How to Work Out Which Type of Translation Your Business Needs

If you need document translation services, it’s not as simple as using the first language company you come across. Different types of documents need different types of translation. You might need certified document translation services as well. There are many specialties in translation to help you get the right document services for your business needs. We’ve taken a look at some of these in order to help you find the best Chinese translation services online.

Organize What You Need to Submit to Document Translation Services

Start by organizing which documents you need to translate and into which languages. This is one of those tasks that can quickly grow in size and scope; you may be surprised by just how many documents and other materials you need to translate once you start mapping out what to use document translation services for. Ofer Tirosh, CEO of translation company Tomedes, suggests starting with your marketing materials, as these will be essential when launching your business in another country or region.

Marketing materials include adverts, social media posts, content marketing, brochures, product pages, white papers, and any other content that has to do with advertising your brand or product. Often, document translation services also handle localization and transcreation, which make all aspects of your marketing materials fit with the local culture while retaining the intent of your core messaging.

If you’re conducting business with workers abroad, especially if you have an office in a foreign market, you’ll also likely need to translate internal communications. The movement of workers and cross-border employment is a complex situation. Interestingly, data from Eurostat show higher employment rates for those with citizenship of one EU Member State but who work in another, than for nationals, at 76% and 74% respectively in 2019.

Examples of translations for international communications include procedural documents, which have to stay the same between languages so that people follow the same processes across the company. You might also have to translate presentations, financial reports, contracts, emails, memos, or anything that will be read by someone who works in another language.  

Understanding Document Translation Service Specialties

When looking for document translation services online, it pays to know about the different specialties in the translation field. The translation industry is huge – the Common Sense Advisory estimates that it turns over $43.08 billion globally. Understanding which specialty you need within this huge market will help you organize your documents better and help you look for companies that are skilled in handling the particular type of documents that you’re working with.

The main translation specialties include:

• Legal translation: As the name suggests, legal document translation services handle anything to do with legal proceedings. This can include depositions, court transcripts, and contracts, as a few examples. If your business ever needs official contracts handled in another language, legal translation is what you need.   
• Business translation: This general umbrella term covers anything that helps a business run, from memos to presentations to financial documents. Marketing translation might also fall under this heading, though it can also be listed in its own right. Often, social media or advertising copy that needs to be translated falls under this header.
• Technical translation: These document translation services handle anything that is related to science, engineering, or anything else technical. If you have technical instructions, product pages that outline a technical product (such as a piece of machinery), or patent information that needs translating, it will be technical document translation services that you need.
• Medical translation: This translation type handles anything in the medical field, such as drug information sheets, medical patents, patient instructions or records, medical bulletins, research papers, and clinical trial documents. It might also handle marketing materials or websites for medical companies. If your company works in the medical field, you’ll want to source this specialist type of translation. 

Using specialist document translation services delivers a range of benefits. One is that your translator will know how to handle jargon within your industry. For instance, legal translators are skilled at making sure legal terminology translates properly between languages, while medical translators ensure that medical terms translate accurately. 

You may also need certified document translation services. How do you translate a document officially? Simple: you find a service that specializes in certified document translation. That service will provide a certificate with your translation stating that it is a complete and accurate representation of the original document.

Certified document translation services have a number of uses. They’re often needed for completing official shipping documents when importing and exporting goods. They’re also commonly used when filling out immigration paperwork, as certified translation is often a requirement of many immigration agencies. They can also help business negotiations and the production of contracts go smoothly.     

How to Find Document Translation Services

To find the best document translation services, many people simply use a search engine. You might also ask around your professional network to see if anyone has had good experiences with such a service. 

Once you find a suitable-looking service, do some due diligence. Review its website to make sure it looks up-to-date and professional and check to make sure that it has a quality assurance process and some kind of quality guarantee. A good translation process has multiple stages of review to assure accuracy and quality. 

It’s a good idea to prepare a list of questions for the document translation services you’re considering using. For instance, ask: how much does it cost to translate a document? The service should have a clear pricing structure. It’s common to see around $0.10 per word on average, though this can vary significantly based on the languages and specialisms you require. Above all, ensure that your translation agency is experienced at providing the particular type of translation that your business needs.