“Can you give me a quote to translate a document that’s 28,000 words into 3 languages please?” – This is a question we are asked several times a day, and whilst it gives us something to work with, it’s certainly not going to produce an accurate quote.

Why? When a document is translated there are various ways in which your language service provider can reduce your costs. If you’ve used that provider previously you might be able to benefit from the use of a translation memory, if your document contains repetition.

Producing a quotation based on word-count alone would not be accurate in this instance; a quotation aimed at saving you money takes time and careful consideration.

Some providers of instant translation quotes do enable you to upload documents so that elements like this can be considered. Source files are scanned and quoted for on this basis. However, this still doesn’t account for more complicated influences that could affect the translation quality of your document. For instance, if your material contains images with embedded text, this is going to require the input of need a file engineering team. The file engineering team will also need to be involved if the layout of your document is important; as let’s not forget not all languages are the same in length, or written left to right!

Some texts are not suited to a word-for-word translation.

Our blog on Bastille Day gives some examples of local French phrases that translated literally into English are complete nonsense. If your text is creative in nature it’s likely to benefit from transcreation services in order to have the desired effect on the intended audience.

So in conclusion it might seem like a bind having to send your files across to language service provider and wait for your files to be analysed, but if you’re serious about getting your translation right, and reducing your costs too, believe us, it’s going to be worth the wait.