The translation order

If you require a translation please send me an email or call me. Send me your document by email. We clarify your questions, the time flow, the terms of payment and cater for special features of your order. I will send you a non-binding offer. When you have placed the order with me I will translate your text in line with the stipulations. After the timely completion I will send you your translation by email or post. If you live nearby you are also welcome to pick the translation up personally after agreement of a time.

Order flow: In six steps to the ready translation

If you require a translation, please contact me. Scan the text that is to be translated and send it to me by email, send the text by post or bring it round to me personally after agreement of a time.

Your enquiry

After I have analysed the text and have gained a picture of the volume of the text, specialist field, file format and required processing time, I will send you a non-binding offer for the price and possible delivery date.

I may need some information from you still, such as for example about the background of the text, so that I can translate more suitable for the target group. We will clarify the time framework, so that you can include the calculation of the required processing time accordingly in your schedule, as well as the terms of payment.

After placement of the order you will receive an order confirmation from me.

After the order confirmation I will begin with the translation and will take all stipulations into consideration hereby.

In case of file formats such as Word, Excel or PowerPoint the format will be retained. PDF files will be converted with an OCR software (currently Abby FineReader) and formatted according to the initial document, i.e. headings and paragraphs, bold and italics print will be applied as in the initial document into the target document, tables and graphics will be taken over accordingly.

All translations are proofread twice before delivery for accuracy, completeness, grammar, spelling as well as standardisation of the terminology in order to guarantee an impeccable quality.

You can also order a translation according to the dual-control principle, i.e., the translation will be checked by a second specialist translator. This is recommended, for example, with texts, which are determined for publication.

The finished translation will be delivered within the deadline by email or certified translations will be delivered by post. After coordination the translation can also be picked up.

Prices

Translations

The price for a translation cannot just be determined generally without taking various factors into account:

The prices for a translation are oriented on the one hand to the volume of the text, i.e. according to the number of lines or words of the target language. A standard line is calculated with 55 characters including blanks.

A further factor when calculating the price is the degree of difficulty of the text which is to be translated. It must be taken into consideration whether a text is highly specialised and therefore requires research work or whether the text is of a more general nature so that the translation can be prepared without extensive preparation time.

Also to be taken into consideration is the type of submitted format. If the text is made available as a simple Word document in a continuous text the processing is relatively simple and normally does not require any additional time and is therefore disregarded when calculating the price. The situation is different if it contains tables or graphics such as e.g. in a Power-Point presentation, the processing of which requires slightly more time. The same situation exists if for example a PDF file which is difficult to read or a bad copy is submitted for translation.

Proofreading

Proofreading is settled at an hourly rate as the required time is difficult to estimate in advance. The duration of the proofreading depends on the quality of the text. The fewer mistakes in the text which is to be corrected the less time is needed for proofreading.

I shall be pleased to give you information about the prices by telephone or by e-mail. Please send me the text which is to be translated by e-mail or by post. I shall then submit you a free and non-binding offer.

CAT-Tool/Trados

I have been working with Trados (currently SDL Trados Studio 2017) since 2008 and am certified for this. For certain projects I also work with Wordfast, Across or MemoQ.

What is a CAT-Tool?

CAT stands for Computer Aided Translation, thus computer-supported translation. By the use of CAT-Tools the translation process is optimised. It may not be confused with mechanical translation, with which a computer translates.

Which advantages arise with the use of CAT-Tools?

Productivity
Quality control:
o More quality by terminology consistency
o More quality by more efficient proofreading
Analysis and management of documents
Increase in the translation speed
Integration of existing translations
Cost reduction

How is work carried out with the CAT-Tool?

A CAT-Tool segments a text that is to be translated into individual segments (mostly sentences) and presents these segments in a transparent manner in order to facilitate and accelerate the process of translating.
The translation is stored together with the original. The source text and translation form a translation unit. In addition, a CAT-Tool makes functions available, which facilitate the navigation within the text and help to find segments, which have to be translated still or their translations have to be revised still (quality control).

The perhaps most important function of a CAT-Tool however consists of storing the translation units in a database, that is called the Translation-Memory (TM). This way the translation units can be used again at all times. By special “Fuzzy”-search functions CAT-Tools also find segments, which do not correspond 100% with the searched segment. This way a lot of work and time can be saved and the production of a standard translation is made much easier (terminology consistency).

Components

CAT-Tools essentially consist of a Translation Memory-System, thus a translation memory, a terminology database, which the translator builds up as required, and the Editor, in which the source and the target text are presented next to each other segment by segment and in which the translation is carried out.

In addition, a CAT-Tool furthermore contains a series of further functions, which facilitate and accelerate the translation work.

Translations – general information

Owing to the international orientation of both companies and private persons communication and thus the use of language is increasingly gaining in importance. With communication which crosses language borders translators perform an important task as language mediators. Translators transmit written texts and interpreters transmit the spoken word into a target language if a contact is not possible or very difficult owing to different languages.

Companies with contacts overseas require translations as, for example, they require business correspondence, business documents, contracts or presentations in another language.

Private persons have contacts overseas as e.g. from originally came from an overseas country, lived in an overseas country for a longer period of time or would like to go to an overseas country in order to live and work there. These persons require translations of correspondence or documents such as for example birth or marriage certificates, certificates of no impediment to a marriage, education and examination certificates and work references, curriculum vitaes or other application documents. These are often also required in a certified form for presentation to authorities.

A translation is required if documents from companies, authorities, courts or private persons have to be transmitted into another language.

I principally translate according to the native language principle for the following reason: it must be possible to read a good translation as if it was a text in the original language. This can only be guaranteed with a translation from the foreign language into the native language as you really only feel at home in your own language and have the necessary feeling for the language that is absolutely essential for a good translation.

A translator should not translate the original text word for word into his own language, but he must move away from the original text in the foreign language in order to achieve an idiomatic equivalent in his language. The whole contents and meaning – or sometimes also lack of meaning – of an original text must be exactly and completely transmitted into the own language.

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