You focus on your Core Business – We’ll handle the translation
Translation — The Driving Force Toward Business Success
It goes without saying that in today’s globalized market, effective communication across languages and cultures has become synonymous with successful international expansion. In fact, for any business wishing to enter new markets, learning to communicate in your target market’s language and finding ways to remain sensitive to that market’s culture is paramount to your success. One surefire way to help you bridge this communication gap is with the help of professional translation services. As translators and authors, Anna Rusconi and Wendell Ricketts put it, words travel worlds. Translators do the driving.
But not all things are created equal, and that certainly holds true in the translation world. If you are looking to take your company to the next level and are researching the best translation services to help get you there, be sure to partner with a language services provider (LSP) that offers translation memory (TM) as part of their translation services.
What Is Translation Memory, and Why Do We Need It?
Well, you’ve asked the right questions and we’re glad you did. So, let’s dig in. Simply put, a translation memory (commonly referred to as a TM in the language services industry) is a database that stores previously translated content. TMs are essentially a reference for linguists to use that effectively saves them time in the translation process while ensuring overall consistency and accuracy. As linguists translate your company’s content, TMs act like glossaries since both the original (source) content and the translated (target) content in the TM are stored for future reference. Linguists will refer back to the TM each time they translate for your company, building a more robust database of your company’s (and industry’s) vocabulary. If “exact”, “almost exact”, or “similar” content was previously translated and stored within the TM, the system will analyze the content and present it to the translator with suggestions for use. The translator will then consider the suggestion and the context in which the content is being applied, and will decide whether or not to accept that particular translation. In a nutshell, TMs strengthen the linguist’s overall workflow, increase translation accuracy and consistency, speed up turnaround time, and save you money.
Key Benefits to Using a Translation Memory
Outside of the already mentioned benefits, TMs can also be instrumental in the translation process when more than one linguist is assigned to the same translation project. Again, since the TM stores previously translated content, regardless of how many translators are working on the same files, they will all be accessing the same database and ensuring they are using the same translations. And, when translators only have to translate terms one time, they can focus on new material instead of wasting their time re-translating previously translated content. In other words, TMs cut out the fat and remove wasteful time from the equation.
If you operate in a highly-regulated industry or in a field with highly-specialized vocabularies such as healthcare, life sciences, or the legal or financial sector, you already understand how critical it is that the terms used in your content are accurately and swiftly translated while remaining consistent overtime — and translators in the field agree. According to Imperial College London, the top three reasons that translators cited for using translation memory were to save time, ensure consistency in terminology, and improve translation quality.
On the flipside, without using a TM, companies risk translation errors that can quickly become a nightmare. In its report entitled “The Case for Terminology Management”, Common Sense Advisory “reveals how a single terminology error in a product or service can quickly result in hundreds and even thousands of mistakes as the inconsistency snowballs across multiple versions, models, user groups, output formats, and languages.”1
Translation Memories for the Medical & Life Sciences Industries
Two examples of highly-regulated industries with highly-specialized vocabulary are the medical and life sciences industries. Both in the United States and throughout Europe, life sciences and healthcare rely heavily on accurate translations. From instructions for use (IFUs), clinical trials documentation, medical device labels, and packaging to healthcare consent forms, discharge papers, and discharge instructions, inaccurate and slowed-down translations can literally mean the difference between life and death. And when it comes to moving into new markets, these organizations risk denial of entry — or at the very least, a delayed entry — if the new market’s language requirements are not met on time and with absolute precision.
Translation Memories for the Legal and Financial Industries
The legal and financial industries are prime examples of other highly regulated industries with their own complex, industry-specific vocabulary. Complicating things further, depending on where you currently operate and where you plan to expand, the financial and legal laws of the land are constantly evolving yet must be strictly adhered to in order for you to remain legally compliant. Partnering with an LSP well versed in these industries — one that can also provide you with advanced translation memory services — will help you meet strict deadlines while rendering the highest caliber of translation services.
Translation Memories for Marketing Collateral
Arguably one of the most important areas to invest in when expanding overseas is your company’s marketing collateral. After all, it is your marketing material that you use to promote your brand, your products, and your services. By partnering with an LSP not only seasoned in translating (and localizing) global marketing campaigns but one with the ability to create and manage a TM, you’ll be sure to resonate with your new markets and share your key messaging without compromising your company’s brand and image. Welcome to Ingenuiti.
Ingenuiti — Your Trusted Translation Memory Experts
When you partner with Ingenuiti, not only can you rest assured that our linguists have all earned a degree in linguistics from a credible university, but they all bring you a minimum of five years’ experience in translation. The Ingenuiti team works closely with you, our esteemed clients, and based on your unique needs, will assign linguists that have the subject matter expertise, as well as the cultural knowledge and sensitivity that your translation project deserves. But we don’t stop there. We also ensure that our linguists are well equipped with the latest translation tools to develop a translation memory customized for your organization. Our linguists — coupled with our powerful TM — will ensure the highest quality of translation output, the highest level of consistency, and top-notch efficiency for all of your translation needs.
So, go ahead. Focus on your company’s core business and we’ll focus on your translation. Reach out to Ingenuiti today.
REFERENCES
1 “Terminology Management Helps Global Businesses Stretch Budgets and Save Costs.” CSA Research, csa-research.com/Blogs-Events/CSA-in-the-Media/Press-Releases/TM-for-global-business.
In addition to:
Savelli, Cristina. “Words Travel Worlds.” Vimeo, 14 July 2021, vimeo.com/104241245.
“(PDF) Translation Memories Survey 2006: Users’ Perceptions around Tm Use.” ResearchGate, www.researchgate.net/publication/228742235_Translation_memories_survey_2006_Users%27_perceptions_around_tm_use.
