When you have a document translated by a reputable language service provider, it often goes through a multi-step quality assurance process that includes some combination of translation, editing, and proofreading. But when you’re preparing your document to be translated, there’s one more step you may want to consider: an in-country or in-house review.
An in-country or in-house review involves someone on the client’s side reviewing the translation with a focus on key terminology and style. The reviewer doesn’t need to be someone living in the target country — it could also be a colleague or partner who is fluent in the target language and is familiar with your company’s terminology, products, and processes.
Basically, the in-house or in-country reviewer makes sure that these key terms, products, and processes have been translated according to your company’s accepted conventions.
They also make sure that the tone of the translation aligns with your established branding and persona. “But wait,” you may be thinking, “aren’t things like that covered during the translation process?”
At a good translation agency, the translators should be native speakers of the target language and have extensive experience in the document’s field of specialization. An experienced translator is first and foremost an expert on language — he or she knows the ins and outs of grammar, syntax, and linguistic style, all of which are key components in creating a quality translation.
However, someone on your company’s end — be it an in-house employee or a partner residing in the target country — may have unique knowledge of the client’s company, terminology, and products that a translator does not (and indeed could not).
For example, an in-house or in-country reviewer may know that a certain product name has been translated a specific way in the past. They may be aware that the client prefers certain terms to remain in the source language. Or they may have years of experience working with a certain piece of equipment or in a highly-specialized laboratory setting. That type of intimate experience can add priceless insight to the translation process. So, in addition to using a glossary or style guide, you may want to plan on performing an in-house or in-country review on your end.
When a professional translator’s linguistic expertise is combined with your in-country or in-house reviewer’s unique subject matter expertise, great translations get even better.