What is Professional Translation?
Technical translation the way we understand it includes localization as the Localisation Industry Standards Association (LISA) defines it: "Localization involves taking a product and making it linguistically and culturally appropriate to the target locale (country/region and language) where it will be used and sold." Some translators use Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) tools like TRADOS others do not. Translators should always be native speakers in the language they translate into.

Why is it important to have a native translator?
Some examples:
Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following translation from Swedish into US English in an American campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux." This campaign did not last for long.
Clairol introduced a curling iron called "Mist Stick" into Germany only to find that German "Mist" is slang for manure. The "Manure Stick" did not sell well in Germany.
When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, the ads were supposed to have read: "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you". The company thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass. So the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant". We can image the marketing effect of this.

Why is it so important to ensure that cultural nuances are properly addressed?
Some examples:
When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as the U.S., with the smiling baby on the label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the labels of what's inside, as many people cannot read.
Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called "Cue", the name of a notorious pornographic magazine.
The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign "Got Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read "Are You Lactating?"
The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Kekoukela", meaning, "Bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "Kokou Kole", translating into "Happiness in the Mouth".

How long does it take to do the translation?
That depends on the subject matter and complexity of the source text. As a rule of thumb 1,000 to 2,000 words a day are rather acceptable. However, for advertisements, slogans, and other such "creative" work, as well as for software one can expect to take considerably more time to complete the translation. That is the reason, why such translations are more expensive.

We have bilingual employees that could do the translation. Why should we engage your services?
Can you afford to miss your engineer two weeks, because he is translating your brochures? Engaging our service under such circumstances would allow the engineer to focus on engineering, not on translation. Please consider: And at last but not at least you are sure your employee is gifted linguistically in both languages and has agreeable writing? With professional translation you are assured of quality.

What are CAT tools and why do you use them?
CAT (Computer Aided Translation) software, also called Translation Memory software, does not translate the text. It is designed to ensures that words, phrases and company-specific terms are translated consistently. Translation memories are basically databases storing lists of translated terms, phrases and whole sentences of previously translated materials. They save you time and money.

Is computer aided translation equivalent to machine translation?
No, it is not. No. Machine translation is usually understood as word by word translation. The machine translation software translates each word or phrase that it "understands", but does not take grammar into account. Machine translation software would even try to translate personal names. "Osama Bin Laden" machine translated by the software Google uses becomes "Sortierfach Osama Beladen" (pigean hole/bin Osama loaded) in German.

What quality of translation can I expect from CAT tools?
The quality of translation depends to a minor degree on the CAT tools used. More important is the quality and consistency of the source document. Remember that a translation cannot improve the quality of the original text.

Is Galdranorn an agency?
No, it is not. Galdranorn is the domain name for a freelance translation service provided by Yvonne S. Schulmeistrat. My services may be retained by agencies, private individuals, or corporate clients alike.

Why should I work together with a freelancer?
Working together with a freelancer saves you money. All translation agencies use freelance translators and they need to mark up the price in order to make a profit, because they usually have a huge overhead. Therefore they cannot offer prices that are as low as those of freelance translators.

Is a freelancer able to provide a quality equivalent to the quality provided by an agency?
Yes, but that depends on both the freelancer and the agency. An agency should be able to provide you with extra quality controls like copy editing and quality assurance services. They often outsource not only the translation but as well these quality control services to freelancers. When agencies offer very low prices, you can be sure, that they do not invest in such quality control services at all, but hand the freelance translation over to the end client as is. In such cases - why paying them for this split-lot transfer? A professional freelancer is as able to provide you with quality translations than a trustworthy agency is.

What is the pricing policy in the translation business? Why is a professional translation that expensive?
For document translation, translators and translation agencies usually charge per source word. The low end starts at 6 cents per word. The high end goes to 50 cents or even more per word. Do not expect to get a quality translation at a cheap price. The translators creating the translation need to make a living from their work. The maximum of their daily translation output is 2,000 words. They need to finance professional soft- and hardware products and have to manage their business. Translators offering low prices usually do not work with professional software including CAT tools and they are often no professionals at all. This saves your money only at first sight. A professional translation created by a professional translator using CAT tools is more consistent and can be less expensive, especially when translating updates. Here is an example:
You have 1,000 words to be translated. 10 sentences containing 5 words are repetitions (1/5 of word price). 40 sentences containing 10 words are very similar (1/3 of word price). 20 sentences containg 10 words are less similar (2/3 of word price). 350 words are new (full word price).
Translator A does not use a CAT tool and offers you EUR 0.06/word.
Translator B uses a CAT tool and offers you EUR 0.1/word.
Translator A charges EUR 60.
Translator B charges EUR 62.66.
Your product becomes updated. The documentation changes very little. 1,200 words are to be translated this time. 80 sentences containing 10 words have to changed at all (free). 20 sentences containing 10 words have changed a bit (1/3 of word price) and 20 sentences containing 10 words are new (full word price).
Translator A does not use a CAT tool and offers you EUR 0.06/word.
Translator B uses a CAT tool and offers you EUR 0.1/word.
Translator A charges EUR 72.
Translator B charges EUR 62.66.
Do you still consider professional translation expensive? We offer quality service at competitive prices. To provide you with a realistic quote, it is imperative that we see the original text and translation memories (if available) first. The price depends on a variety of factors: subject, complexity, file format, formatting.

Do I get a discount, if I outsource large volumes to you?
No matter how large or small the volume, the price is charged on a per word basis, because the work per word is volume independent.