translation agency

What is a cheap translation and how much does quality cost?

10.3.2023 by Delingua

The price of a translation is influenced by many different factors and pricing is rarely straightforward. In tendering, it may seem tempting to choose the cheapest quote; however, in the worst case, this is also reflected negatively in the quality of the translation. What actually is a cheap translation and is the cheapest always the best?

Translation agencies come in many shapes and sizes but, in the end, they all promise the same things: high-quality translations and affordable prices. Unfortunately, in many organisations, the mindset is “the cheaper, the better”. The true competition is usually in prices, even though quality is part of the tendering process.

In reality, customers are rarely happy with a translation that is produced at the cheapest price. The final price may easily become higher than expected when a cheaply translated text has to be re-translated by another translation agency. You rarely get a good translation at a cheap price and, in our opinion, tendering should not be based solely on prices; instead, a translation agency should be chosen primarily on the basis of quality.

Translation price

Pricing is influenced, first and foremost, by the content of the service, the word count of the source text, the language pair, the schedule and the file type. The price of the translation service may include proofreading, rounds of corrections and professional service. When organising tendering for translation agencies, it should be ensured that both the price and the quality meet the expectations of the tenderer.

Unfortunately, expert services can rarely be compared straightforwardly. The translation price shown in the quote may not tell you what is included in the service or how the translation service is delivered. One agency may offer an edited and proofread translation for the same price, while another agency may offer a machine translation only. For some, the ordering process is thoroughly automated, while for others the price includes tailored solutions.

How much does quality cost?

It would be easiest to say that good is never cheap. Unfortunately, however, this is not always the case, as good quality largely depends on what the customer expects from the translation service. What’s good for one customer could be completely unacceptable for another.

In addition, the customer often has the option of choosing the desired service level. Although, by default, you should always expect a professional agency to produce excellent linguistic quality, the service purchased by the customer may range from a so-called raw machine translation to a copy-edited translation that has been honed down to the last detail.

Translation profitability (ROI)

What do you get with the money you invest in a translation? The internationalisation of a Finnish company inevitably requires translations into at least one foreign language. This language is usually English and it’s certainly a way to get started, but in Europe alone up to 90 per cent of consumers say they prefer products offered in their own language. So, it’s likely that conquering the world requires translations and localisation, i.e. the adaptation of materials, into several languages.

Even after the choice of languages, you should monitor whether the investment in the language version, particularly its maintenance, is profitable. Buying translations is not a one-off expense item: the materials require regular updates, and customer service and marketing in foreign languages is not free. For this reason and because the maintenance of the language version also incurs costs, it’s advisable to keep an eye on translation profitability (ROI) on an ongoing basis and also include costs closely related to the language version, such as search engine optimisation (SEO) or Google advertising.

There are many ways to measure return on investment (ROI) in translations and the maintenance of language versions. Most commonly, the aim of adding a new language version is to attract more customers and sales. Indeed, the buying of translations should always be linked with business objectives. Always consider first why software or materials, for instance, should be translated into a certain language and what are the objectives that are pursued with the language versions.

A translation service is always the sum of its parts

The most important thing is to stop for a moment before making a purchase decision and think about what you are buying and what you expect from a translation service. Then, with the help of background research, find out which translation agencies can best meet your needs. Analyse the agencies’ data security, technology and references. Find out what is included in the price of the translation and what you pay for separately.

If you need certain system integrations to facilitate your own work, look for agencies with suitable solutions. If you need a quick translation agency, focus on turnaround times in tendering. If your top priority is quality, pay attention to quality assurance, service processes and expertise in project management.

In a nutshell: when you know what you want, you usually get what you are willing to pay for. In the end, it’s never just a question of translation, it’s always about the translation service.

Will ChatGPT revolutionise machine translation?

24.2.2023 by Jari Herrgård

ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, and it feels like the world – or at least the future of information work – has not been the same since.

ChatGPT is the first service that makes an artificial intelligence based on a large language model (LLM) available to the everyday user and provides an easy user interface for it. Even in this case, artificial intelligence isn’t an actual “intelligence” but a mathematical model that calculates which words are likely to follow one another. However, ChatGPT does this more smoothly and with better versatility than the previous models.

At best, ChatGPT improves human productivity

At first, it may seem that the model can do anything: it types code, writes snappy articles and responds to questions. Naturally, it also does translation! In ChatGPT’s user interface, it is possible to request translations and other texts using natural language prompts in the same way as when asking from another person. I asked it for a poem on selling localisation services, and it even managed to do that. In terms of style, the output was much better than what I myself would have been able to produce.

However, when you look at texts produced by ChatGPT a little more closely, you will see that it suffers from the same issues that plague machine translations by proficient neural networks, for example – the translations are often correct but usually only almost correct, and the AI may come up with sources that it cites as if scientific research.

Due to the errors it makes, ChatGPT is, in a way, very human. Regardless, this does not make the quality of its text poor in general but rather reminds us of its limitations. If you want to make use of the output of an LLM, it would be a good idea to have a human check it or, at the very least, you should acquaint yourself with what kind of text it produces in a specific context.

If you remember and are mindful of these limitations, ChatGPT is certainly a useful tool in various industries. When used properly, it increases human productivity by coming up with ideas, checking and making drafts.

What about translation?

ChatGPT is surprisingly adept at translation. In the chat user interface, translation is easy to do by using free-form requests. What separates ChatGPT from traditional machine translation tools is that you can also give it instructions for the translation task. Below are a couple examples of this. In the first, I requested a translation in the style of a pirate ( what could be more useful?), and in the second, a couple of alternative translations.

And it can also translate into several languages of your choosing with just one prompt:

So, producing translations is easy, and they seem fairly correct as well (while my language skills aren’t sufficient for assessing all of the examples). In some cases, it even adds comments that explain its decision-making process.

Thus far, there have only been preliminary evaluations on the accuracy of the translations produced by ChatGPT compared to the prevailing neural machine translations (NMT), and it appears that the translation performance of LLMs cannot compete with the more specialised machine translation tools. The difference may not be huge, but it is still significant enough to make a difference in professional settings. However, there have not been many comparative studies yet, so we should not be too quick to draw further conclusions. In any case, it seems that ChatGPT beats the neural network models in specific context recognition or memory tasks.

LLMs in professional use

The entire translation industry has now turned its gaze to large language models, wondering if they will replace NMT-based machine translation tools or even translators themselves. Talk of the eventual redundancy of translators is nothing new, but that hasn’t happened so far – and I don’t think it will happen now. But LLMs will undoubtedly have some sort of impact.

The examples below are simple and easy, but even they show that you get lots of possibilities for translation by using different prompts compared to traditional machine translation tools. The current machine translation tools always produce one version in a set way. You cannot influence their translation output except by training the tools on materials of your choosing or by using an adaptive system and feeding it with texts in advance.

Through the use of prompts, ChatGPT can make adjustments on the fly, which you could make use of with the help of example texts or translation memories, for example. In the same way, it also offers possibilities for editing the ready text to follow a certain style.

As ChatGPT supports well the production of entire texts, it may shift part of the translation work away from traditional translation, thus moving the focus more on creating a new text in another language. Of course, this is what translation basically is already, but due to practical reasons, translations are often very closely tied to their source language. In time, machine-assisted methods used in the translation services industry could more clearly be divided by their intended use. This means the method more closely linked to the source language could be retained in technical texts but would give way in more creative translations.

Despite the hurdles, there are endless possibilities

LLMs will inevitably become part of additional services in translation. For example, in term base work, ChatGPT can already be successfully used for rough work on short texts. Perhaps there are more uses in text analysis as well? There must be many more uses that I do not even realise or which are not even a thing yet.

So, there may be endless possibilities, but there are also many hurdles. At the moment, one of the most significant hindrances is data security: ChatGPT cannot be used privately, which prevents its use in many situations. However, I expect services with better data security and privacy to find their way to the market soon. When it comes to translation tools, accuracy also plays a crucial role, and as long as LLMs cannot compete with neural network-based models, they will have less use in professional translation.

Currently, there are more questions than answers regarding the use of LLMs in the language services industry, and no one can say for sure where these models will be used. In the coming years, LLMs and ChatGPT are certain to shape the language services industry in a decisive way and create new ways of working and new competence areas, starting from what kinds of prompts users know to use when requesting texts from AIs.

My guess is that we will have new important LLM-based machine translation tools and text-production solutions, the mastery of which will (for a time) become a competitive edge. And even this tool is used by humans, whose productivity it may increase a lot.

Language tip of the month: 3 + 1 tips for polite English

22.2.2023 by Delingua

Brits in particular but also other native English speakers like to be as polite as possible, whereas Finns tend to say things far more directly.

Whether it’s an email or communicating on the phone or face to face, Finns handle situations by getting right down to business. Even if this kind of communication is ordinary in Finland, it may sound rude to an English speaker. So if you want to avoid blunt expressions and aim for fluent English, start using these tips for polite English!

Please

Have you ever paid attention to the use of please in English? Please is an important word that you should keep in mind in both face-to-face interaction and written communications, and forgetting it is actually somewhat rude.

Over and over again, I’ve heard Finns ordering a pint at the pub with the clunky phrase “I take a beer”, when the native way to politely express it would be “Could I have a beer, please?”. In Finland, it’s business as usual in a café to say ”Ottaisin yhden kahvin.” (I’d have a coffee), whereas for an English speaker, the appropriate phrase would be “Could I have a coffee, please?”.

In Finnish, using the word kiitos (thank you) is common, but there is no direct equivalent for the word please, which means the same level of politeness is expressed with the Finnish grammatical conditional -isi-. This is why Finns often think it is sufficiently polite to use the word could or would, but if it is a request and not a question, it definitely also requires a please. Saying “Could you pass me the salt?” and “Could you pass me the salt, please?” are entirely different matters.Adding please shows your appreciation.

It’s good to keep in mind that the word order is also significant. You can add the word please to either the start or the end of the phrase, depending on if you intend to say it more as a request or as a demand. At the end of a phrase, the meaning is very similar to the word kiitos in Finnish. If it is at the beginning of a phrase, it lends more weight to the word. The phrase “please behave” instantly has a more demanding, commanding tone.

Sorry and excuse me

In English, apologetic words are thrown around fairly casually. In Finnish, apologies are only made when they are genuinely meant. In English, the words sorry, excuse me, pardon and apologies are used constantly in everyday language. Sorry and I’m sorry are a good fit in almost any situation, whether it’s bumping into someone in a crowded bus or a genuine, heartfelt apology. When you can’t hear the other person, the correct phrase is “Sorry, I didn’t catch that” or “Pardon?”.

The expression excuse me is used when you want to interrupt or catch someone’s attention. It’s also used to express that you are leaving the scene. The phrase is used, for example, in the following phrases: ”Excuse me, could you tell me where I might find Mr Smith?”, “Excuse me, may I ask your name again?” or “Excuse me, I need to take this phone call.”.

However, you have to be on your toes with excuse me, because with the wrong tone of voice, it can express sarcasm or even be aggressive. ”Excuse me, but I wasn’t born yesterday!”

The phrase my apologies is used in more official connections, such as in written communications when expressing regret or turning down an invitation, such as in ”My apologies for this oversight on our part.”.

Ole hyvä is not please

Whereas Finnish has the one and only ole hyvä, English has dozens of equivalents for it, depending on the use. If someone says thank you, you usually respond by saying you’re welcome but also phrases like my pleasure and not a bit are equally suitable, along with many other similar phrases.

Sometimes you can hear Finns erroneously saying please when giving someone something. English has its own phrases for this situation: here you are or there you go. When you want to give someone space or indicate that it’s their turn to speak, you can use, for example, the phrases be my guest or the floor is yours.

General politeness

In written communications, it’s important to pay attention to how you formulate your message. The Finnish style is to say everything fairly bluntly. When giving feedback in Finnish, you can easily say something that corresponds to “We would like a longer term of payment” or even “We want the term of payment to be 30 days.” In English, you should always soften the message and say, for instance, ”Could you please consider amending the payment terms to 30 days?”

Did you like what you read? Did you perhaps learn something new? In the Language Tip of the Month series, we are giving language tips on a variety of topics. Follow us on social media so you don’t miss the next article!

No two days are ever the same – a glimpse into the work of a Translation Services Manager

25.1.2023 by Sofia Väänänen

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work at a translation agency? Well, I’m here to tell you! I interviewed our Translation Services Manager Jenna Holopainen about what an average day in the Translation Services team looks like.

Jenna joined Delingua as a Translation Services Manager in December 2021. If we were to sum the work up in a single sentence, the work of a Translation Services Manager is fast-paced and involves project management and customer relationship management tasks. Of course, this is a simplification, as there are also many other interesting background tasks.

No two days are ever the same

The work of a Translation Services Manager involves a lot of email communication, phone calls and general interaction with customers. There are orders and quotes to process, projects to start, layouts to check and translations to resource and return. The work involves various types of translation, proofreading, transcription and subtitling projects in fields such as economics and marketing. The days also include internal and external meetings as well as more technical tasks, such as term base maintenance and file conversion.

However, no two days are ever the same at a translation agency: “No two days are ever the same, and the list of tasks changes constantly. At the moment, my to-do list includes resourcing a few projects, starting orders and preparing for a customer meeting, i.e. making an order report and finding out what has been done with the customer in question over the past year. When I find the time, there’s also a term base for me to clean up,” says Jenna.

The TSM team has regular cooperation meetings with customers. The meetings are rewarding, as they provide a good understanding of where we have succeeded and what things we should focus on in order to maintain or further develop the customer relationship: “It’s always nice to handle the projects of our regular customers, as those are what I’m most familiar with and there’s closer contact with the customer.”

Meaningful work in a close-knit community

The work gives a broad overview of how different customer industries operate and communicate. So, while working, there’s a lot to learn about different industries and about the translation industry itself, such as the technological possibilities it offers. Delingua’s special advantage is that we constantly strive to develop processes and technical solutions that make coordinating projects significantly easier.

“I’d say that working at Delingua is fast-paced, engaging and diverse in nature. The diversity of the work and the opportunities to develop play a key role in how meaningful the work feels,” says Jenna.

In addition to interesting tasks and projects, the work is made meaningful by Delingua’s warm and welcoming work community. Delingua’s human-centred approach is conveyed both in teamwork and in customer communications. Instead of just working on the texts, Delingua maintains close contact with its subcontractors and customers.

“Our team of Translation Services Managers, in fact all our personnel, are top professionals and work together to create a great atmosphere. Human contact in general is one of the best aspects of this work, and it feels nice to work with both translators and customers,” says Jenna.

Time management and prioritisation

What kind of person would be suited to working as a Translation Services Manager? Important qualities include time management, orderliness, stress tolerance and problem-solving and technical skills. In a hectic work environment, it’s important to keep a cool head – you need to be able to schedule your days efficiently and at times prioritise tasks intuitively. As every project doesn’t follow the same pattern, sometimes you just need to know how to decide which route to take.

However, you shouldn’t burn yourself out even if things are getting hectic. Instead, you should be able to rely on your team: “Personally, I enjoy working at a fast pace in a busy working environment. We have people with different areas of expertise in our team, so you can always get the help you need.”

What a translation agency does (and doesn’t do)

17.2.2021 by Katja Virtanen

Last week, a potential customer told me they prefer to translate their marketing texts themselves. They’re not interested in ordering translations from a translation agency. They had once ordered a professional translation from an agency and, as a result of the experiment, their relaxed marketing style had been turned into what the customer felt was something more like a scientific research report.

We discussed what might have caused the failure in the translation service. This customer, like many others, seemed to have a somewhat incomplete understanding of what a translation agency does and doesn’t do. The biggest surprise for customers is usually how technical translation services are today.

So, I will try to summarise below what we as a translation agency do to make life easier for our customers.

1. We offer translation services in different languages

Naturally, a translation agency can provide you with translations into different languages. The language selections of agencies vary. As a rule, the larger the translation agency, the wider the range of languages. Customers contact a translation agency especially when they need translations into languages that they don’t master themselves.

If the customer maintains several language versions of their documentation, software or website, ordering translations from one place is absolutely the reasonable approach.

2. Efficient translation service process

Ordering translations is not just about individual translations. Translation agencies sell a service that covers the entire process, from workflow to project management and advanced technology. We maintain tools that handle different file formats, optimise the order process and speed up translation work.

At the translation agency, the customer relationship is supervised by an account manager, who knows how to propose solutions and smart practices that benefit the customer. Individual translation projects are coordinated by a project manager, who can keep several balls up in the air in even the most complex assignments consisting of numerous files. They don’t know your needs and style requirements in advance but, as professionals, once they hear about them, they can suggest a solution.

3. Cooperation between people and technology speeds up the translation process

Ordering translations from a translation agency and the translation work itself become faster when the translation is done by a professional translator with the aid of language technology. Language technology refers, first and foremost, to translation tools that speed up the translator’s work and help them maintain the correct style and terminological consistency in the translation.

If the customer company doesn’t have a dedicated translation department, it will rarely have any translation tools either. Without such tools, translation can be painfully slow and, in the worst case, the same text could be translated from scratch several times, wasting valuable time and resources.

4. The translator learns your style and terminology

Although many translators specialise in a certain field, few automatically know the style and terminology of all customers. It’s not reasonable for you to send your text to be translated without giving any other information and expect the result to be perfect. Of course, you could but why would you? You wouldn’t order a new visual corporate image from a graphic designer or a new advertisement from a communications agency without telling them about your target audience and style preferences.

A translation agency uses translation memory and terminology tools, reference materials and style guides as an aid in translation work. The more effort you put into the terminology and reference materials used, the smoother the ordering of translations from the translation agency becomes.

5. Easy to reach, with reliable deliveries

Customers who have their texts translated by one of their own employees or a single familiar translator usually start to sweat if this person is suddenly unavailable to do an urgent translation assignment. Where on earth could they now get the translation done within the given timeframe?

One of the strengths of translation agencies is they are easy to reach. If the translator reserved for the customer’s translations happens to fall ill, the project manager can arrange for a replacement or an entire team of translators to complete the translation. We’re not dependent on a single translator, and we don’t throw the towel in, even in challenging situations. For many, trustworthiness and delivery reliability are the most important factors when ordering urgent translations.

6. Save time through system integration

To an increasing extent, a customer’s translatable materials come in formats other than traditional Word files. Often, translations are required for materials in the customer’s own content or product information management systems (CMS and PIM systems).

In such cases, the smartest approach is not to copy texts to and from Word files but to integrate the systems so that the files move smoothly from the customer’s system to the translation agency’s translation management system and then back to the customer’s system after translation.

7. All language services under one roof

In addition to translations, translation agencies usually provide other language services, too. In addition to review by a native speaker and interpretation services, there is an increasing demand for subtitling and transcription of videos since the Accessibility Directive entered into force, for example. A translation agency can also provide customers with search engine optimisation of foreign-language texts, software localisation or secure machine translation of large volumes of text, among other services.

A good translation agency is a strategic partner for the company in all language-related issues. A partner who is easy to turn to and who knows how to suggest just the right language service solution.

The purpose of a translation agency is to make your life easier. This happens when your time is freed up to do things other than waste time on random searches for translators or monotonous copying and pasting. You don’t need to translate yourself if that’s not part of your core competence. Instead, a professional can perform the task quickly and cost-efficiently, provided they get all the information they need for the job.

If you feel your translation service provider just creates additional stress for you and the service doesn’t meet your expectations, it’s time to change the agency.