At VILLAM, we deem it important to provide our translator colleagues with a supportive environment during our cooperation.
Our proofreader and QA specialist colleagues inspect every incoming translation closely so that our customers can receive the highest-quality translations and so that we can provide real feedback to our technical translators. Being aware of our requirements that are independent of the given translation, project, or language could prove to be of great help to us.
We have summarized our requests below to facilitate smooth cooperation
1) Questions, remarks
If you have any questions or remarks in relation to a given work, we kindly ask you to notify VILLAM’s project manager as soon as possible and not to wait until submission. We are happy to receive any kind of feedback day and night.
2) Creating a term base
Terminology is harmonized throughout the translation projects and reinforces consistency. As part of VILLAM's transparent workflow, our customers are provided with a TB at the beginning of the translation process. This is why we ask our linguist partners to create term base entries before starting the translation. The memoQ CAT tool has a comprehensive description on creating term base entries >>
3) Filename
Files are uploaded into our system by our customers; therefore, it is very important that all files be returned with their original names. Apart from appending the language code to the filename, nothing else should be changed. This is also true in cases where customer documents bear such less intuitive names as ‘Epsonscan001’.
This means that if the source file has the name ‘scan.txt’, we ask that an English translator return the file with the name ‘scan_EN.txt’.
If consecutive pages are uploaded separately, and the PM requests them to be merged—for example, if the source files ‘1.jpg’ and ‘2.jpg’ are two pages of the same document—, we ask that they be translated in a single document, which should be named according to the combination of the two filenames. In the above case, this would be ‘1_2_EN.docx’. Keep in mind that this is only to be done if the PM requests it.
4) Format
If instead of a memoQ online project we send an editable file, we ask that the original format be preserved. In the case of non-editable files (images and most PDF files), the original structure should also be preserved as much as possible. Whenever feasible, we always provide the translator with an OCR-converted file even if the work itself does not take place in memoQ.
However, such documents can only be rewritten with the translation if this was agreed upon with the project manager beforehand. Otherwise, only some parts may be copied into a new target-language document freshly created for the translation.
5) Spell check
If the work does not take place in memoQ, it is important that the target-language spell check be turned on in Word when editing the document. Of course, memoQ also has a spell check function; we kindly ask the translator to use it.
6) QA check
In the case of memoQ online projects, the translator is required to perform a QA check before delivering/completing the work and to correct any errors indicated by the QA check as appropriate. Errors that are not truly errors should be marked as such (‘Ignore’).
The most important types of errors to be inspected are the following: inconsistent translations, differences in number formats, sentences ending with different punctuation marks, multiple consecutive whitespace characters, extra spaces at the end of segments. Tag errors (which cause problems during export) and TB errors (i.e. deviating from customer terminology) constitute even more severe mistakes. Of course, memoQ tends to find many ‘errors’ that are not truly errors, in which case it is recommended to tick the ‘Ignore’ checkbox.
Once the work is finished in memoQ, upload the exported QA report (an html file) along with the bilingual memoQ version of the files (mqxlz or mqxliff) to the Work Account, click ‘Finalize’, and then click on the ‘Delivery’ button on the memoQ interface as well. (Caution: Once the ‘Delivery’ button has been clicked, the project is no longer accessible.)
7) Dates
When translating dates, the main idea is to localize the format of the dates according to the target-language format while otherwise following the style of the source document. This means that if ‘2020. november 25.’ is found in the original document, it should be translated into English as ‘25 November 2020’. If ‘2020.11.25.’ appears in the source, the target-language version should adhere to this format as well.
8) Names, proper names (new)
Names should not be translated or corrected. In official documents, surnames are to be written in all caps. Names that do not contain any diacritics should be kept as such. For example, if an English document contains the name ‘Gabor Szasz’, it should appear in the Hungarian translation as ‘SZASZ Gabor’ even if we suspect that the correct name would be ‘Szász’. When translating official Hungarian source documents, the order of the names should not be localized according to the target language. Therefore, ‘Szász Gábor’ should remain ‘SZÁSZ Gábor’ and ‘John Smith’ should remain ‘John SMITH’.
With regard to other proper names, in addition to keeping the original, it is recommended that the target-language version be appended in square brackets if a target-language equivalent or transcription exists (and it makes sense to do so).
9) Addresses, telephone numbers
Home addresses and mailing addresses should always remain in the source language. (When switching from the Latin alphabet to a different writing system, it is up to the translator’s linguistic competence whether they add a transcription.) This means that ‘Széchényi utca 11.’ may not be translated as ‘Szechenyi street 11’, because addresses serve the purpose of people living there to be found.
In most cases, it is necessary to localize telephone numbers, which means that, when missing, the country calling code should be prefixed to the phone number. If, for example, the number ‘(1) 555 5555’ is found in a Hungarian text, it should appear as ‘+361 555 5555’ in the English translation.
10) Abbreviations
Where abbreviations are found in the source text that have no equivalents in the target language, their expanded form should be provided in the target language in parentheses after the first abbreviation. For any further occurrences, we recommend that the original abbreviation be used. Sometimes customers may ask us to provide a target-language abbreviation. In this case, abbreviations should be expanded in parentheses at first occurrence.
11) Signatures, stamps
Handwritten signatures found in the source documents should be replaced with the target-language equivalent of [handwritten signature]. (For example, if a document is translated into Italian, the Italian equivalent of the expression should be used where the signature appears in the original.)
Stamps should be replaced with the target-language equivalent of [stamp] in the target document. If a stamp is legible, the information in the stamp should be indicated in the target language in square brackets. If a stamp is illegible, [unreadable stamp] is to appear in place of the stamp in the target document.
12) Tables
If an empty table appears in the text, unless otherwise instructed, the table should also be represented in the translation, including at least the translation of column names / rows, if there are any. If the table is uninterpretable or there are specific instructions not to translate it, the translator should indicate that it was present in the source document with the target-language equivalent of [table].
13) When formats should not be preserved
We ask that the translations be returned in an editable format even if the source documents were non-editable files (images, PDFs, or JPGs). That is, first and foremost, we would like to receive Word files, or if the source format warrants it, Excel or PowerPoint files. Of course, this is only true in cases where translations are not prepared in memoQ.
14) Don’t import any documents into memoQ that weren’t received in that format
Whenever possible, VILLAM Language Services always makes use of memoQ. However, the project manager may sometimes determine that, for one reason or another, it is not suitable for the project at hand because, for example, it may cause technical problems later on. For this reason, we ask the translator not to import any documents into memoQ that were not shared that way but rather to translate them without using memoQ.
