Do you need a translator but not sure whether to hire a freelance translator or translation company? We have outlined some tips for you. Language Direct can help you with all types of translation and interpreting jobs.
Freelance translator or translation company — which one really is the better choice? Individuals and businesses alike spend a lot of money on language services every year. A research has shown that about a third of customers are not satisfied with the service or the outcome of the language translation service that was provided to them. To get the most out of your money, you must choose a good language service provider.
There are basically two kinds, and customers are often confused with which one to use. Its a common question to ask whether to hire a freelance translator or translation company.
Freelance Translator or Translation Company: What’s the Difference?
A freelance translator is a single person who usually has a specialized skill or language. For example, he may be a native speaker of German, and specializes on medical translation. This is based on his work experience and education background. Some freelance translators are highly skilled in up to two or three languages and / or specialization.
On the other hand, a translation company is a team of translators, facilitators and proofreaders. A translation agency usually has a pool of a good number of translators, each of whom specializes on specific languages and topics. For example, Language Direct has thousands of translators and interpreters in our books.
Freelance Translator or Translation Company: Which is Better?
The better choice of whether to get a freelance translator or translation company will depend on the kind of project that you have.
Freelance translators will work well on small- scale projects, especially on those that they specialize. For example, if you need a one- time financial translation done in Mandarin, you can look for a freelancer whose expertise is this. Because the translator will only be focused on one project, you can get a really good outcome.
The challenge here is the hiring process. You may have to spend a considerable amount of time and money sourcing the perfect candidate. Because there is no translation facilitator, you must provide clear instructions to the translator. It is advisable that you check in on them in the middle of the project too, in case there are any gray areas. Depending on the translator that you hire, you might also encounter problems with pricing, invoicing and billing. Also, you may need to hire a separate person to proof read the final work to ensure that everything is accurate.
Translation companies work great whether you are looking at a small- scale document or something more long term. These companies have a pool of experienced translators that they have already well- selected based on education, experience, feedback from clients, and membership to translation associations. While some people say that translation companies do not have expertise on any specific language or topic, the exact opposite is true. Language companies have translators and interpreters who have different specializations: legal translation, court interpreting, marketing translation, birth certificate translation, and so on. They have linguists who are proficient native speakers of widely spoken languages such as French, Hindi, Chinese, Arabic, and Spanish, as well as less popular languages such as Punjabi, and even dead languages like Latin.
What will the translation company do?
The translation agency will select the translator(s) who best match your project. You can also opt to interview the translator before hiring them. This will help you select the best person for the job, while saving time and money. This will also work to your advantage if you have several projects with different source and target languages. You will not need to hire many freelancers. Instead, you have a centralized team. This will make the writing style more uniform, and billing and invoicing will be easier.
A translation company can also provide a project manager and translation facilitator for big or multilingual projects. This assures accuracy while meeting all your requirements and deadline.
If you’re choosing to use a freelance translator or language translation company, consider how big your project is, what resources you need, and how much money you’re willing to spend.
For more help and information on freelance translator or translation company, call Language Direct today.
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