The translation process, a 7-step checklist for translating all types of documents

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Everyone has to face prejudices once in their life, and translators are no exception to the rule.  

Have you ever heard your friends and family saying that translation is an easy job?

They think that it only consists in changing written words from one language to another. 

But the truth is that translation is way more than that. 

Translators are not only translating, they are also reading, analysing, researching terminology, creating glossaries, using translation tools, planning to meet deadlines, drafting, reviewing, and post-editing. 

To better understand the complexity of the translation process or if you are new to translation, here are seven steps to follow to get a text translated methodically and professionally. 

1. Project request

When translators receive a project request, they usually start by looking at the client specifications and ask themselves the following questions: 

• Who is the client? Is it a regular one? 
• What is the format of the document and what is it about? 
• What are the source and target languages?
• What is the target audience?
• What is the word count?
• How much time does the client give me to complete the work? Does it match my schedule? 
• What is the client's budget? 
• Are any reference materials such as translation glossaries provided?

If translators accept to work on the project, they will have to sign a contract or purchase order that specify all the terms agreed with the client.

2. Project analysis

Once the project has been accepted, translators can start reading the source text entirely and try to understand the general meaning. Then, they analyse it more deeply, for example by underlining the words and expressions they do not know how to render in the target language. 

They can also answer these general questions:

• What is the style and register of the text?
• What is the writer’s purpose? 
• What technical vocabulary is used?
• What are the key elements such as proper names, places, dates, numbers, and so on?

3. Terminology research

Now that translators are done with the analysis step, they have a look to the words they have underlined, find their nature and the context they are used in, and look for them in a dictionary. They can start looking in a bilingual dictionary, but they need to final check their choices in a monolingual dictionary to provide a consistent translation. They can also have a look at online terminology databases which store complete translated segments. 

In addition, they try to clarify any doubts of understanding or errors contained in the source text, do some research on the subject, study reference documents, create their own glossaries and/or update those of their clients if needed. 

4. Translation

After finishing all the preparation work, translators can finally start translating. It is important to note that translation into a target language needs to be done by a native speaker and professional translator of this language to ensure a certain level of accuracy, fluidity, and consistency. 

Before going on to step 5, translators like to take at least a one-hour break to stand back from the text. 

5. Proofreading and post-editing

Translators then compare the source text and their translation in order to check that there are no omissions, that the style and the tone are correctly rendered, and that the layout and typography are conserved. 

In other words, they pay attention to the following elements:

• punctuation, 
• spelling, 
• grammar and syntax, 
• conjugation, 
• numbers and mathematical symbols, 
• units of measure and conversions.

6. Quality assessment

Finally, translators leave aside the source text and read their translation as if it had been written directly in that language. It is quite important to ensure that the final version of the translation is complete, clear, and reads as natural as possible. In others words, it has to be ‘invisible’, and that is why quality control is usually carried out by language professionals using professional software.

7. Project delivery

Last but not least, translators have to deliver the translated text to the client according to the agreed conditions and within the allocated time.

To cut a long story short, here is a simplified model of the translation process. 

Diagram 1. Simplified model of the translation process (source: own elaboration)

Feel free to share your tips in the comment section down below. Thank you ! :) 

Written by Floriane F.