Finding and hiring a translator
Hiring a translator means matching the provider's languages, subject expertise, target market and working methods to a defined project, then checking the quality of a small assignment before committing to a larger one.
Project scope
The project should be clear before the search begins: a one-page physician report from French into English, 250,000 words of trial documentation in ten languages, five marketing brochures adapted for China and twenty two-page patient leaflets in Spanish for US consumers require different providers. The commissioner should collect the documents, establish the volume and timeline, and ask stakeholders what they need. Extracting content from websites, PDFs and design files such as InDesign or FrameMaker simplifies the job, establishes the true volume and allows an accurate quote. Some translators handle complex formats, but asking them to extract content adds time and cost and may reduce the pool willing to accept the project.
Before searching, the commissioner should answer four questions:
- Has the content been extracted from complex files into an editable format, such as Microsoft Word?
- What is the total word count?
- What is the timeline, allowing a realistic translation target of 2,000 words or fewer per day?
- Is the briefing information available, including content type, project goal, target audience and target country?
Agency or individual
In 2017, large agencies of varying reputation dominated the US translation market. An agency may suit very large volumes, several target languages and short turnarounds because it can draw on a large freelance pool and manage the project. In that market, some larger agencies, though not all, were associated with hard-selling additional services, inexperienced project managers under pressure and poorly paid, inexperienced or ill-qualified freelancers selected at random. Splitting large jobs into fragments and reassembling them can affect quality and consistency.
Where an agency is appropriate—for large volumes needed quickly, more than one or two target languages, or languages of limited diffusion—the commissioner should seek a specialised provider. Smaller specialist agencies may concentrate on medical or pharmaceutical translation, one or two languages, or marketing translation and transcreation, which rewrites content to appeal to the target market. Boutique agencies offer personal service from knowledgeable owners, tend to hand-pick translators and apply a high level of quality control.
An individual freelancer may suit translation to or from one or two languages, projects below 20,000 words per month, or a commissioner willing to handle some project management. Direct engagement lets the commissioner choose the specialisation precisely and communicate with the translator directly.
Search routes
Most translators' professional associations maintain searchable member directories. In 2017, the American Translators Association directory could be searched by language combination, specialisation, location and certification status, while the International Federation of Translators provided a directory of European associations. Searching for the national translators' association, using LinkedIn or asking translators already in the commissioner's network can identify candidates; contacts with unsuitable languages or subjects may still recommend colleagues.
Online marketplaces such as ProZ.com contain capable translators alongside less professional or inexperienced providers, and low prices can bring poor service or a more involved route to a good result. Established translators tend to be busy rather than actively seeking work on these sites.
Qualifications and fit
Bilingual ability alone does not establish translation competence: the translator needs training and experience in understanding complex text, recreating style and register, addressing the intended audience and preserving terminology's nuances. A quotation that includes editing by another professional, or suggests an editor, is a good sign.
Anyone with bilingual abilities can call themselves a translator, while the commissioner often cannot read the target language, so candidates need thorough vetting. Professional translators usually hold an advanced degree, whether from medicine, engineering, physics, law, linguistics, journalism or a demanding graduate translation programme. Certification examinations such as the American Translators Association's can help indicate quality.
Claims to translate into and out of many languages across many fields warrant caution: with few exceptions, professionals translate from one or two languages into their native language and specialise in a handful of fields. The intended market matters as well as the language: Iberian Spanish does not serve Hispanic readers in the United States, and a French-Canadian translator may not suit readers in France. Excellent writing must be accompanied by the ability to analyse, understand and transfer content, tone, style and cultural elements accurately and appropriately. Mistakes may be noticeable when a translator communicates in a language they do not normally translate into, but should not occur in their target language.
A test assignment
For a larger project, a small test assignment for the translator, editor or both can be evaluated by someone competent in the field and by native speakers of the target language, such as business contacts or employees in the target country. Reviewers should give specific feedback on accuracy, terminology, flow and suitability for the audience. Their style preferences and cultural leanings affect that feedback, so the commissioner needs judgement about its weight in the hiring decision.
The assignment also helps assess the longer-term working relationship. The commissioner can ask the editor for feedback and discuss the edits with the translator to learn about their working style. Finding a suitable translator and cultivating the relationship helps the writing reach readers across languages, cultures, customs and communities.