wintranslation™ – When There’s No Room For Error…
If I’m selling to you, I speak your language.
If I’m buying, dann müssen Sie deutsch sprechen. Willy Brandt
Essentially, this quote from the former German Chancellor says it all. Not only must your technical manuals be translated in the languages you’re doing business with, but those translations must be…
- Accurate
- Localized
- Readable
Accurate
You’d think this would be a “no-brainer.” Of course you want your technical translations to be accurate, faithfully reproducing the specs and conditions necessary for the proper operation of your product. But what about when the original specs are in inches, pounds and Fahrenheit, and your target audience deals with centimeters, kilograms and Celsius?
Estimating or rounding off just doesn’t cut it. A half millimeter may seem innocuous, a slight tick on an indicator dial. But it can very well spell the difference between a well-oiled machine and a pile of very expensive rubbish.
In fact, in could even prove deadly, as what happened with this tragic misinterpretation…
The year was 2005. Tuninter Flight 1153 was scheduled to fly from BariItalyto Djerba-ZarzisAirportin Djerba, Tunisia. The aircraft had just been fitted with new fuel gauges – everything according to specs. Except for one important point:
The refit manuals failed to adequately specify the new gauges were meant for a smaller version of the jet aircraft – the ATR 42 and not the ill-fated ATR 72. In fact, because in part of a mistranslation, the parts database entry was wrong, and the mistake snowballed into tragedy.
The result? 16 of 39 people lost their lives when the plane ditched in the Mediterranean Sea due to empty fuel tanks.
Localized
Ever wonder why materials in one country seem to fall flat when introduced into another – even if the languages are still the same? It’s called localization. You can have two countries sharing the same root language, such as Spanish or English, but nuances that have crept in over the centuries have added their own special slant to even common words or phrases.
For instance, it’s quite usual for English speaking Europeans to say “I’ll revert back soonest” when formalizing an appointment.
To an American, this makes little sense. What are you “reverting back” into? It’s only when you realize this odd phrase means “I’ll get back to you ASAP” that it becomes clear.
Sometimes, localization entails making sure one particular word in your language doesn’t have a totally different meaning in another.
Rolls Royce realized this before they made a huge blunder with one of their luxury autos – the Silver Mist.
When introducing it into the German marketplace, one astute team member mentioned that “mist” in German was a derogatory slang term for manure or dung! They wisely changed the name to the Silver Seraph instead.
Readable
I’m sure most of you have come across this situation. You purchase a highly rated product, open the owner’s manual – and wondered to yourself if the company employed grammar school dropouts. Yes, the words are correct, but they simply make no sense.
Many times the problem is simple: The translators aren’t native speaking professionals, or even if they are, they’ve never worked in the industry they’re writing about. Yes, they know the “language” and the basics of syntax and grammar. But the results can turn out almost ridiculous.
Here’s an actual example:
Original Content: The products win good reputation in domestic as well as European and American markets for their high quality and attractive appearance with competitive price. Except directly marketing, the company also takes OEM order from world famous food service industry player.
Deciphered: Our products enjoy a solid reputation for quality – not only inChina – but in Europe and theUnited States as well. Their attractive appearance combined with competitive pricing makes them an excellent choice for the food service industry. We not only directly market our own products, but also brand them for a world famous OEM distributor.
Your wintranslation Advantage
There is no room for error in your technical manuals – or for any of your materials – in any language you do business in.
As you’ve just read, skimping on your translations can be embarrassing at the least, or quite serious in terms of risk or injury at the worst.
Here’s what you’ll enjoy when working with the specialists at wintranslation:
Your manuals and materials will be translated by:
- Subject matter experts, highly specialized in the exact field they are translating,
- Native professional speakers and translators, absolutely fluent in both the original and target languages,
- A team dedicated to editing and proofing the translation – before it’s delivered to your company.
As for your companies service we were very happy with it. Based on the questions from your translators I could tell they had a great technical / engineering background. Karen M., Michigan Scientific
Your File Format Covered
What’s more, we work with YOUR file format, including:
- MS Word
- FrameMaker
- InDesign
- PageMaker
- RoboHelp
- Flare
- DITA
- Images and illustrations (Photoshop, AutoCAD, Illustrator, and other graphical formats)
Your file format not on the list? Just ask us!
You’ll receive your translated manuals in the same format as the source files, or in a print-ready format (depending on project specifications).
…very pleased with the responsiveness and quick turn around time
We’ve used wintranslation.com’s translation and typesetting service for most of our marketing materials for almost 3 years. We have been very pleased with the company’s responsiveness and quick turn around time. In addition, we are also very happy with the quality of the translation and services provided. Jeanny S., The New England School of English
What’s more, images and illustrations will be fully localized. There will be no post-editing or layout manipulations on your part. (Click here for project samples.)
Free Quote – No Obligation!
We pride ourselves on delivering expert translations, on schedule and at a fair and reasonable price. Of course you’ll find other, less expensive alternatives. But frankly speaking, you’re not going to find anyone better.
You and your company’s reputation ride on the quality of the resources provided to your clients. Make sure you leave no room for doubt those clients made the best decision possible when choosing you.
Contact us today for a free & friendly quote. You won’t be disappointed!
Huiping Iler
CEO
wintranslation
P.S. Here’s another reason why professional, expert translations should be your goal – long term profitability. If your technical manuals are difficult to understand or read, your staff has to devote valuable time answering your clients’ justified inquiries. These resource draining sessions can many times be avoided altogether by simply having the manuals do what they are meant to do… explain and educate!
…person after person expressed amazement at the perfection of the Russian translation.
I’m writing this note to recommend to you the services of wintranslation. We’ve worked with them for several years now on a wide variety of projects. They’ve translated materials into French, Spanish, Russian, and Portuguese for us, and done typesetting as well.
To give you a sense of the quality of the translation, let me tell you about a trip I took two years ago to Siberia. I was meeting with government officials there and handing our copies of our publications that win had translated, and person after person expressed amazement at the perfection of the Russian translation. They asked who had done it for us, and couldn’t believe it wasn’t a firm in Moscow.
We have had similar reactions from our Spanish-speaking clients in Central and South America. Beyond the fluency and accuracy of the translation, I’ve been tremendously impressed with Wintranslation’s service. They turn the work around quickly, their billing is always clean and clear, and they respond to customer requests quickly and courteously.
As an added bonus, their translators have on several occasions caught sophisticated errors in the writing that I myself had missed. (My embarrassment was exceeded only by my gratitude.) Mark C., Cultural Survival