This is what our Senior Linguist Manager, Petra Šešljaga Paradi, told us about what International Translation Day means to her as a translator:

“I feel particularly proud on this day because I truly love my profession and I’m glad that there is a day dedicated to it. I hope that these kinds of celebrations will eventually contribute to greater visibility and awareness of the translation profession.”

When asked about the most common misconceptions people have about the translation profession and how she debunks them, she continued:

“I think that people, in general, don’t know much about translating, starting from the qualifications and knowledge that are needed for someone to become a good translator, all the way to the complexity, hard work, constant learning, and effort that needs to be invested every day in order to do the job well.

In addition, this profession is of great importance because it breaks down barriers between cultures and contributes to the creation of a feeling of equality and community. Therefore, we should speak more about translating, and International Translation Day is a big step towards greater acceptance and the destigmatisation of this profession.”

We also stopped Marijana, our Lead Linguist, in the middle of her busy everyday work schedule, and asked her a few questions over a cup of coffee . We were interested to hear more about the key skills a successful translator should have.

“Curiosity (in this case, it will not kill the cat, but rather improve one’s quality), willingness to learn and eagerness to find the right solution to a translation problem. Also, the ability to navigate successfully through various CAT tools, to swiftly upgrade one’s knowledge and to keep up to date with the latest trends as much as possible.”

She gave some advice on how to keep up with language trends, terminology, and industry changes in order to ensure high-quality translations:

“By following all the relevant sources, pages, organisations and the right people. You have to be interested in going forward and professional improvement, so you read and search. Sometimes the hype around certain trends can blur your perspective, so it is essential to stay focused and decide in which area you want to develop further.”

Mirna, a Senior Medical Linguist, elaborated on translation accuracy and cultural relevance. She also shared some advice for younger linguists who are in search of their own professional path:

“Language reflects the customs, beliefs, values and traditions of its speakers. This is why cultural nuances and context-specific expressions, such as idioms and regional variations, must be considered during translation. Translators must have a deep understanding of the target culture to accurately convey the message of the source text while also ensuring that it resonates with the target audience. This creates a sense of familiarity, closeness and connection, and target readers feel like the text is written for them in their native language instead of just being translated.”

Her best advice for aspiring translators or those considering a career in the field would be:

“Constantly improve your language proficiency, invest all your energy into learning innovative technologies and perfecting your translation skills, and treat language as an ever-evolving thing. Always stay motivated, choose a specialization that will highlight your best qualities and strive for success in both the professional and personal sense.”

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It’s very likely that the word translation gave you goosebumps more than once and many times, to be perfectly honest, you might have said to yourself or your team something like: “Oh, if only I had the time to do this, I would’ve done a better translation myself and I am NOT a linguist!”

Finally, time came for you to take a step back, look at your company’s ordering procedures and to introduce the necessary changes to make the translation really work for you.

Budget projection

Make sure to have the required resources allocated for a period of 1 to 2 years. Check with your company/corporation accounting department and try to calculate what the annual cost of translation services was. Many companies do not have that data available but it might be crucial for your budget planning in the future.

Assessment period

Take your time to get an insight into the translation industry. Visit an industry conference, read a book, ask for advice. Many of your peers have been in a similar situation like yours and are now aware of the issues that need to be taken care of and may know something about the solution.

Centralize your procurement procedure for language services

You need translating into more than 15 languages? Try to find one provider of language solutions for all language pairs. If you are satisfied with the way they handle one or two languages, ask them about other language combinations as well.

Terminology management

This may be the most important innovation to be introduced to your everyday work.

The technology now enables us to develop translation resources on the basis of the previously translated and approved files. It also helps consistency become the main feature of your translated materials. Try it out.

Innovative calculation

Repetitions, new words, fuzzies…You might have heard about these terms before, but you are still accustomed to a good old text sheet, never being quite sure of the number of its characters, right?

There is a better and utterly transparent method of calculating word-based translation costs per project on the basis of the original document. In addition to being clear and automatically calculated, it is also designed to optimize the translation costs, particularly on a long-term basis.

Introducing technology

Translating without using language technology these days is like driving your car without a GPS system and trying to get to a certain village in Tuscany. Is that possible? Maybe, but there are smarter ways.

The market is still growing and the new features that make translation process more agile and effective are constantly being developed. In addition to helping linguists process greater amounts of materials for less time, they also help the language professionals enhance the quality of translation and enable clients to save money, time and energy, at least in the translation/localization department.

There are more services a translation company might offer

Desktop publishing (DTP), language engineering, in country reviews, software testing…all these services might be needed by your company. If you do not put it in the agreement, will you be able to order them and under which terms?

Ask your LSP about the supporting services they may offer, you might be surprised and your life might get easier.

Partnership

You are worried about the sensitive information that your company is dealing with and you are not ready to hand it over to your translation provider. The solution might be simple! Ask your LSP to to sign the necessary NDA or other forms of legal documents before your cooperation.

Remember, your chosen LSP becomes your team member. If they work in accordance with the industry standards, they will be able to meet your needs in an efficient and secure manner.

However, you should bear in mind that ISO procedures do not cover everything and one of the things they cannot possibly cover is the additional value of building a good partnership that you develop with your vendor. In order to succeed in offering the proper solution to your needs, your LSP has to be treated as your partner and to communicate with you on daily or weekly basis.

We would like to hear about your experiences. Feel free to share them with us in the comment section below or contact me at zana.cizmin@ciklopea.com

The post Running a Successful RFP and What Translation Has to Do with It appeared first on Ciklopea.

Ciklopea is the first translation company to be awarded this valuable certificate and one of the few small Croatian companies to have met the high criteria of employee management.

See more at link.

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When we embarked on our journey through the world of language industry back in 2004, the very first logo of Ciklopea emphasized the two-way nature of translating, represented by two opposing arrows with our initial in the centre, underlining our idea of being an intermediary between cultures, languages, people and companies. We saw our mission as one of building linguistic and cultural bridges where there were none.

Our next visual change came in 2009, when we opted to keep the same logo, but to bring the name of the company into focus. By this time, Ciklopea has become a well-known name synonymous with the successful fulfilling of its original mission. The change was subtle and natural.

In 2015, after more than a decade of experience, millions of translated words and thousands of successfully completed projects that made the multilingual communication between the region of South East Europe and the rest of the world flow smoother than ever before, we felt the time to take a new step forward had arrived.

By 2015, the translation companies as the world knew them began to change slowly, but dramatically. Simple translation from one language to another is already a thing of the past – a good translation company of today is an all-in-one solution service for a complete localization process, offering a wide range of services packed with translation. Ciklopea has worked like this ever since its inception, but today, having built strong linguistic expertise, we are moving forward to the LSP of the future – and that future is now. Rebranding of the business is also the visual translation of these changes.

Simplicity, clarity and transparency are the main features of Ciklopea’s new face, reflecting our corporate and social values, our philosophy of openness to the clients, partners and society, as well as our dedication to preserve and constantly improve the high professional and ethical standards that kept us going all this time and that lead us to this point.

The opposing arrows from Ciklopea’s first logo evolved into a round shape of the new design, suggesting the cultural and linguistic exchange is now flowing in both directions simultaneously and that our mission is proving successful. In addition, it also symbolizes that social, economic, environmental and cultural processes are connected and interconnected, and Ciklopea’s readiness to continue the socially responsible work and thus contribute to society as a whole.

Designed as a visual translation of our values, philosophy and business culture, Ciklopea’s rebranded image is sending the message that we are doing what we do best – helping companies and institutions bridge the linguistic differences and cross cultural borders with individual approach and tailoring customized solutions – with you and for you.

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Active Role in Exchange of Information

The massive amount of life sciences materials being translated to almost every written language of the world on a daily basis essentially represent an active exchange of information on the cutting-edge life sciences products, procedures and development that are constantly widening the lexical stock of the target languages, making a valuable contribution to the scientific and business arenas of the target territories.

This is particularly true when we talk about the comparatively smaller languages whose existing lexical and lexicographical heritage may be limited. In these cases, a translation company does not act as a mere intermediary communicating the message of the life sciences industry to its local customers and clients, but it also becomes an invaluable assistant to the scientific and academic communities on the local market.

LSP does not act as a mere intermediary communicating the message of the life sciences industry to its local customers, but it also becomes a valuable assistant to the scientific and academic communities on the local market.

Life Sciences and Language

Life sciences materials include a wide range of structured documents oriented to scientists, healthcare professionals, regulatory agencies, clients and patients. Success of all medical and pharmaceutical scientific and business activities on the local markets also depends on the quality of translation, clarity of language and compliance of the translated material to the target culture, professional standards and local legal regulations.

For example, documents required by clinical studies such as Informed Consent Forms (ICFs), study protocols or the materials related to product launches such as Summaries of Product Characteristic (SPCs) or Patient Information Leaflets (PILs) are written in accordance with the set guidelines and need to be translated accordingly and this is where the LSPs provide their assistance to the benefit of all parties involved in a process.

An Auxiliary Discipline

Due to the importance of its role in medical and pharmaceutical activities on the local markets, translation industry can safely be regarded as a kind of an auxiliary discipline to the life sciences. Study and improvement of the quality of life is what gives the life sciences their collective name. Accurately and precisely communicated information on life sciences from one language to another is one of the prerequisites of their global success and its importance can never be emphasized enough.

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