TAKE THIS TEST!

 Just answer “True” or “False” to each question.

1. America has a lot of innovative products that don’t exist elsewhere, and people in other countries are eager to buy our technology.
    

2. If I need to sell my product in a different country, translation is not necessary. Most educated people in the world read English, anyway.
    

3. If I really need something translated into a different language, I can always ask someone I know (friend, neighbor, co-worker) who’s from that country.
    

4. My products are highly specialized. I’d better find someone who really knows this area to handle my technical documentation.
    

5.  I’m willing to pay extra to have the job done right.
    

6. But I shouldn’t have to wait too long to get my stuff back—I don’t pay people to sit on their hands.
    

7. As soon as I get my translations, they’re ready to go out the door.
    

8. If someone finds a mistake in my foreign-language material, the translator had better answer for it.
    

9. Why pay  a markup to some agency to broker my translations? I can find the right people myself without a “middleman”.
    

10. A competent sales and marketing team is an asset you can’t put a price on.

Answers

1. America has a lot of innovative products that don’t exist elsewhere, and people in other countries are eager to buy our technology.

   TRUE. In fact, U.S. technology exports totaled over 191 billion dollars in 2004 (A 12% INCREASE FROM $ 171 BILLION IN 2003).

    

2. If I need to sell my product in a different country, translation is not necessary. Most educated people in the world read English, anyway.

   FALSE. TRY TELLING THAT TO COMPANIES LIKE MICROSOFT, WHO TRANSLATE HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE DOCUMENTATION INTO DOZENS OF LANGUAGES EVERY YEAR. TRANSLATION IS AN 11-BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS WORLDWIDE.

    

3. If I really need something translated into a different language, I can always ask someone I know (friend, neighbor, co-worker) who’s from that country.

   FALSE. KNOWING TWO LANGUAGES DOES NOT MAKE YOU A TRANSLATOR. YOU ALSO NEED YEARS OF TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE.

    

4. My products are highly specialized. I’d better find someone who really knows this area to handle my technical documentation.

   TRUE. TRANSLATORS WITH TARGETED EXPERIENCE (ENGINEERING, ELECTRONICS, SOFTWARE, ETC.) DO THE BEST JOB FOR THEIR CLIENTS

    

5.  I’m willing to pay extra to have the job done right.

   TRUE. EXPERT TRANSLATORS ARE WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD.

    

6. But I shouldn’t have to wait too long to get my stuff back—I don’t pay people to sit on their hands.

   FALSE. HOW LONG DID YOUR TECHNICAL WRITERS SPEND ON YOUR PRODUCT LITERATURE? DID THEY NEED TIME FOR RESEARCH, CONSULTATION, REVISION? TRANSLATORS NEED TO GO THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS.

    

7. As soon as I get my translations, they’re ready to go out the door.

   FALSE. EVEN A CRACK TRANSLATION NEEDS TO BE REVIEWED BY THE CLIENT. MAKE SURE IT’S DONE TO SPECIFICATIONS BEFORE IT HITS THE MARKET!

    

8. If someone finds a mistake in my foreign-language material, the translator had better answer for it.

   TRUE. REPUTABLE TRANSLATORS ACCEPT CRITICISM GRACEFULLY AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR WORK.

    

9. Why pay  a markup to some agency to broker my translations? I can find the right people myself without a “middleman”.

   FALSE. GOOD TRANSLATION COMPANIES SAVE THEIR CLIENTS BIG BUCKS--AND BIG HEADACHES—BY FINDING THE BEST PEOPLE FOR THE JOB. THEY ALSO CONTROL QUALITY BY GUIDING AND REVIEWING THE TRANSLATORS’ WORK BEFORE YOU EVEN SEE  IT.

    

10. A competent sales and marketing team is an asset you can’t put a price on.

    TRUE. THE TRANSLATION LAB IS READY TO BE PART OF YOUR TEAM! CONTACT LARRY BOGOSLAW, DIRECTOR AT 952.884.9673 (larry@translab.us).