Translation takes time

Translation requires translators to work seamlessly across languages and cultures, transferring content from one language to another. This is a process that requires time and consideration, particularly when the information is technical or contains things like humour, idiomatic expressions, or culturally specific terminology.

Translation providers also have robust processes in place to ensure they are providing quality products, which adds to the length of time translation takes. Speed of translation will also be dependent on the availability of translators.

Quality translation requires budget

To produce quality translations, you will need to budget for it.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, translation is usually charged on a per-word basis. Rates can vary depending on urgency, the specific language, and the type or complexity of the text. Some languages may cost more to translate than more widely spoken languages due to the limited number of translators available for those languages. In general, translations will cost between 45c per-word to 60c per-word, although this will vary across providers.

If your translation project is urgent, providers may also charge a small urgency fee. This is usually passed on to translators with the expectation that the urgent work takes precedence over the other work they are concurrently undertaking.

Know how your audience access and consume information

Make sure you have a plan to publish and share your information, whether that is on digital channels, via ethnic media, or through engagement with community organisations. Find out how the communities you are wanting to reach access their information and who the trusted voices in those communities are.

Understanding your audience also means understanding their linguistic context. For example, you will need to know the dialect your audiences need information in (e.g., Latin American Spanish or Spanish from Spain, Brazilian Portuguese or Portuguese from Portugal, etc.).

Also, consider that not all speakers of languages will be able to read information in their language, and not all languages have written forms (or they might be recent developments that have not been adopted universally). You may want to consider providing audio or video as well as written text.

Removing English proficiency as a requirement to find information online will also make your content more accessible. For example, putting translated information in PDFs on your website alongside the equivalent information in English requires a base level of English proficiency to find it. This is a barrier for some CALD communities.

Not everyone who speaks another language is a translator

Professional translators know how to culturally adapt information to make it understandable to a community.

Translation is a learned skill that requires qualifications and experience. It is not enough just to know another language. If you have native speakers of different languages in your workplace, running a translation past them may be okay for a sense check, just to see how it may resonate with communities. This should only be done if it does not impose a cultural burden on employees.

Google Translate is not enough

Tools such as Google Translate (or other forms of machine translation) are widely available and easy to use for small amounts of information and casual purposes, however their quality varies considerably.

Machine translation should never be used to replace a human translator. It has several downsides that mean its reliability can be limited. For example, it cannot accurately translate regional phrases, slang or cultural expressions as it tends to be a literal word-for-word translation. This can result in translations that sound stilted, are incorrect, or are culturally inappropriate or inaccurate given the context. Even a simple translation, for example, translating ‘hello’ or ‘welcome’ can have issues as languages will use different words based on the gender of the person you are addressing, the number of people you are addressing and the formality required.

Translation providers use technology to help

Translation providers will often use Computer Assisted Technology (CAT) tools to support their translators. These are tools, like Google Translate, that may help a translator come up with a solution that can increase the speed of translating.

Translation providers will also use Translation Memory. This is where the software used automatically populates translation projects with text that has previously been translated. It is important to make sure you are using consistent terminology with previous translation projects. If a certain phrase, key term, or segment of text has been translated by that provider in the past, the translator will be able to make sure the same translations are used again. This may mean that you save money as not everything will need to be translated from scratch.

Provide context

Try to include details like the purpose of the translation, the intended audience, the languages you need translated, the use of the translation (video, brochure, website, etc.), where the information will be housed, technical requirements (like the file type), elements of the text that do not need to be translated (the agency logo, acronyms and names, etc.), deadlines, and a glossary of terms.

After you have sent a text for translation, translators may have questions about the text. Ensure subject matter experts are on hand to answer these as soon as possible.

Provide the final edited and proofread text

Information can change between the time something is sent for translation and the time the translation is completed, which may be unavoidable. However, it is important to know that when you do send updated documents, the timeline for delivery inevitability gets pushed back. This will also likely lead to added costs, and risks the accuracy being compromised when multiple versions of documents are being used. To make the translation easier, faster and more likely to accurately convey the original meaning, provide the final version.

Ensure your text is written in plain English and consider removing jargon, technical language, acronyms, and anything else that could be misinterpreted. Check that sentences are relatively straightforward in their structure and easy to understand if you are not a subject matter expert.

Translation providers can work with any files

Most translation providers will have the ability to return translations in a variety of formats, whether that be Word or Excel documents, PDFs, SRT files (subtitles), InDesign documents, etc.

There may be an extra fee depending on the level of involvement in reworking the translation to fit the format. For example, formatting through InDesign or retiming of subtitles can be a time consuming task as translated text will more than likely be longer or shorter than the English text. Some providers will have in-house designers that can do final typesetting.

The final translation should be checked by someone who can read the language, as there are some specific technical requirements for some languages. For example, if you are translating into right to left languages (e.g. Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, or Pashto) then everything on the page will need to be mirrored, or for some languages, fonts will not render correctly unless certain settings are applied.

You do not need to translate everything

Translation is mostly needed where full understanding of information provides a better outcome for communities. For example, translating information about COVID-19 vaccines into a broad range of languages was essential to ensure all of Aotearoa New Zealand’s communities had access to reliable information allowing them to make informed decisions about protecting themselves, their families and their friends.

It will not always be necessary to translate all your communications as this can be an expensive and time-consuming task, while also potentially diluting your information. Ensure you are at least providing the key information that your stakeholders need to know.

Translation and interpreting are different

There can be confusion around the difference between translating and interpreting, as they both involve transferring information from one language to another. While there are similarities, each discipline is unique and requires its practitioners to develop different skillsets.

Translation usually focuses on written content. It happens over a period of time, and the translator has access to external resources like dictionaries, translation memory software, machine translation tools, or other reference materials. A translation will also often be reviewed by multiple professionals before it is finalised. Translators need to have good reading comprehension, and an ability to think creatively – particularly when translating idioms, humour or culturally specific terms or phrases.

Interpreting is a form of translation where spoken or signed information is conveyed verbally or via signs into another language. Interpreting can happen either consecutively or simultaneously. The former is where the interpreter waits for the speaker to finish what they are saying and then interprets, whereas the latter requires the interpreter to listen, process information, translate it and speak all at the same time.

Prepare for emergency situations

In times of crisis or national emergency, it is vital that information is circulated quickly. This is equally relevant for translated information, although there are some unavoidable issues specific to producing information in different languages.

Quality translation takes time. Given that there is an unavoidable delay between information being made available in English and translations being produced, communities may feel extra stress and that there is little or no support available to them. Where information needs to be provided in real time, consider using interpreters rather than translations. Interpreting allows you to instantaneously share and convey information across languages. Understanding how interpreting services work, how to access them and how to effectively use them could be an integral part a well-resourced response to an emergency.

As much as possible, prepare reusable translations before they are needed. For some situations, such as floods, earthquakes, adverse weather events, health responses, etc., some key messages will not change over time. By translating information in advance, less will need to be translated urgently meaning communications in other languages can be produced more quickly.

In stressful situations people only want to know the information that directly impacts them. Translate the essential information that people need to know, ensure it is succinct and then make this available as quickly as possible.