The process of hiring a translation agency or a court interpreter can seem complicated if you encounter professional terms like "translating party", "apostille" or "consecutive translation" for the first time. This portal was created with the aim of answering all your questions in a clear and detailed manner.
What is a translation fee and how exactly is it calculated?
One of the most common misconceptions of clients is identifying the physical side of the paper withtranslation side. It may happen that on one physical paper (eg a contract written in small font or a technical table) you have an amount of text that realistically covers 3 or 4 translation pages. On the other hand, a diploma with very little text may make up less than half of a translation page, but is always counted as one full page.
In the translation industry in Serbia and Europe,a standard translation page is exactly 1,800 characters with spaces. This standard dates back to the days of typewriters, where the average page of typed text contained about 30 lines with 60 strokes per line.
How can you check the number of translation pages yourself?
If you are using Microsoft Word, highlight the text you want to translate, click on the optionWord Countin the lower left corner and view the itemCharacters (with spaces). Divide that number by 1,800 and you will get the exact number of translation pages of your document.
Types of translation services on the market
Depending on the purpose of your text, translation services are divided into several key segments:
- Translation certified by a court interpreter:Required for documents submitted to official institutions. The court interpreter guarantees with his stamp, signature and statement that the translation is identical to the original.
- Written translation without certification:It is used for business correspondence, marketing texts, professional literature, books, websites and all other materials where legal authentication is not a legal requirement.
- Interpreting (Simultaneous and Consecutive):Simultaneous interpretation is done in booths with real-time headphones and is used for large conferences. Consecutive interpreting means that the interpreter listens to the speaker and translates his words during pauses in speech, which is ideal for business meetings and presentations.
- Proofreading and proofreading:A process in which another translator or a native speaker reviews the finished translation in detail in order to eliminate stylistic errors, grammatical errors and ensure the natural flow of the language.
How to choose the right translation agency?
Demanding translations, such as legal contracts, financial balance sheets, medical documents or technical instructions for machines, require a high level of specialization. It is not enough that a translator only "speaks" a particular language - he must fully know the professional terminology of that field.
Quality agency, such asAlpha translation, solves this problem by using highly specialized translators for each field. Legal contracts are translated by experts with experience in law, while medical findings are translated by experts close to medical science. In this way, the possibility of fatal errors in the translation of professional terms is eliminated.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Apostille (Apostille) is a seal that confirms the authenticity of the signature and seal on a public document. In Serbia, the Apostille stamp is obtained in the basic court competent for the territory where the document was issued. It is very important to check whether your document requires an Apostille and whether it is affixed before or after the translation.
Basic checking and proofreading by the translator himself is always part of the process. However, additional proofreading by an independent proofreader or native speaker (peer review) is usually contracted separately, and is recommended for all texts that go to press or are publicly displayed (eg books, brochures, websites).
The price of a translation depends on several factors: the language combination (translations into rarer languages are more expensive), the urgency of the deadline (the standard norm is 6-8 pages per day, anything over that is considered an urgent translation), and the complexity of the text itself. You can get a free price estimate by sending an inquiry to the agency.