Resources / Blog

How to Lower Your Document Translation Costs

Jul 31, 2014

Document translation services are a regular need for companies doing business overseas, employing foreign language staff, or looking to target foreign markets. Machine translations and discount vendors rarely get the job done and it is very important to make sure that you invest the proper resources for professional translation services. With that said, there are steps you can take to cut costs significantly for document translation without sacrificing on quality.

1. Request Repetitive text discounts

Repetitive text discounts can help save your company a significant amount of money. For many document translation projects, there are sections or paragraphs that contain repeated content. Instead of having to translate the content multiple times, you can cut costs by speaking with your translation company about discounts for repetitive text where applicable. Many translation services provide discounts when translating two or more documents with significant sections of identical content, or if there are frequent repetitions within a single document. For website translation, there is often a significant amount of repetitive text and requesting discounts is a smart move.

2. Use Translation Memory

Translation Memory is a linguistic database that makes previous document translations more accessible for future work, and automates various translation-related tasks. It accumulates and stores all previous translations and “learns” from the translator so the same phrase or sentence won’t have to be translated twice.

For example, a company might need to add additional instructions or a new product to their manual or update their brochure. Instead of having to translate the entire document again, the translation memory tool would have already stored key terms from the previously translated brochure/manual content.

This can help lower costs and also ensure consistency in terminology and style across all product manuals and brochures.

3. Request conversions

Many document translation projects involve translating content into languages that are very similar. For example, Canadian French and European French, or Latin American Spanish and European Spanish. The main differences between the languages listed above relates to slang, spelling, and punctuation. In situations like these, a company would not necessarily have to translate an entire document into both languages–instead they could edit or “convert” the translation into the other language. By asking your translation company to provide a single document translation and then to convert that translation, you can help reduce translation costs.

You never want to sacrifice quality, but the above steps can allow you to get the best of both worlds – document translation services from a top-tier company at a reduced cost that will make you or your client happy. When using translation services, make sure to demand the following reductions to receive the most competitive price possible.

Resources / Blog

Translating Medical Labeling

Jul 23, 2014

For pharmaceutical and medical device companies, a frequent medical translation need is labeling. Translating labeling and instructions is either an absolute requirement in order to sell their product in a specific target market, or else it is an important step in minimizing risk and liability. Most EU members require that medical device labels be translated into their official language, though some accept labeling in English as long as the device is exclusively for professional use. In practice the majority of medical device companies translate their labeling and instructions for use (IFUs) into the official languages of all EU countries in order to reduce risk and as a marketing tool. Similarly, pharmaceutical companies need to translate medical labeling  and information on prescription medication like warnings, side effects, and frequency of use. These labels and instructions must be translated into dozens of languages, and can present a significant medical translation expense for life sciences companies.

In order to lower these medical translation expenses, some life sciences companies have turned to machine translation or cheap translators. This is a big no-no. Medical translation errors in labeling or IFUs could lead to regulatory or civil liability and are a leading cause of medical device recalls. Labeling translation requires absolute accuracy and precision. Machine translation is not yet accurate enough to translate the medical terminology used in medical labels. Likewise, very cheap translation companies either use inexperienced translators or don’t perform critical QA steps like back translations, in-country review, or readability testing. These steps go beyond standard translation industry QA like proofreading and review, and are rarely included in the standard rates that discount vendors are providing. Not only could the quality be an issue, you also could end up paying much more for the medical translation that you realized. Given the risk and liability involved in medical translation, deliverables must be absolutely error free. And the best way to ensure error-free labeling translations is turning to an experienced, ISO-certified medical translation company.

 

Resources / Blog

Morningside Sponsors “Banding Together to End Domestic Violence”

Jul 09, 2014

Morningside Translations, a leading translation services company, is proud to have sponsored the “Banding Together to End Domestic Violence” event in Los Angeles yesterday. This important fundraiser raised over $200K–$207,194 so far to be exact,–to benefit the Family Violence Appellate Project (“FVAP”), a nonprofit that is changing the law in California to help survivors of domestic violence and child abuse through the appellate courts.

“Banding Together” was a veritable battle of the bands featuring live lawyer bands competing head-to-head to raise the most money for the charity. We were shocked and impressed to see how musically talented these attorneys were! And we were moved by all of our partners and clients who came out to support this incredible cause. Morningside is proud to provide translation services to help FVAP’s non-English speaking clients gain access to top-tier legal support.  Thanks to all of those who helped organize this great event.

Resources / Blog

2014 Translation Industry Trends

Jul 03, 2014

The translation and localization industry’s growth continues its climb well in 2014, staying ahead of the global economic growth forecasts at a rate of 5%. Much of this development can be attributed to the need for businesses to engage emerging local markets. Here at Morningside, we find these trends corroborated by the evolving nature of project requests.

Increasingly the BRIC countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, and China, are asserting themselves as pivotal players in today’s global economy. This geographic shift in economic activity has led to heavier involvement in international legal disputes and, consequently, a larger need for the translation industry. Matters relating to the FCPA, or Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, have increasingly called upon LSPs for translations of documents from newspaper articles to email exchanges. Intellectual Property matters in particular have felt the effects of this power shift. Brazil, Russia, Japan and China have become standard foreign filing destinations. Additionally, Korea, Mexico, Indonesia, and Ukraine are experiencing surges in patent prosecution.

Continuing beyond the BRIC, countries such as South Korea and Indonesia are beginning to challenge traditional leaders in manufacturing such as Japan and Germany. Increases in global competition have spilled over into the courtrooms, driving demands for legal translations and interpretations up.

Southeast Asia is more commonly featured as the backdrop to medical and pharmaceutical industry expansion. As more clinical trials are conducted abroad, the need for accurate, technical translations rises with it. Just last month, Morningside participated in the 2014 Drug Information Association (DIA) Conference in San Diego in response to our increased involvement in medical translations for clinical trials and regulatory work.

Domestically, the Department of Justice has pursued many White Collar and Antitrust cases which can involve multiple languages—most commonly Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. Antitrust cases in particular are responsible for a large portion of the rising demand for qualified interpreters.

Morningside continues to stay abreast of these global activities by engaging new verticals and expanding language coverage to match shifting trends. We have increased our presence in the medical field and continue to expand our partnerships in the legal industry. Furthermore, in response to shifting language trends, Morningside has increased coverage of language combinations such as Indonesian and Japanese in order to meet evolving needs.