In-Country Reviews: The Full Story
If you
are considering having your translations
reviewed for accuracy by an affiliate
located in-country where your products
are marketed and sold, read on. In-country
reviews have both advantages and challenges.
Here are some pros and cons to consider
along with some tips to ensure a smooth
process.
Advantages
An in-country
review can provide security. It gives the
assurance of having internal
company personnel who speak the target
language provide a second opinion.
Although an in-country review is an
optional step, it can lend an
added level of confidence in the translation.
An in-country
review can improve quality. The additional
quality check of someone who is familiar
with company and industry terminology
helps to ensure that the terminology
conforms to company standards.
An in-country
review can improve buy-in. Involvement
in the documentation development process
enhances the reviewer's familiarity
with the product. This can lead to
greater support and promotion of your
product with, for example, distributors,
agents or personnel located at an
overseas subsidiary.
Things
to Consider
An in-country
review can add to the project timeline.
Typically, the translation review
is added to an in-country reviewer's
already long list of responsibilities,
often falling low on their priority
list. Delays in receiving the reviewed
files back are common.
An in-country
review can add cost. Reviewers often
prefer to review formatted files,
but changes after formatting add cost.
Although it is relatively easy to
make changes in unformatted files,
if the translated text has already
been placed in the formatted layout
files, a desktop publishing specialist
has to implement the changes. As in
any other production process, the
further along in the process a change
is identified, the more difficult
and costly it is to implement.
An in-country
review can introduce errors. Reviewers
may not understand their role and
spend unnecessary time and effort
editing the document. Unlike translators,
reviewers are usually not professional
writers. They may introduce grammatical
errors and interrupt the consistency
and coherence of the text. Sometimes
linguistic nuances can be overlooked resulting
in shifts to the meaning
of the text.
An in-country
review adds complexity. Coordinating
an in-country review requires additional
effort, and sometimes time in
the form of mediation between
the translation team and designated
reviewer. In addition, time for coordination
of the review can be factored according
to the number of languages and reviewers
that need to be managed.
To
maximize the advantages and minimize
the challenges, here
are some guidelines for a successful
review process.
- Make
sure to have the right reviewers.
Merely being bilingual is not enough.
Seek reviewers who have in-depth
knowledge of both the company and
the industry. Iverson can help with
qualifying specialized reviewers.
- Determine
the amount of flexibility in the
deadline for an in-country review.
Decide how often to follow
up and at what point to conclude
that the translation is approved
by default if the review is not
returned.
- Determine
at the beginning of the project
when the review will take place,
before or after formatting.
- Provide
strict guidelines regarding expectations.
For example, tell the reviewer to
focus on specific areas such as
terminology and technical accuracy.
Explain to them why they will receive
unformatted files, if that is the
case. Specify that edits should
be made electronically, for
example, using track changes
in Word or comments in a PDF, and
not a handwritten markup via
fax. Iverson can help prepare
the instructions.
- Determine
who will coordinate the review.
Iverson can coordinate the
reviews, but reviewers may see the
importance and urgency more if they
receive direction from the
home office.
An alternative
approach to consider
is to create a glossary of company-specific
terms prior to the onset of the translation
process, and have the listing translated
and reviewed in-country. This translated
list can be used to create a
terminology database which can
be applied to the documents before
they are sent out for translation.
If the in-country review process does
not seem like the right fit, a
glossary is a proactive approach to gaining in-country
feedback, while controlling project
timelines and costs.
Submitted
by: Christine Bucher, Project
Manager
Iverson Proofing Manual: Quality
Counts
To ensure
our translations conform to localized
linguistic standards, Iverson uses
a comprehensive Proofing
Manual. Developed internally, the
manual has been compiled through years
of extensive research and input
of our most trusted translators and
is regularly updated as norms change.
The Proofing Manual is Iverson's primary
resource for providing our Language
and Desktop Publishing Reviewers with
precise information about the minute
details of each language.
For
example, in German, quotation
marks appear similar to those
in English, except that the opening
quotation mark appears at the baseline
of the first character of the word.
In Traditional Chinese (Cantonese)
there are two different kinds of commas,
one for lists and one for clauses.
These are examples of the extensively
researched information we include
in the Proofing Manual to assure
that the rules of each language have
been adhered to throughout the
translation process.
With accurate
and up-to-date reference information
regarding spacing and punctuation,
norms for time and date, numbers and
currency, as well as information about
the issues unique to each language,
the Iverson Proofing Manual has proven
to be a reviewer's most vital
reference.
Submitted
by: Leah Leone, Traffic Coordinator
New Faces at Iverson
Please welcome Frank Manzullo,
Business Development Manager,
and Leah Wanta, Assistant Project
Manager to Iverson Language
Associates, Inc. Click on their
names to read their biographical
information.
©
2006 Iverson Language Associates,
Inc.
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