About translation

Translation is the silent partner driving a global marketplace. There are around 2,700 languages and over 7,000 dialects spoken around the world. In 2011, the world market for translation was in the region of $31 billion.

Excellence in translation is vital to launch products and services successfully worldwide. The solution must provide:

• Fast delivery to market: Translation may be the last phase before delivery to the market and must be integrated within wider company processes across a global team.
• Accuracy, quality assurance and consistency: The need for a process-driven approach to quality management is essential.
• A successful global brand: Global excellence is achieved thanks to local expertise, when local language, market and cultural needs are fully woven into the process.

What is a translation? Literally, a translation conveys the equivalent content, meaning and message from one language into another. A translation should be an accurate rendering of concepts and terminology and also be fluent in style. The word itself, translation, derives from Latin translatio (which comes from trans- and fero, meaning "to carry across" or "to bring across").

Success in translation depends on the quality and suitability of the original language. Translation is part of a wider process, comprising:

• Globalization
  • Determining the need for international presence/sales
• Internationalization
  • Preparing the source language, product and service for localization
• Localization
  • Ensuring accuracy, comprehensibility and fluency of the local language version during translation
• Respecting cultural diversity
  • Recognizing local business, regulatory or market requirements