| Frequently Asked Questions |
Can I be assured of the quality and accuracy of a translation from Reflective Source Translations Ltd.?"Not only meeting but exceeding our customers’ expectations" is the ethos behind Reflective Source Translations Ltd. When it comes to our translators, excellence and accuracy is paramount. Our translators are highly qualified, highly experienced and often hand-picked native speakers in the field of translation/interpretation and in their source and target languages. Most have a University degree in translation and a degree in other areas of expertise. Reflective Source Translations Ltd. team of translators have been carefully selected and had to undergo a very strict process to be registered on our database. [Top] What languages do you offer translation in?Reflective Source Translations Ltd. translate between almost all European, Eastern European, Indian and Asian languages. We frequently translate between: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish, Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Belorussian, Czech, Croatian, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Moldavian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Serbo-Croat, Serbian, Slovenian, Somali, Swedish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Welsh and more. [Top] How can I be sure that no unauthorised disclosure of my confidential documents will occur?We guarantee 100% confidentiality of all materials sent to us, and not only with any documents marked confidential. Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreement is essential to our clients. Reflective Source Translations Ltd. is open to signing a Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreement of your choice before examining your English or foreign language documents. In order to ensure confidentiality every translator contracted by us is obliged to sign the confidentiality agreement before receiving any documents for translation, proofreading, interpreting or just review. [Top] What is the standard lead time?Our standard lead time depends on the size and complexity of the document to be translated. However, normally we are able to offer the following:0-1000 words: 1-2 standard working business days [Top] How can I deliver my documents to you?If the documents are in electronic form, you can send them quickly and easily via e-mail. Paper materials can be posted or faxed to our office address. If you are sending original documents, we suggest using First Class Recorded or Special Delivery mail. However, we also offer a service whereby we can translate photocopied documents sent by e-mail or fax. [Top] Can you send me the translation by fax or e-mail?Certainly. If it is just one or two pages, we are happy to send it for free. If the document to be faxed is more than 3 pages or the fax number is overseas, the charges are: [Top] Can I have the translation posted to me? How much will this cost?Certainly. The cost for posting within UK is:£0 - 1st Class Standard [Top] How can I pay?We can accept a number of different payment methods.
What format documents do you translate?Over the past two decades we have seen the rapid development of technology to the point now where standards are almost universal. Translations are most often submitted in Word, Excel, Power Point, PDF, unformatted text or web-based format. We are happy to accept almost any form, i.e. doc, .rtf, .xml, .txt, .xls, .pdf, .tif, .jpg, .itd, .ttx, .ppt and etc. as long as we are able to access it electronically or in paper. [Top] What translation software do you use?Upon customer's request most of our translators use SDL Trados, Wordfast, SDLX terminology management software. This is widely accepted as being one of the best memory database tools around. It has been proven to be effective in many different specialised language areas. [Top] What are the benefits of using the memory database tools?The main advantages are speed and efficiency. For repetitive translations, e.g. large project localisation, manuals, HTML translation etc, the software becomes more efficient after necessary data has been entered. This takes much of the work away from the translator, thus enabling the speed to be increased as well as maintaining quality and consistency. [Top] Can we keep the documents?Files complied using the Translation Memories will be delivered to a client upon request who can also be used by a different translator in future. [Top] What do you do with my personal details?We use a third party agent to handle our credit card payments and thus we never have access to or hold your credit card details anywhere. Your contact details are securely stored on our database and no third party is ever given access to these. [Top] How can I get freelance work from Reflective Source Translations?We only employ professional translators. If you have experience in the industry and are willing to undertake a test piece for the quality of your work, please visit our 'Work with us' page and follow the instructions there. [Top] Term GlossaryWhat is Computer-aided translation (CAT):Computer-assisted ~, machine-aided or -assisted Translation with the aid of computer programs, such as translation memory, terminology management and localization tools, designed to reduce the translator's workload and increase consistency of style and terminology. Not to be confused with machine translation! [Top] What is Desktop publishing (DTP):DTP is offered by translators and translation companies/agencies as a value-added service to provide a one-stop solution for customers' publishing needs. Special applications are required to handle languages that use different typescripts. [Top] What is a Freelance translator:Self-employed translator, who may undertake work for translation agencies, localization companies and/or directly for end clients. Often specializes in one or more particular fields, such as legal, financial, commercial or technical. [Top] What is Localization?The process of adapting a product (usually software, but also, for example, websites) to a specific locale, i.e. to the language, cultural norms, standards, laws and requirements of the target country. [Top] What is Machine translation (MT):1. Translation produced by a computer program; 2. Use of a translation program to translate text without human input in the actual translation process. The quality of machine-translated text, in terms of terminology, meaning and grammar, varies depending on the nature and complexity of the source text, but is never good enough for publication without extensive editing. Machine translation (usually using highly customized MT programs) is occasionally used by some translators and translation companies to assist them in their work, but rarely to translate entire documents. Some search engines, e.g. AltaVista, interface with a translation program to provide translations of websites. To get an idea of what MT can and cannot do, visit Babelfish, which provides a free online MT service (for link, see Online Resources page). Not to be confused with computer-aided translation! [Top] Mother-tongue:One's native language. Often used as an indicator of a translator or interpreter's ability to translate into a particular language. Because a person who has lived in another country for many years (perhaps from childhood) may be more fluent in their "new" language than they are in their original mother-tongue, the terms language of habitual use, dominant language and native language are often used instead. [Top] Source language:Language in which the text to be translated is written. [Top] Source text:The text to be translated. [Top] Target language:Language into which a text is to be translated. [Top] Target text:The translation, i.e. the result of the translation process. [Top] Trados:Publishers of the Translator's Workbench translation memory program. [Top] Transcription:Something written, especially copied from one medium to another, as a typewritten version of dictation. [Top] Translation memory (TM):Computer-aided translation program that stores translated sentences (translation units or segments) with their respective source segments in a database (usually called the "memory"). For each new segment to be translated, the program scans the database for a previous source segment that matches the new segment exactly or approximately (fuzzy match) and, if found, suggest the corresponding target segment as a possible translation. The translator can then accept, modify or reject the suggested translation. [Top] Translator's Workbench:Translation memory program published by Trados. [Top] Voice-over, voiceover:Commentary in, e.g., a film, television program, video, or commercial spoken by an unseen narrator. Foreign-language voice-over consists of two parts: translating the narrative, whereby, e.g., timing (coordinating the voice with the film sequence) is an important consideration; recording the voice-over, which may be performed by a linguist with special training and/or expertise or by an actor. Voice-over services are provided by some translators and translation agencies/companies. [Top] Word count:A standard measure of the size of a text. Translation projects, for example, are often priced on a per-word or per-1000-word basis. On Word document word count facility is as follows: Tools-word count-words (in Word 2007, Vista: Review-word count-words. [Top] |
Quick Quote
Latest News
02 June 2010
Relying on online translation tools can be a risky business, especially if you expect too much of it. For the time being, might quality translation be something best left to the humans?
|
Request a Callback
|
Contact Us t +44(0) 2920 710677
|
