements ).
  
  
• The translation is then submitted for approval. At this point an in-house review of the translation by a subject expert (for example at an office or dealership in the target country) may yield useful comments, which can, if appropriate, be fed back into the translation before the final copy is submitted.
  
  
• Before publication/printing, proofreading of the final document is strongly recommended. This service is provided free of charge and is a requirement for signing of the translation.
  
  
• Where possible, all published translations should be signed by the translator (i.e. credit given for the translation). By putting their name to the translation, the translator vouches for the quality of work and ensures traceability.
  
  
• I am, of course, available for questions and any issues that arise after the completion of the project.