Resources Involved in the Business of Translation

Liraz Postan

January 3 , 2020 · 3 min

If you’re not a regular translation client, then you can’t be expected to understand the names and terms used in the translation industry. For example, if you need a document translated, who should you be communicating with? Is it a Project Manager, an Account Manager, or should you approach a translator directly?

The Account Manager

A translation agency’s Account Manager is their sales agent: generally, the Account Manager will be your first point of contact when you’re looking for someone to translate your documents. The task of the Account Manager is to manage the company’s accounts, deal with translation clients, and keep the Project Manager informed on their clients’ requests and their project specifications.

The Project Manager

A translation agency’s Project Manager is the person responsible for other tasks relating to translation, like quoting the amount of time it will take to translate a client’s documents. The time allowed for the translation will depend on several factors, and these include the number of steps required to achieve a quality translation – such as translation and editing; the format of the original document will also affect the time allowed. The Project Manager also has the responsibility of determining the final cost of the translation project.

So, the main difference between an Account Manager and a Project Manager is that the Account Manager must focus on the needs of the client, while the Project Manager is responsible for translation resources.

Delivering the Quotation

Once a quote has been determined for a translation project, the quote is sent by the Project Manager to the Account Manager, who will then forward it on to the client. It’s important to the successful running of any translation agency that communication between these two separate departments be very clear.

Time to Get Started!

If the client accepts the quotation, then it’s time to get the project started. This is where the Project Manager comes in because they’re responsible for organizing the resources, which will include a translator (or even a team of translators), editors, and any other specialists that may be required to complete the project.

The Translator and the Editor

When it comes to the actual translation, the translator and editor are responsible for producing a quality translation. Even though both these professionals have the same end goal, their tasks are quite different. The translator will commence work on the original text, and it’s their task to convey this content to the target language, which is the language specified by the client. The editor will be the person who reviews the translation, and their responsibility is to ensure that the style of the text, grammar, and vocabulary used are correct.

Final Editing

And finally, because all delivered translation projects must be accurate and of high quality, the translated and edited text is once again reviewed. This final review will be conducted by a third party who will focus on spelling, punctuation, and cohesion and coherence of the text.