A client review is a potential stage of the translation process whereby an internal native speaker on the client side reviews the completed output by the translation provider.

We are often asked why this would be necessary or recommended if the translation has been completed by qualified linguists.  Below are 5 key reasons why a client review can make a difference to your translation job:

1. A client reviewer will have “inside knowledge” of what the document is discussing – any phrases that may be ambiguous to a linguist may be clear to a reviewer. The reviewer is able to fine tune the target document in this fashion.

2. Particularly in cases where glossaries are not available, the terminology knowledge of someone internal at the company is invaluable. Even the work of the most expert linguists can benefit from this.

3. A reviewer working for the client will have strong knowledge of their brand’s tone of voice and how they want to sound to their own customers and staff.

A fluent translation can still be adjusted to fit well with company culture.

4. Where “healthy debate” between the linguist and the reviewer takes place, this can lead to an overall improvement in consistency of translation. For example, a linguist may be able to advise a reviewer that a particular change is inconsistent with previous versions and therefore agree together to reject it.

5. All of the above input then means that the linguist and translation provider can learn with each delivered translation by updating the translation memory, creating glossaries and style guides and reviewing the final version of the document.

This will mean that the level of input required from a reviewer should reduce over time.

At Eging TI we believe very strongly in working with our clients as partners, in order to develop a long term working relationship and a thorough understanding of translation content and preferences. As such, we fully support the use of the client review process and believe that when managed well, the benefits are invaluable.