It is common knowledge that translation is essential to global communication and international business. However, as companies expand their operations to new regions and languages, the quality of their translations becomes an increasingly critical issue. Poorly translated content can damage a company’s reputation, confuse customers, and lead to legal liabilities. That is where Translation Quality Assurance (aka TQA) comes in as a management tool to help prevent risk.
TQA comprises of processes and procedures that help ensure linguistic accuracy, consistency, and cultural appropriateness. This approach involves multiple steps, including selecting Language Service Providers (LSP) with qualified translation teams, solid quality standards, and vast experience in editing and revising translated content. By implementing a translation quality assurance process, companies associated with LSPs can reduce the risk of errors and ensure the translated content meets its intended purpose and, ultimately, their actual client’s expectations.
Let us now understand what TQA is all about.
But exactly how can we define translation quality assurance? Let’s assume that TQA includes reviewing and evaluating the quality of translated content to ensure it meets the desired accuracy, fluency, and style level. TQA aims to find and correct any errors or inconsistencies in the translation and ensure that the content is suitable for the target audience and intended purpose. Of course, our assumptions may sound pretty basic, but that’s a good start.
We are talking about a concept that combines automated and manual processes. Automated tools such as CAT tools, translation memory management software, and machine translation engines can ensure consistency and accuracy in terminology and speed up the review process. However, the automated tools are not enough for a complete evaluation of the translation quality; a manual review is also necessary.
Manual TQA involves professional linguists reviewing the translated content to check for errors, inconsistencies, or other issues. This may include comparing the source and target texts, checking for grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors, and assessing the overall readability and flow of the translation.
Let us now examine the clockwork mechanism of TQA from the inside. An efficient translation quality assurance process supports accurate and high-quality translations. Here are the steps involved:
The nomenclature differs considerably from LSP to LSP, but the steps above are the wireframe of the TQA process. By following these steps, an efficient translation quality assurance process can be carried out, guaranteeing the translation is accurate, complete, and high-quality. Despite the clear benefits, it is time to thoroughly review its evident quality upgrade.
LSPs that deploy a TQA program understand the positive impact it brings to their organization. Let’s enumerate below some of the benefits of translation quality assurance:
Overall, quality assurance helps ensure that translations are high quality, accurate, and consistent, leading to better communication and positively impacting a company’s image and reputation.
When we hear the term “best practices”, we usually think of a set of guidelines, methods, or techniques recognized as effective and efficient for achieving a particular outcome. Translation quality assurance best practices ensure that LSPs can operate consistently, reliably, and professionally, providing their clients with the best service level.
Adhering to the best practices below will help LSPs minimize errors, reduce risk, and improve overall productivity, quality, safety, and customer satisfaction. Here are some of those best practices for implementing translation quality assurance as a management tool:
By following these best practices, LSPs can implement a comprehensive translation quality assurance process that helps ensure accurate and consistent translations that meet the needs of their client’s target audience.
It is finally time to understand how an LSP can avoid flying in the dark by implementing a TQA program.
Providing real-life context always help people better understand a subject such as TQA. Imagine a company that produces and sells medical devices. This company has a global presence, with customers and partners in multiple countries. As such, they have a website available in various languages, including Spanish, French, German, and Japanese.
One day, the company decided to launch a new product, a medical device that helps treat a specific condition. They create a product page on their website for this new device and want to ensure that the page is translated accurately and effectively into all of the languages their website supports by the LSP in charge.
To do this, the company and the LSP agree on employing a quality assurance program, which involves having a professional translation quality team review the translations to ensure accuracy, consistency, and cultural alignment. So, the quality team catches a mistake in the Japanese translation, where the product was mistakenly advertised as a cure for the condition rather than a treatment.
The company could have faced legal repercussions, negative customer feedback, and lost sales if this mistake had not been found. But because their LSP invested in translation quality assurance, they could identify the error BEFORE it was too late and ensure that all their translations were accurate and effective.
This simple example demonstrates the importance of translation quality assurance for global companies and how it can help prevent costly mistakes and ensure the quality of their translated content. It is necessary to consider translation quality assurance as an effective method to address business risks.
Undoubtedly, translation quality assurance is an essential part of risk management when it comes to multilingual communication. Poor translation quality can lead to misunderstandings, damage to the brand’s reputation, legal issues, and financial losses. Therefore, ensuring the quality of translated content before it is published or distributed is crucial.
As a risk management tool, translation QA helps to mitigate the risks associated with poor translation quality. By ensuring the quality of translated content, businesses and organizations can, alongside their LSPs, reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings and errors, leading to legal disputes and financial losses. It also helps to maintain the brand’s reputation by ensuring that the translated content is culturally suitable and free of offensive language.
Furthermore, having your LSP deploy a translation quality assurance program can help businesses comply with regulations and standards related to language and translation. For example, in the healthcare industry, regulations require that all patient-facing materials be translated accurately and culturally suitable. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in legal and financial consequences.
In conclusion, translation quality assurance is an essential risk management tool for businesses and organizations communicating in multiple languages. By ensuring the quality of translated content, they can mitigate the risks associated with poor translation quality and maintain their brand reputation while complying with regulations and standards. Translation quality management is the company’s passport to a business’s success.
Want to learn more about translation quality assurance and how to implement a TQA program for your company or organization? Then contact our friendly team to learn more.
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