Fields of Translation
Software applications and Hardware documentation must be translated to make them accessible to a wide range of people. Along with these applications, the relevant user manuals must also be translated. In addition, there are always some general documents, e.g. README files, that also require translation.
Team Building
A translation group consists of a team leader and a group of translators. The team leader has different tasks, for example:
- main contact person for group members, new users and customers
- team management
- task management
The members of the translation group translate the files allocated to them by the team leader and then exchange these files for proofreading (see figure 1 for a simple graphical overview).
Communication
A lot of interchange occurs between the team members of a group. The best way of ensuring that all information is accessible to all group members is the use of mailing lists, to which every group member can subscribe. As the main communication channel, mailing lists can be used for discussion of terminology or any other relevant issues.
Qualification
The following list contains some of the recommended skills a translator should possess to be capable of delivering good translation results. This does not necessarily mean that all of these skills are required to be able to participate in a translation group, but at least some of them would be beneficial.
- Native speaker of the target language
- Excellent command of the English language
- Knowledge of additional source languages is a plus
- Detail-oriented, quality-focused approach
- Ability to solve problems
- Strong communication skills
- Technical understanding
- Ability to collaborate in a virtual team
- Commercial understanding of the localization industry
- Plenty of experience as a translator
- Language degree or similar relevant qualification
- Experience in using Translation Memory tools
- Organized and methodical approach to work
- Familiarity with style guides
- Familiarity with terminology management
- Excellent written and spoken communication skills
Graphical Overview - Translation Group
Figure: Translation group
IT = Information Transfer (discussion, proofreading process, etc.)
This graphic provides only a simplified overview of the information transfer within a translation team. Of course, considerably more complex interchanges take place between the various team members, but to show every aspect goes beyond the scope of this graphic.
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