To ensure my clients receive quality translations, I’ve developed a method of working that enables me to take into account all the key factors that produce an excellent piece of work:

1.  Receiving and analysing a translation request
My quality assurance process begins when I receive a request for a translation. I look over the content of the document(s) systematically and carry out a quick analysis. This is important, because it will tell me whether the text falls within the sphere of my specialist subject areas. If it does, then I know I can provide a high quality service.

2.  Studying the resources provided by the client
You might have a glossary, a reference text, or other information relating to the content you want translated. Before I start each new translation project, I review all the resources you’ve sent me. This means I can guarantee consistency between this information and the text you’ve asked me to translate.

3.  Reading the source text
This is also a crucial step, enabling me to identify

• The target reader(s)
• The style of writing
• The terms to research

4.  Terminology research
An aspect of the translator’s job that is not always considered, thorough terminology research is an essential part of the process. Finding the exact meaning of a term in a defined context, then ascertaining its translation can be a real investigative challenge. It’s painstaking work, but always an enriching learning experience.

5.  Translation
Yes, believe it or not, to ensure a high quality target text, the act of translating itself only comes fifth in this list.

6.  Proofreading
Another vital step in the translation process, proofreading checks:

• spelling mistakes
• typos
• grammatical errors
• syntactical errors
• terminological consistency
• stylistic consistency
• page layout

And that’s it! Once quality assurance is complete, the only thing left to do is to send off the completed translation.