The main aim of translation is to enable communication between people with different languages. But sometimes, translation can take too long unless you know how to get a fast and accurate translation.
For an accurate and fast translation process, pre-translation is essential. It consists of reviewing materials for uneditable text and creating a translation style guide. It also involves providing information for acronyms and providing a translation glossary.
An accurate translation involves a team of editors, SME (Subject Matter Experts), project managers, and proofreaders. It is also dependent on a pre-translation process.
Steps for a Pre-translation process
A pre-translation process is ideal for enabling a fast and accurate translation. It is an initial preparation that takes place before the translator receives all resources and materials for translation.
Pre-translation steps are paramount because they are the foundation where every other translation effort is built. This means one must do in-depth research before using a translator to ensure the project’s success.
Below are some pre-translation steps:
1. Review material for unedited photos
A screenshot or photo is unedited when it is not suitable for translation. This is common as people use older materials but can’t find the original source document. So they take a screenshot thinking that will work just fine. But when translation is needed this can cause big issues for a translator only to find that the text is not editable. And with an uneditable text, translation can’t take place. However, one of the materials that can be used to resolve this issue is known as an Optical Character Recognition tool (OCR).
An OCR separates the text from the photo to enable a proper translation. Here are some steps to follow for this to be resolved.
- Step 1: De-Skewing: To maintain a proper alignment, the image has to be titled.
- Step 2: Binarization: If the image has color, convert it to black and white to enable optimal reading.
- Step 3: Despeckling: This stage involves smoothing the image edges and removing spots.
- Step 4: This step enables the recognition of basic shapes and lines and the process of removing non-glyph lines.
- Step 5: Recognition of script to enable optimal OCR to operate on the word level.
- Step 6: Character segmentation: Characters connected to any image will be divided.
- Step 7: Aspect scale and ratio normalization.
With the above steps, the translator can easily understand the type of translation the client wants.
2. Create a translation style guide
An effective translation is not only about converting your content from one language to the other in a word-for-word format. It also includes localization, which entails upgrading your content to match the location’s unique culture. In addition, it also aligns syntax, laws, pop culture, and preferences with the location’s culture.
Below are typical elements for a style guide:
- Grammar rules and punctuation (Quotation marks and spacing)
- Elements for branding (Unique terms and names)
- Formatting (fonts, bolding, and trademarks)
- Adaptation to localization (ways to address currencies, phone numbers, and addresses).
3. Information on Acronyms
Acronyms have different initials because the word equivalent has a different meaning in another language. For instance, acronyms like ILO (International Labor Organization) will be translated to OIT (Organization International du travail). Also, WHO (World Health Organization) translates to OMS (Organization Mondiale de la sente); UFO (Unidentified Flying Objects) translates to OVNI (objet volant non identifié), etc.
At this point, it is essential to know that some initials are written as full words in a different language. For example, POW (Prisoner of War) translates to (les prisonniers de Guerre) in French. So, the client must offer Acronyms and their meanings to the translator. This is to avoid any mistakes and misunderstandings.
Meanwhile, there are so many translation tools to solve the issues of Acronyms ranging from hard copy dictionaries to glossaries. One of the Acronym tools to be used by a translator is the Acronym finder.
4. Translation glossary
In all products, a few key terms define it. These key terms need to be translated consistently and accurately in any translation. At this point, a glossary comes in; it is occasionally called a term base or a terminology database.
A quality glossary serves as a guide to enable translators to eliminate ambiguity through key terminology management. When generating key terms (names, acronyms, titles, subject-specific terminology, etc.), proper context and clear definitions also need to be provided.
This is why it is ideal for project owners to work closely with translators on the final translation to ensure a fast and accurate translation. Key terms must be highlighted with pre-approved translations to improve accuracy and consistency.
Bottom Line
For a translator to do a good translation job, a pre-translation is necessary. It offers a translator the steps and structure the client wants. So, a translator must know the translation format the client wants before starting the job.
The steps for a successful pre-translation include reviewing materials for uneditable photos and creating a translation style guide. It also involves offering acronym information and providing a translation glossary.
With the ideas above, the question of how to get fast and accurate translation has been answered.