About the Importance of an In-Country Review Process

For regulatory reasons, companies in regulated industries do not have a choice but to provide an in-country review “safety net” as part of the translation process. This in-country review and validation of the translated documents can take place in two ways:

1. It can be directly managed by the client through its own affiliates, distributors or subsidiaries; or
2. It can be entrusted to the translation company in charge of the translations.

Let’s examine the pros and cons of each of the above scenarios:

1. The in-country review process is directly managed by the client through its own affiliates, distributors or subsidiaries:
Typically, under this scenario, once the translation is completed, the client will send the translated materials to its affiliates, distributors or subsidiaries and will ask them to validate the translations. Under this scenario, the client manages the review process, any costs involved, as well as the deliveries of the reviewed and validated translations.
Pros:
• Client has full control of the process. In turn, this can also be a disadvantage if it gets out of control (i.e. managing the review of 20 languages in 20 different countries may become a full-time job for the person in charge of this process).
• Reviewers are familiar with the products and know the terminology.
• Cost (it may be free if an arrangement is made with the affiliates or distributors).
Cons:
• Review time is too long. Asking a person who has another job to review a 50-page manual may take weeks, slowing down if not paralyzing the whole translation process.
• Availability. This ties in with the previous point. Reviewers may miss their deadlines or may not be available, forcing clients to proceed without their input.
• Qualification of the reviewer. While familiar with the product, is the reviewer qualified to validate a translation? Is a distributor linguistically qualified to review the translations (understanding of the English for instance).
• Author’s alterations (and legal implications). Because they are reviewing materials that they will be distributing in their country, some affiliates may want to rewrite the documents to suit their own needs. This can have serious legal implications or may lead to mistakes (i.e. making statements that do not appear in the source document, etc.).
• Objectivity. Some in-country reviewers would like to have full ownership of the translation process and may complain that a translation is poor when in fact it is not.

2. The in-country review is entrusted to the translation company:
Under this scenario, the in-country review process is outsourced and entrusted to the translation provider.
Pros:
• Faster turnaround time. By relying on an independent review, companies will be able to dramatically cut review times while being assured that their translations are reviewed, every time, with no exception.
• Quality. The reviewers are selected with the involvement of the client based on their résumés and experience and are “known quantities.” In contrast to affiliates or distributors, it will be clear what educational, professional, and linguist background the reviewers have. This will result in review comments that are more consistent and more meaningful.
• Certificate of Conformity. Once the review is completed, in-country reviewers should issue a Certificate of Conformity, attesting that the translation has gone through a thorough in-country review and meets all industry-standards requirements.
Traceability. Through the use of proper paper trail, changes are tracked and logged.
Cons:
• Cost. There will be a fee associated with the outsourcing of the review process. However if internal costs are to be factored in when the in-country review is managed by the client (as well as the time of the affiliates/distributors/subsidiaries), the outsourcing option may be cheaper.
• Accountability. The client needs to make sure the review is indeed taking place by third-party reviewers and not by translators working for the translation company. Hence the need for the client to be involved in the recruitment process.

For the past ten years, Excel Translations has successfully set-up and managed independent in-country review panels on behalf of its clients. Please contact us to find out how your organization can also benefit from this service.

Are there any differences between European and Brazilian Portuguese?

There are a lot of differences between European and Brazilian Portuguese, namely spelling (although this will probably be less obvious in the future with the recent Portuguese Language Orthographic Agreement), grammar (e.g. placement of pronouns, verbal forms, use of gerund vs. infinitive), and specific terminology (e.g. tela vs. ecrã, usuário vs. utilizador, senha vs. palavra-passe). Also, the form of addressing someone is quite different: in Portugal it is common to use "tu" (2nd person singular) for the informal form of addressing, whereas in Brazil they use "você" (3rd person singular).

The most important differences are:

-         Legal texts are totally different, i.e., while Portuguese law is predominantly Napoleonic and German, Brazilian law is a mixture of these, too, but has more resemblance with U.S. disciplines.

-         Marketing and normal language texts are totally different and have to be done by natives. If not, you risk serious confusion.

-         Medical and pharmaceutical texts are quite the same - the incredible thing is that Brazilians normally use state-of-the art terminology earlier than the Portuguese. Internet sites for Brazil also tend to be much richer and use a larger range of terms than Portuguese sites.

-         The Brazilian language is highly dynamic - they are more inclined to use whatever they want and adapt it to their language, while the Portuguese are much more conservative about the words they use. So, Brazilian speakers use more terms that the Portuguese would not: "crashar" for when your PC crashes; “zerar” is used to zero a counter; and to click a computer mouse you can use “clicar” while Portuguese would say "fazer um clique." And yes - "mouse" in Brazil the computer mouse you are using now, but the Portuguese use a literal translation for mouse the animal (“rato”), just the same as the famous cartoon character: "Rato Mickey."

Medical Terminology Translation: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

I was scrolling through my TV channel lineup this past weekend and I realized that there were about 1000 channels to choose from! I remember as a child when 20-30 channels were a lot back when cable television was in its infancy. Still, to my dismay, I couldn’t find a program in which I was interested and ended up leaving on the Spanish station “Telemundo” as I fixed myself a bite to eat. I chuckled as I heard a Snickers commercial playing as the narrator was communicating everything in Spanish but the product, Snickers, was spoken “Snickers”. An interesting thought came to mind as I considered linguistics, translations, and the medical industry. Mind you, I was not thrilled that work popped into my head during a lazy Sunday; however, I made a pretty good observation I thought I would share with you.

When considering translations for the medical products industry, one really needs to select a translation partner that can translate everything, including the all-important medical terminology, or else end up like “Snickers” in the commercial I described. Now, I realize that “Snickers” in Spanish, because it is a brand name and has no Spanish form, is “Snickers”; however, the name sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the other Spanish vernacular. In some instances, a medical term may be the same in multiple languages, but you better be sure that this is the case or else risk your credibility, liability and regulatory compliance. Often, there is an industry accepted translation for medical terminology that is required. You run a greater risk of incorrectly translating your medical terminology by working with a translation provider that does not have the necessary medical industry experience or who cannot guarantee that your projects will be translated by certified medical translators.

Here are a few helpful guidelines to help you choose a qualified medical translation partner:
• The translation company you are considering uses only certified, in-country medical translators with either a medical degree or years of proven translation experience in your field. Ask to see sample bios of the translators who will be used for your project
• The translation company you are considering has achieved the proper EN and ISO- certifications which are applicable to the medical industry and ask to see copies of these ISO and EN certificates.
• The translation company you are considering accepts your glossaries of commonly used terms to ensure that your terminology is translated consistently to your preferences.
• The translation company you are considering issues you a Certificate of Conformity certifying:
o Each final translation delivered to be substantially true, complete and accurate to the source language original received.
o That the project was managed from a facility certified to all the ISO standards you are requesting or were told this facility holds.
• The translation company you are considering has routine testing and performance reviews for its in-country translators ensuring that translators are rigorously tested regarding their translation proficiency and knowledge of medical industry terminology.

Harmonizing Technical Translation Work Amongst Different Translation Teams

Professional translators come from a variety of environments, have different educational backgrounds, and choose to specialize in different fields of expertise. The individual human element that a translator adds is vital to a quality translation. However, it's just as important that professional translators find similar ground so that the end-product is appropriate for the target audience. A common language and dedication to their craft binds them together but there are tools which can bridge the differences even more. Perhaps the most powerful is translation memory software.

There are a variety of computer-related technologies available to translators but what the most prevalent software programs have in common is the ability to maintain a database of terms, phrases, and sentences as they are translated so the translations can be recalled later on when the same or similar text is encountered. This works best when a separate translation memory is created and maintained for each client so that client-specific terminology can be established, refined, and re-used with confidence.

No matter what the base industry a client works in, their translation needs can transcend several fields (e.g. technical writing, accounting, marketing, human resources) requiring the use of different specialized translators. Translation memory software allows for the sharing of terminology among translators who don't necessarily translate the same type of material. When a client's needs grow and new translators are added to the team, the new team members can review and use the translation memory database, taking advantage of their fellow team members' earlier work. Previous translations are used in the new tasks which minimize inconsistent translation and can often lower the cost and time needed to complete the work.