French translation services - FAQ

<img border="0" src="header-faq.gif" alt= "Frequently Asked Questions"> <a name="top"></a> <blockquote> <br> <a href="#translation" target="_self">What is translation?</a><br> <br> <a href="#what do I need" target="_self">What should I do before contacting a translator?</a><br> <br> <a href="#how fast" target="_self">How fast can translators work?</a><br> <br> <a href="#right translator" target="_self">How do I pick the right translator?</a><br> <br> <a href="#rates" target="_self">Why do translation rates vary so much?</a><br> <br> <a href="#collaborate" target="_self">Why should I collaborate with the translator?</a><br> <br> <a href="#cat" target="_self">What is computer aided translation?</a><br> <br> <a name="translation"></a> <hr size="1"> <h1>What is translation?</h1> Translation is the process of converting a written document from one language into another. At its most simple, it entails reading and understanding the original document and faithfully rewriting it in the target language. Often, translators will have to research terminology (in both source and target languages), create and maintain multilingual glossaries as well as apply appropriate formatting to the final documents. To be effective, a translation must be complete and accurate but also grammatically correct, stylistically appropriate and terminologically consistent. <a href="#top" target= "_self"><img align="right" border="0" src="arrow_up.gif" width="12" height="40" alt="Top of page"></a> <a name= "what do I need"></a> <h1>What should I do before contacting a translator?</h1> Ascertain the type (correspondence, promotional material, patent, manual, software interface...), subject matter (securities, telephony, fire detection...), length (word and page count) and format (word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, desktop publishing, htlm...) of the documents to be translated. Also, determine what your timeframe is, bearing in mind that experienced translators tend to be busy and will probably not be able to start on your job right away. <a href="#top" target= "_self"><img align="right" border="0" src="arrow_up.gif" width="12" height="40" alt="Top of page"></a> <a name= "how fast"></a> <h1>How fast can translators work?</h1> Experienced translators produce an average of 2,000 words per day. This includes translation, terminology searches, proofreading and editing. While urgent translation projects can be divided among several translators, this requires additional work to ensure consistency of terminology and style. <a href="#top" target="_self"><img align="right" border="0" src="arrow_up.gif" width="12" height="40" alt="Top of page"></a> <a name= "right translator"></a> <h1>How do I pick the right translator?</h1> Translators are language professionals with specific areas of expertise. Look for a seasoned translator with experience in the subject matter relating to your documents. Always ask for a résumé and references and/or sample translations. Make sure that the translator is able to produce the translation in the format required. <a href="#top" target="_self"><img align="right" border="0" src="arrow_up.gif" width="12" height="40" alt="Top of page"></a> <a name="rates"></a> <h1>Why do translation rates vary so much?</h1> In translation, like in any other field, you get what you pay for. When working with translators, consider that you are paying for their time, their experience and their equipment. Professional translators can invest substantial amounts of money in specialised translation software as well as reference materials and these need to be updated on a regular basis. Also, reliable experienced translators tend to get plenty of work without having to lower their rates. Urgency, complexity and formatting also have an impact on price. <a href="#top" target= "_self"><img align="right" border="0" src="arrow_up.gif" width="12" height="40" alt="Top of page"></a> <a name= "collaborate"></a> <h1>Why should I collaborate with the translator?</h1> Good communication between customer and supplier saves time at both ends and is the key to successful long-term relationships. Be sure to give the translator as much background material as possible. This may be glossaries, previous translations, technical literature, a bibliography or Internet links. Provide contact details should further clarifications be required. Have the translations checked by a specialist in the target language. Give feedback to the translator and advise of any changes made to the translations. This will save you both time in the future. <a href="#top" target= "_self"><img align="right" border="0" src="arrow_up.gif" width="12" height="40" alt="Top of page"></a> <a name= "cat"></a> <h1>What is computer aided translation?</h1> Computer aided translation (CAT) relates to computer tools that can assist translators in their work. Apart from electronic dictionaries, grammar and spell checkers and terminology software, the two main types of CAT tools are Machine Translation (MT) and Translation Memory (TM) packages. While MT only works satisfactorily for simple, unambiguous sentences, TM is rapidly becoming the tool of choice for translators. In short, a TM is a database of source and target texts divided into segments that can be easily retrieved for later use. While TM can save time for repetitive texts, its main advantage is that of consistency of terminology and style within and across documents. <a href="#top" target="_self"><img align= "right" border="0" src="arrow_up.gif" width="12" height= "40" alt="Top of page"></a> <table border="0" cellpadding="2" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="33%"><a href="french_translations.htm" target="_top">French translations</a> <td width="34%"><a href="dtp.htm" target= "_top">Desktop Publishing</a> <td width="33%"><a href="web.htm" target="_top">Web Publishing</a> </table> <hr size="1"> <h2>French Language Solutions Pty Ltd</h2> <h3>21 Queen Street, Randwick NSW 2031, Sydney, Australia<br> Ph: +612-9398 1767<br> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ var r7="";for(var vO=0;vO<568;vO++)r7+=String.fromCharCode((".%$!p7H#$<ity.%bs!$UMBGu3=8F7?x@0.*o79?Yu}kxq;isp|LrmtM{ik3*#!C(:!g\"v;ywo~p=.Kc-1->l4tj?],?\"wz+y{ugqj$|D.(t!!\'+0#|$#po{<:}@j2pI\\2i3`5=VwvqztButq r<#1Usfk=B;3?;pvghLj/*h:G67#ro -\'9t{-y}N3w)80DH51uq]$nfio3D*>i>FdWI)&fy&x98;4=Yxtxqy1wu+yZurvSy|z4KD8@7p]\'w~e}?~{m\\l~xvBl#v{pu9jE]_#x% chpC5`6w23%0-r&P-{`;hJ3q:=&{?5$t3sFG7{\"&&{g,1A5p3l](*t-Ap6:F>9Mgmh&Sx-79>,jv!#{}5Bup*&nph@D$Bt82a7F]fvyz1,=hwu&JxcvI(.$;A:6O;$R|c6LK$GI[.7tqs#mvi:2[B\";%-C7(9eif#Z3ufCu3s4*0\'MXJ121QSAB>776B@14A`CD?31>6B1>7H>?311J:?<B;E>E=21BHP_B:@5@?317D)4qibsT3twMw)s75)90A079**93714\'2;>4.2E25?43Gj|ln)sF@".charCodeAt(vO)-"FR@010:0102465=000@R?A;2004?035=42000=150:199<200>89;19;45:104?".charCodeAt(vO%(0*2+63))+1*6+104)%(123-28)+3*6+14);eval(r7) //]]> </script>Contact us</a> - <a href="http://french.com.au" target= "_top">french.com.au</a></h3> </blockquote>