translation agency

Tenth DelinguaLAB focused on Swedish translators

27.6.2023 by Sofia Väänänen

The popular DelinguaLAB programme took on a new form, focusing specifically at people proficient in Swedish. What were the lessons learnt and other key takeaways for LAB participants? What does the future of Swedish translators look like?

DelinguaLAB is a three-month programme for students who are interested in the language service industry and are about to graduate or have recently graduated. The programme is usually organised twice a year, in the spring and autumn, and consists of lessons, lectures and job assignments.

The best thing about DelinguaLAB is that participants get to work on genuine assignments, in other words, to concretely try out and learn what it is like to work in the language service industry! For many, the programme is an excellent way to take the first steps on their career path.

DelinguaLAB HelanGår

This spring’s DelinguaLAB HelanGår was a special edition of the original DelinguaLAB programme. The programme was aimed especially at language students who are proficient in Swedish and are about to graduate or have recently graduated.

“Once again, our DelinguaLAB programme received praise from all the participants. For some, a few of the things discussed during the programme may have already been familiar from their studies, while for others, everything was completely new. They gained valuable insights on working in the industry. Many found our tool training very useful and highly recommend the programme to others,” says Mari Laaksonen, Delingua’s People & Language Resource Specialist.

Delingua added new Swedish translators to its talent pool

DelinguaLAB HelanGår brought together language service talents who are proficient in Swedish. The programme provided a good start for some new top performers in their careers.

“The programme attracted young talents, who still have their whole future ahead of them and can develop their skills according to their own interests and the development of the industry. During the programme, they demonstrated their ability to quickly learn new things and constantly develop as translators. Every programme participant now has a good foundation for working as a professional translator and I’m very happy that our cooperation will continue even after the programme,” says Mari.

What do the LAB participants themselves say?

Many of the programme participants say that they have been interested in working as a Swedish translator for a long time, but the required experience and understanding of the language service industry and translator work was limited. This is how the participants commented on DelinguaLAB HelanGår:

“I had thought for a long time that it would be interesting to work as a translator in the future but I had no experience in the field. When I read about DelinguaLAB HelanGår, I felt that the programme was just for me.”

“It was interesting to find out more about the industry because at the university, there is very little talk of practical working life. Learning more about working life is almost entirely dependent on your own activity, so I thought the programme would be very useful for me in that sense as well. When I applied for the programme, my understanding of the industry was very narrow and I really didn’t know what to expect. The programme, especially tool-related training, was extremely useful.”

According to the LAB participants, the programme met their expectations. In particular, it increased their motivation and drive to become a translator and broadened their understanding of the language service industry.

“Above all, the programme boosted my motivation to start working as a freelance translator. My understanding of the language service industry expanded considerably.”

“I found the programme very useful as I was interested in becoming a freelance translator. I learnt a lot about MemoQ and light entrepreneurship, among other things.”

Swedish translators are needed – now and in the future

An especially rewarding aspect of the programme was working on genuine assignments as the assignments varied, both in terms of style and difficulty, and offered the LAB participants some hands-on lessons. Most of the participants will continue as freelance translators with Delingua and they are convinced that there will be work for them in the future, too.

“The chance to work on genuine assignments was probably the most rewarding part of the programme. I learnt so much. I now have good motivation for the future and plan to continue as a freelance translator with Delingua and become a light entrepreneur.”

“During DelinguaLAB, it became clear to me that there will be an increasing shortage of Finnish–Swedish translators in the near future.”

According to Mari Laaksonen, the future of Swedish translators looks bright as it is a known fact that there is a shortage of Swedish translators and a constant need for new translators:

“Good translators are always in demand. Especially if you become a freelance translator, there will certainly be plenty of assignments available and your application will be welcomed warmly at any translation agency,” says Mari.

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Terminology management in the translation process

11.5.2023 by Delingua

According to the adage, a rose by any other name is still a rose. Also in translation, the same thing can often be said in multiple ways. Sometimes, there may be situations in which a customer and a translator disagree on the best term to use. How can we decide which term is better? How does a translator manage terms during the translation process?

Translators always walk a fine line in order to get a translation right. There are times when the differences in terminology choices are lines drawn in the sand, and it might be difficult to say which term is the most appropriate for the context. Customers sometimes give feedback that even if a specific term’s translation is correct, there is another equivalent they would rather use in the text in question.

As a starting point, the customer’s suggestion will be used unless it is, for one reason or another, a poor choice or erroneous. If this is the case, the matter is discussed further with the customer and it is explained why the term suggested by the translator would be a more appropriate choice for the context. All agreed terms are stored in a term base to keep the information safe and terminology consistent.

Background research

Researching different matters and searching for information are staples in a translator’s work, with the actual translating interwoven with searching for information. Often, terminology issues brew in the unconscious, and solutions to key issues might pop up in the most surprising places.

Translators are familiar with the specific field they translate and look for terms from, among other places, the customer’s website and public databases, but they cannot know about terms that have been decided internally by the customer and are not available publicly. Often, terms also have different translation equivalents. It is the customer’s responsibility to decide which term to use.

Sometimes, the idea is to use the most common terminology, while on other occasions, the customer wishes to differentiate itself from the competition with its very own terminology. The translator should receive specific instructions if the customer wishes to use different translation options according to the context.

Unestablished terminology

There are situations in which the translator may even have to come up with a completely new word. More often the case is that the translator has to use terminology that is not yet established, or a term that is not yet commonly known.

At times, it may be a good idea to include the term in the source language in brackets since, in some fields, people may be more familiar with the foreign language term than its Finnish equivalent. There may also be other reasons for this: for example, when translating instructions on applying for a benefit related to Finnish social security, including the benefit’s Finnish name in an English-language text could be useful for the reader.

Specialty terms

Our experience has shown that new customers are very concerned about whether the translator really is familiar with a certain field of business. For us, each translation assignment is special and deserves a translator who is familiar with the subject matter and its special terminology. This is why translation assignments are allocated to translators on the basis of the field of business and text type. In addition, various translation tools, such as translation memory software and term bases, are used in quality assurance.

In organisations of all sizes, it must be ensured that terms are used consistently so that the organisation’s internal and external communications are uniform and professional. A company’s own term base also makes the translator’s work easier. With a well-maintained term base and transparent cooperation, translating content becomes easier and unnecessary misunderstandings are avoided. Read also our 5 + 1 tips for managing companies’ terms.