FAQ

Frequently asked questions and glossary

Request a quote

Here you can find answers to common questions and a short glossary. If your question is not listed here or if you’re looking for more information, we will be delighted to speak with you personally.

Please call or email us.

Glossary

Computer-aided translation (CAT)

CAT is translation by a human with technical support (Computer Assisted Translation).

The translation is carried out by a professional specialist translator. The translation is improved with the support of a translation memory and a terminology database. The translation memory “reminds” the translator of text they have already translated, while the terminology database shows them technical terms and customer-specific terminology. This allows for faster, more consistent and more efficient work.

A further benefit of CAT is that it includes a tool for quality assurance, which checks common sources of errors such as numbers, measurement units or dates and monitors spelling, punctuation and terminology.

The significant advantages of CAT:

Faster translation process
Consistency ensured
Reduced costs
Contribution to quality assurance
Secure terminology that’s consistent across the board

Well-known CAT tools include Trados Studio, Phrase and MemoQ.

Translation memory (TM)

A translation memory (TM) acts as storage for previously completed translations. CAT tools use translation memories to compare a new text with saved translations. Parts of sentences or whole paragraphs can therefore be recognised as “already translated” or “partially translated” and be processed more quickly as a result.

The significant advantages of translation memories:

Quality through consistency	If the same segment appears more than once, the translation is displayed automatically and the translator can revert to it. This works across the entire task.
Quicker processing	Because the translator only has to translate each sentence or segment once, they can work much more quickly.
Reduced costs thanks to TM analysis	Before the translation, the text is analysed with the customer-specific TM. 100% matches need not be translated anew, meaning the costs of the translation are significantly reduced.
Customer feedback always to hand	If you make changes to the translation in an in-house review, we will incorporate these into the TM. This takes place automatically if you use our ProLinguo Review Portal. In the next project, the translator will have instant access to your preferred terms and expressions, greatly improving the quality and consistency of your translation.
Low costs for updating documents	With the translation memory, new versions of documents can be translated quickly and at a low cost. The TM finds elements which have been altered or newly added and only these need to be translated.

TM matches (100% matches & fuzzy matches)

TM matches are text segments which have already been translated in the same or similar way. Analysis using your customer TM shows which text segments have already been translated.

100% match	A text segment fully corresponds to an already translated segment.
Fuzzy match	A text segment partially corresponds to an already translated segment.

Depending on the level of correspondence, TM matches can be reused. This saves time and money and allows for greater consistency and quicker completion of translations.

The translator checks whether the translation is still correct in the new context and adjusts it as necessary. The revisor also reads this segment again.

Repetitions

Repetitions are text segments which appear more than once within the document. This includes structural elements of the text such as sentences, headings and list elements. Individual clauses or words which appear more than once do not count as repetitions.

When the text segment appears for the first time, the translator saves their translation in the translation memory. If the segment appears again (repetition), the translator can revert to it every time. There they check whether the translation is correct in the relevant context. The revisor also reads every segment again.

Frequently asked questions

How long will my translation order take?

The processing time depends on the type and scale of the project. We’ll specify a completion date with our price quote. We’ll do our best to meet your time requirements. Please let us know your deadline with your query.

How much will my translation cost?

The cost of a translation depends on various factors, as every project is unique. The factors which determine the price of a translation are:

Send us your documents and you’ll receive a personal quote very shortly.

Who will translate my text?

Your texts will be processed by qualified specialist translators who are native speakers of the relevant language. Some of our translators are permanent employees and some are experienced freelancers who have undergone a strict selection process. All of our translators are qualified in accordance with the requirements of ISO 17100.

We strive for long-term partnerships with our linguists and therefore know from experience that we can rely on them.

What services are included?

With ProLinguo, you receive translations based on the triple-control principle:

Translation by a specialist, native-language translator
Revision by a second, equally qualified translator
Verification and quality assurance by our Quality Manager

These services are all included in the price and ensure top-quality translations which comply with ISO 17100.

How will you protect my terminology?

A coordinated terminology process as well as support from CAT tools and our quality assurance mechanisms ensure the correct terminology is used in your translations.

Through translation memory and a customer-specific terminology database, the translator has access to your verified terminology, allowing them to instantly make use of the correct terms. Before we deliver the completed translation to you, our quality-management checks verify the terminology with the help of the CAT tool’s control function.

An ever-growing corpus of approved terminology is compiled through regular feedback from your employees in a participatory process. This ensures the consistent high quality of your translations and that our translators make decisions reliably, which also contributes to shorter processing times.

Which file formats do you support?

We can work with almost any current file format including:

Adobe Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, FrameMaker)
QuarkXPress
Microsoft Publisher
LateX

Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio)
Open Office (Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw)

How does file exchange work?

You can upload files via the query form on our website, upload to our customer management platform or send us a document via email.

We can receive email attachments of up to 30 MB. We can also download larger volumes of data from your FTP server or you can use a data-transfer service.

Paper documents can simply be scanned and emailed or faxed to us. If this is not possible, you can also send your documents via post.

What do you need for a quote?

In order to provide a meaningful quote, we first require the documents to be translated and all information relevant to the processing and delivery of the translation.

It is best if you send us the (non-read only) documents which we will use for the translating process. In the case of brochures, for example, this isn’t just a PDF file, but also the InDesign file (INDD).

Essential information:

target language(s)
approximate time frame (or precise date)
any other services desired, e.g. DTP service

What do you need for the translation?

For our translation workflow, we also need your reference documents without write protection in digital and editable (non-read only) form.

Please consider: the more additional information you provide, the better our translators will understand your aims and your product and therefore the better your translation will be.

Helpful reference material includes:

Documents with a similar topic / previous versions of the original text and any existing translations
Terminology lists
Context / explanatory material on the product
Images, screenshots, videos

Practical information such as:

Communicative goal (What do you want to achieve?)
Communication channel (How/in what context will the reader receive the text?)
Target group of the translation (Who is meant to read the text?)

You need editable documents for the translation – what does this mean?

For our translation workflow, we need documents without write protection in digital and editable (non-read only) form.

Editable means that the text in the document can be changed. This is important because we overwrite the text with the target language when translating. This means you receive translations formatted in exactly the same way as the original.

Examples of editable file formats are:

docx, doc, rtf, (Word)
xlsx, xls (Excel)
pptx, ppt (PowerPoint)
indd, idml (InDesign)

PDF files are not editable. You can find a list of all file formats we process here.

Of course we are also happy to translate your uneditable documents or paper printouts. Converting files into an editable format can lead to extra costs.

How do you handle sensitive documents?

We treat the nature and contents of your documents with the utmost discretion. We can present you with a written non-disclosure agreement upon request. We, along with all of our employees, freelancers and partners, are bound by a confidentiality obligation.

If you would like to learn more about this, please contact us.