2. Determining your requirements

At this point in the process, it’s a good idea to step back and think about the basics: How much time should be allowed for this project? What is the budget? What are the target languages or countries?

All of this information will be important to your translation provider, directly or indirectly. If the deadline is tight, additional resources may be needed. For many translation projects, splitting the material up among several translators can negatively impact consistency.

The budget is also of critical importance. It is important to be aware of going rates for translation during the planning process. And while there are many cut-rate providers around the world today, discount translation rates often mean discounted quality as well.

It is important as well to be clear about the target countries, and not just the languages. Portuguese for Portugal and for Brazil are not interchangeable. And while many technical materials in French can be used in France and Canada, materials in colloquial language must be properly localized. Modern Chinese is written in one of two character sets – one for the People’s Republic (Simplified), and another used by non-PRC Chinese speakers (Traditional).

Competent translation providers will ask you what they need to know to properly translate your materials. Nevertheless, the more information you have up front about your requirements, the smoother the process will go.

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