Control Costs of Translation with Advance Plan

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A review of a presentation made at the Region 6 Technical Communication Conference Held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on October 9, 1992.

Translating technical materials is becoming a necessity in the world market today. Jacqueline R. Smith, with SH3, Inc., a translation firm in Kansas City, Missouri, discussed how to control costs, time and liability factors.

She says the cost of translation is determined by the amount of words in a publication, the language it is being translated into, the technical difficulty of the content and the amount of work that is sent to a translation vendor.

She suggests a number of steps to reduce the cost of translating:

• Use of numbered call-outs on graphics instead of words. Define the call-outs in the text or a legend. This eliminates time spent translating text placed on graphics.
• Elimination of repetitive text to reduce the total word count of a publication.
• Page layout plans that allow extra space for the translation. English translated into German, French or Spanish requires approximately 25 percent more page space.
• A language translation process which simplifies page re-layout. This is particularly practical if an effective in-house page-layout system already exists for original English-version documents.

Smith says the average time required to complete translation of a 40-page manual is approximately six weeks. Time can be saved by providing the translator with a glossary of technical terms and careful editing of the original document for consistent use of terminology to eliminate confusion and wasted time for a translator.

The liability of a translated manual is several times greater than the English version. This increased liability can be tied directly to the accuracy of the translation. Smith says you can promote translation accuracy by making sure a key person in the company's technical publications department develops a close relationship with the translator, and communications with the translator are centralized through that channel.

To further ensure accuracy, Smith says it is extremely important to review technical content, grammatical accuracy and legal responsibilities before accepting a translated document.

Translation of technical material is costly, time-consuming and risky. However, the cost, time and liabilities can be reduced by planning in advance.