Frequently asked questions about translations
What do our clients often ask about our services and our translators?
In this article, we provide answers to the five most frequently asked questions.
1. Is the translator familiar with our industry?
We are often asked if we have knowledge or previous experience of the specialised language or terminology used within a particular industry.
If you work in a field that requires special know-how, you have probably noticed that it has its own terminology and its own way of expressing things, which can be baffling at times. Writing or translating texts often requires a language expert with knowledge of the given field. If you use inappropriate or inaccurate terms, the whole text will be unclear and of poor quality, and correcting it can take up a considerable amount of time. Knowledge of the terminology used in the industry and by the company plays an important role in producing a quality translation.
At Lingo, every project starts by getting to know the client and their industry. Our translators familiarise themselves with the client company or organisation, explore selected websites and other resources related to the field, and confirm the purpose of the translation, the publication platform, and the target audience. We will choose the most experienced translator in your field for your project, but a translator of non-specialised texts will also ensure a high-quality translation through careful background work – after all, we are experts in seeking information. If necessary, we can also ask for help from other experts in the field, in confidence.
During the project, we make use of specialised glossaries, databases, and contextual search. For example, are you already familiar with the TEPA term bank maintained by the Finnish Terminology Centre (Sanastokeskus ry) containing special language terms and definitions?
We may also ask the client for additional information and reference material to support the translation. To us, the client is the best expert of their own field!
We also recommend our clients to create their own company glossary to enhance and streamline communication throughout the company.
2. Is the translator a native speaker of the target language?
The translator is usually a native speaker of the target language,
but one’s ability to speak the language is no guarantee of a high-quality translation. After all, not all native Finnish speakers are good at writing or experts in communication.
Our translators and proofreaders are university-educated translation professionals. They have been selected for their excellent language skills, education and other qualifications in the field. Most of them live abroad and/or speak the target language as their mother tongue.
In our translation process, the text is reviewed by three professionals, at least one of whom is a native speaker.
3. How quickly can you deliver the translation?
We deliver translations quickly, but without compromising on quality. Single-page translations and language revisions are usually completed within the next working day. We will confirm the delivery time when you place your order.
Project schedules are always agreed on a case-by-case basis. Once the schedule has been established, we will adjust our calendars accordingly, and our project managers will make sure that the project runs smoothly and that everything is delivered on time.
If your translation is urgent and you need it within the same day, an additional urgent fee will be added to the price.
Depending on demand, there may some backlog with certain language pairs, but so far we have managed to clear them quickly. Our network includes almost three hundred translation professionals!
4. How much does it cost to translate one page?
The price of translations is determined by the requested language combination and the page count based on the length of the source text. One page equals 1,560 characters without spaces.
At Lingo, we do not count words because our translators do not translate word for word, which is common in the industry.
The number of characters roughly corresponds to one Word document page, but the number should be checked and calculated before ordering, so that you can get an accurate price estimate for your translation.
The price for sworn translations is €69 (+ VAT 24%) per page in the Finnish-English language pair. For the certification of a sworn translation, the price is €15 (+ VAT 24%) per certified document.
You can view our price list here.
5. What is the difference between language revision and post-editing?
In addition to grammatical and spelling mistakes, revisions focus on the content and structure of the text. For example, the proofreader can suggest more natural and idiomatic expressions – without compromising the content of the source text.
Revision is usually carried out on texts produced by writers who are not professionals or who write in a language other than their native one.
If the assignment requires making changes to the original text and the translator is given more freedom to edit the text in the desired direction, this is called editing. In addition to correcting the spelling, grammar, vocabulary and structure, editing includes the fine-tuning of headings, style and the organisation of the text.
Editing is usually carried out on doctoral theses, marketing materials, website texts and other materials that are crucial to companies and whose purpose and target groups require more extensive editing than a revision.
Editing also includes the post-editing of machine translations. Machine translators and AI-based solutions do not always provide fluent and accurate translations, which is why you need a language professional to polish the text.
Post-editing refers to the process where a human translator edits or checks the quality and accuracy of a machine-generated translation.
When we work with machine-generated texts, the content is always thoroughly checked. At the same time, we also assess the quality of the machine translation. If the quality is poor, we may recommend a complete retranslation.
6. In what form?
We are often asked if we can deliver the translation to the client in the same, original file format.
Our translation software supports various file formats, such as .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx. In addition, we can translate texts directly into an InDesign file.
Sometimes we convert PDF files into text format, for example into a Word file, so that we can translate the texts in our translation software. In this case, the layout and formatting of the translation may differ slightly from the original, as the language versions usually vary in length.
We translate websites in files such as .html, .po and .xliff. We can also enter the language versions into your website’s content management system.
In the link below, you’ll find answers to the some of the other questions our customers usually ask us.
If you have any other questions about our work or our services, please send us an email at lingo@lingo.fi!
