So what do you have to do when you need to translate advertising materials for your business? It’s pretty straightforward. We must translate the text by adapting the message to the target audience of the destination country so that they can understand it entirely.

This process, called transcreation, or localization, requires translators, in addition to their excellent translation skills, to have a strong dose of experience, creativity, international exposure, and knowledge.

Machine translation still has a lot of work to do in order to reach this stage like a human, but we expect that it may never happen.

2. The translator must be a native speaker of the target language.

Never entrust your business translation to someone who is barely a native speaker of the target language, or whose official language is not the target language in their own country.

Unfortunately, it is relatively common to encounter this kind of unfavorable situation in the world of translation.

Having the target language as the translator’s mother tongue or national language is a minimum requirement of all robust business translation projects.

Here is the example: even if a British has learned advanced Chinese for many years, this British translator will only be able to translate documents from Chinese to English, never the other way around.

3. Look for a translator who is familiar with the subject of your document.

Imagine that you are an American doctor and someone asks you to review a document in Chinese that deals with advanced accounting or microeconomics.

It is very likely that you lose some hours or nights investigating the meaning of several terms, or you may seek helps you’re your economist or accountants friends.

Now imagine, not only that you have to do research on the particular subject, but you will also have to translate the document into another language.

Does it sound risky for you to entrust the translation of a document dealing with high-tech renewable energy to a translator specialized in humanitarian law?

Therefore, our advice is you conduct a review of the project portfolio of the translator you wish to hire. The idea is to identify if the translator has translation experience in certain topics.

4. Seek a translator who communicates clearly.

Some clients tend to believe that only the quality of final translation work is all that matters, but excellent results depend on some very vital previous processes.

One of the prior processes is clear communication with the translator.

Before the translator commences their work, it is essential that one defines the purpose of the translation, as well as the term, payment details, the most appropriate terminology (according to your niche) and, above all, the final result that you expect from the translation service.

An outstanding result is expected if you have a fluid communication between you and the translator.

You must learn how to sense anything fishy and avoid translators who have no interest in making your translated project succeed.

There is a big difference between a translator who simply provides you with a business translation service and one who is dedicated and wants to see your project succeed. A committed translator can have a lasting effect on your projects.

5. Do not limit yourself to nearby translators.

It is certainly more comfortable and tempting to look for a translator in your area. However, current technologies greatly expanded the possibilities of hiring independent professionals worldwide and Word Philocaly is one of them.

Many of these translators have overcome the local barrier and provide their services to cities and countries across the world.

You can have the advantage of having a much larger pool of qualified translators, which allows you to optimize the costs of your project. Before closing a deal with “a friend of a friend”, do not forget to undertake a broader search for highly qualified translators in Malaysia and abroad.

6. Choose professional translators with more than 5 years of experience.

In the world of translations, experience and solid skills are often valued more than translation certifications. It is true that many independent translators do not work exclusively as translators, for several reasons: unstable income, time constraints, and multiple self-interests, among many others.

Professional translators are those who dedicate themselves to this task in a more systematic way. They generally work exclusively and professional in the translation field for at least 5 years.

Furthermore, it’s a big plus if the translator has several other professional experiences outside the field of translation, and has acquired a solid academic and market training.

Look for a translator with at least 5 years of exclusive experience as a professional translator. Check out their relevant experiences in non-translation sectors as well.

7. Find a responsive translator.

Although there are projects that require urgency, the speed that a translator can deliver your work is not necessarily the most critical aspect of a perfect result.

In other words, it is more reasonable to come up with a more comfortable and flexible delivery time for both parties, instead of requiring the translator to finish the project in a very short time — this would leave them extremely exhausted and more likely to make mistakes.

A translation full of errors is not what you want. You want a perfect translation.

Therefore, learn to negotiate a deadline that allows the translator to provide you with a perfectly revised translation.

What you should look for is a responsive translator, who is quick to get back to your inquiries and questions. The sooner a translator can respond to your concerns, the more he/she takes your project seriously and feels like part of your team, even if he/she is working remotely.

8. Don’t just consider the price.