Specialized translation services certified to ISO 17100 and UNI 15038

Translation

The Project Manager assigns your project to an in-house native-speaking translator with subject-specific qualifications and professional experience.

At SMG, each client is assigned a sufficient number of translators to ensure continuity of service in the event of illness or unavailability. In addition, working with a small team of translators helps build a strong professional relationship, improving process efficiency over time.

Highly qualified translators

Native speakers: To ensure the highest-quality translations, we employ native-speaking translators with proven expertise, relying on a network of in-house and freelance translators around the world.

Experts: We employ translators with expertise in translation techniques and specific subject areas, ensuring appropriate style and terminology.

Proven quality: We employ translators who meet the following requirements:

• hold a degree/diploma in languages, translation, interpretation, and/or the subject matter of the required translation;
• have at least three years’ experience;
• demonstrate proven quality, verified through admission tests and continuous assessment while working for SMG. Each translation is reviewed and assessed by a second translator (reviser) before it is delivered to the client.

Training and awareness

The Project Manager analyzes the text and provides translators with reference materials and a style guide covering the context, register, purpose of the document, and details of specific terminology. We can also arrange briefings and training meetings with the client to discuss any particular requirements that need to be taken into account in our approach to the project. In order to produce accurate translations, our teams of linguists liaise with the author of the text. This constructive dialog helps resolve any issues that may arise during the translation process.

Terminology guarantee

Our translators consult official terminology databases and industry publications to create a customized glossary, ensuring consistent terminology across all current and future client projects. Upon request, we can also apply our computational linguistics systems to identify objectively correct terminology based on statistical data.

Our PMs gather reference material provided by the client and held in our internal IT system and distribute it to the translators and revisers involved in the project. Throughout each assignment, the translation team develops and updates shared glossaries for the client. Our terminology research follows the Terminological Research Protocol presented at our conferences in Brescia (2010) and Gardone Riviera (2012). We store translations in an electronic memory system (SEM) and use CAT tools (such as Across, Trados, etc.) to facilitate the retrieval of repeated and closely matching text from previous translations. This delivers substantial time and cost savings for our clients.

Revision

All aspects of our translations are thoroughly reviewed by one of our expert revisers in accordance with ISO 17100 and UNI EN 15038. We deliver a complete, polished translation to the client.

Before delivery to the client, 100% of translations undergo revision in accordance with UNI EN 15038, whereby the translation is checked against the original text by a second translator or reviser. Translations that accurately convey the content but require improvements in syntax, vocabulary, or style are then subjected to further review (revision of the translated text only).

SMG personnel are assessed on every job they deliver against specific criteria, including: comprehension, syntax, vocabulary, formatting, general knowledge, cultural alignment with the target audience, punctuality, and professional ethics. These continuously updated assessments of our translators enable the PMs to select the most suitable individuals for each assignment and determine the required level of revision. Upon receiving the revised translation, the PM

• reviews the changes made by revisers and sends feedback to the translator;
• communicates with the client to resolve any outstanding issues;
• delivers the final translation along with any notes to the client.

Graphic design and special formats

Graphic adaptations for foreign audiences, hyperlinks, multimedia processing, and a range of other valuable extras can make our translations powerful communication tools. In addition, our translations are processed and shared with the client via the SMG platform, which enables us to produce documents in nearly every available format—written, graphic, audio, and video.

Being a translator: the unexpected aspects of the job

The picture that probably comes to mind when you imagine a translator at work is of someone sitting at a desk in front of a computer, with papers scattered here and there and a stack of at least five or six dictionaries blocking the light from the window. This may have been the case until the early 2000s, but the reality is certainly very different today. In any event, this image fails to convey the complexity of a translator’s work, both in the past and, above all, as it is today and will be in the future.

The secrets of the translator

The translation profession is extremely dynamic, far more so than you might imagine. A translator does not work alone, but in coordination with a team comprising several professionals:

• the Project Manager, who works with clients and gathers information about the precise context of the text to be translated;
• the assistants and junior translators, who support the senior translator while learning the ins and outs of this complex profession;
• the revisers who review the translation, and the native-speaking reviewers who proofread the text to ensure that it reads naturally and fluently. Each translation is thoroughly checked in accordance with ISO 17100 and UNI EN 15038 to ensure that the client receives a complete, polished product.

For SMG, teamwork and customer satisfaction are essential!

Translation and technology

Technology has developed rapidly in recent years and now plays an important role in the work of the translation team. One of the biggest differences today is the vast range of resources available online: translators can easily access the websites of language academies in different countries, consult online dictionaries, and use search engines to gather information from a wide range of sources.

At SMG, our translators are also supported by software and CAT Tools (such as Trados), which allow us to create customized translation memories for each client.

CAT Tools and translation memories benefit both translators and clients:

• translators can retrieve previously translated terms and expressions, avoiding duplication of effort and ensuring consistency throughout the text;
• clients, in turn, benefit from much faster delivery times, as well as discounts proportional to the volume of repetitions and close matches retrieved from translation memories built up through previous projects.

SMG Languages has its own Language Research Institute, which studies terminological developments in the main sectors and explores innovative processes and technologies to improve the quality of our services, making them increasingly accurate, fast, secure, and certified.

Certified translations

The professional translators on our team are highly qualified and experienced. Good translators need an in-depth understanding not only of the source and target languages but also of the cultures of the authors and intended audiences. We therefore work with translators who are native speakers of the target language (i.e., the language of the intended users of the translation).

Qualified native-speaking translators have first-hand knowledge of the culture and local context of their country of origin and can therefore convey the message of the source text effectively in translation.

Translations delivered by our specialized native-speaking translators are always subject to quality checks in accordance with ISO 17100 and UNI EN 15038. SMG Languages is also certified by URS, a UKAS-accredited certification body.

The importance of having an international team of translators

Another important aspect is the significant geographic variation that can exist within a single language. We work with translators around the world precisely so that we can offer our clients a wider choice of language variants. For example, European Spanish differs from the Spanish spoken in South America. Similarly, British English differs from American and Australian English in many respects because the underlying cultures are different.

Our translators are well aware of these differences, as are our clients, who choose SMG because they can be confident of receiving a polished translation that bridges different countries and cultures and communicates their message clearly and effectively.