When talking about English Chinese translation
projects, most people would agree high-quality translations at competitive
prices are the paramount objective. Hence, the problem comes as how can you
lower your English Chinese translation costs yet not lower the quality. These are several tips shared by Top Chinese Translator for your information on lowering
translation costs:
Price comparison when choosing English Chinese translation agency
Before settling on an English
Chinese translation agency, it is better for you to shop around so as to make a price
comparison. With this comparison, you have more options and you can also know how to bargain with your translation partner since you are familiar with
the whole translation market.
With your research on the average English Chinese
translation costs, you will then find that some translation companies that
offer the so-called bargain prices are sometimes very likely to offer a
lower-quality service. They will probably to assign less professional English
Chinese translators for your translation projects. As a result, you may spend
more if you want to get the badly translated documents fixed.
We all know that freelance
English Chinese translators are much cheaper than translation agencies. But the
problem is not all projects can be handled by freelancers. Therefore, if your
English Chinese translation project is relatively small-scaled, you can then
choose freelance English Chinese translators rather than translation agencies
for the reason of lowering English Chinese translation costs. But if you are
looking for a long-term English Chinese translation partner, then professional
agencies like Top Chinese Translator are definitely better choice.
Reducing
quantity not quality of the English-Chinese translation project
Another way for you to reduce the English
Chinese translation costs is reduce the quantity – instead of quality - of your
original file. Start with the end in mind. Take translation into consideration
when you are writing the original content. Keep your content as concise as
possible. Eliminate unnecessary words and keep sentences short, but always
ensure that the message is correctly conveyed. Avoid idiomatic phrases that
have no meaning in the target culture or language.
Take a second check on the file before
sending it to your English Chinese translation partner and see whether there
are any parts can be left out or condensed. For example, if the original file
is an instruction manual, some of the texts may be replaced by diagrams and
illustrations with fewer words to be translated.
Using
translation memories for the English Chinese translation projects
With the use of a Translation Memory, the
English Chinese translators can start working on the project before it has been
officially approved at your company. The translation memory, or TM, can store segments,
such as sentences, paragraphs or sentence-like units that have previously been
translated. On the one hand, it can aid human English Chinese translators. On
the other hand, a TM can considerably reduce the delivery time and costs, since
you can ask the translators to begin the work even if the original document is
still in draft stage. That way, the English Chinese translators can do the
translation work in a less demanding pace. The translation costs are
accordingly reduced.
In addition, budget for
your English Chinese translation in advance, so that you can avoid surcharges
for rush turnaround timing. Most English Chinese translation agencies would
offer a discount for larger projects, so you can combine several small projects
into a larger one to get the discount. Anyway, try your best to avoid extra
charges.
