How to improve translation time? An how-to guide containing 7 easy steps. [Part 2/3]

Step #2 :: Saving time by process automation technology is another speed booster in productivity; therefore the best solution is to increase your skills and tools in translation assets management. No matter what the size of your business the way you manage simple and routine tasks in fundamental to become more competitive as you and your associates/partners save time for what’s really important and your core business: professional quality translation services. Proper management of translation assets allows the user to gain control and get value from huge amounts of translated or localized data in an unsurpassable way. Translation memories, terminology databases, glossaries, localized mixed media (intricate contents, such as, graphics, video, sound, and other), and even style books become an added value for your operations and projects completion deadlines.

Step #3 :: Team work is a basic skill in a globalised marketplace. Every translator offering conscious professional service knows and recognises his/her limits in every subject area, therefore a faster service will only be possible if special difficulties or text idiosyncrasies are dealt with in a streamlined fashion by contacting fellow translators or specialists. In any case don’t think twice if either the circumstances allow you to keep a close contact with the author of the source text or you can work in-house for the duration of the project which will be crucial for highly specialized texts with a short deadline.

Step #4 :: There was a time when training in translation and related areas was an on-going process, which is still true though, but nowadays the variants in professional service are manifold. The true translator takes the challenge and not only trains himself/herself but also looks for the best sources of information and know-how. An example will illustrate better: how can you cope with the details of high-end computer-assisted translation software without any previous background? A fairly good computer user will be able to master it after some time, but again: do you have time to waste with the trial and error method? Taking a planned training program will certainly open the doors to new knowledge and know-how, while at the same allowing one to create better networking opportunities with translation and technology-wise peers.

Step #5 :: ...
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How to improve translation time? An how-to guide containing 7 easy steps. [Part 1/3]

Time is one of the most precious assets a translator has. The professional translator knows what time means in his daily trade at the wordsmith workshop. The translator is in fact always fighting time as he/she knows that the deadline must be met at any cost. Time is one of the key factors either for many clients choosing their translators or for translation agencies assigning projects.

Translation agencies often have to coordinate projects dealing with different target languages which will certainly mean talking with language professionals in different time-zones. Also, translation is repeatedly not one of the first priorities to be addressed while preparing an internationalization strategy, therefore translation and proofreading of marketing materials and technical data are often relegated to the last stages of the project.

So what can be done in order to improve the speed of premium-quality translations? The best way to gain time for the translation process itself is the combination of a number of factors, which once properly concatenated will allow the trained professional translator to reap the fruits of his/her training, work and intellectual assets.


Step #1 :: Computer-Assisted Translation or Computer-Aided Translation (CAT) tools have been around for roughly a quarter of a century (TRADOS company was created in 1984). Despite the fact that major developments in related computer hardware and software came after the mid-1990’s, it doesn’t mean most professional translators are taking all the benefits from the technology. Nowadays, the advantages of such an investment are incommensurable as the time factor becomes a pre-requisite for most contracts. The state-of-the-art of most CAT tools nowadays allows time savings due to their extensive support to the translation process with tools, such as, translation memories, multilingual corpora, text alignment methods, and terminology management systems.

Step #2 :: ...
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