What defines High-Quality Localization
According to a SOCi Market report on the top 5 insights into the Power of Localized Social Marketing, the future of enhanced brand engagement lies in effective content localization strategies that ‘speak the language’ customers want to hear.
It goes without saying that the high-quality translation output that brands and companies worldwide are seeking cannot be achieved without an effective Content Localization Strategy.
The purpose (function) of a translation determines the strategic methods to be applied in its execution (principle of functionality). The translation of a given source text can be rendered in many different versions, highlighting the principle of interpretation and mirroring of the source text in a target language from a socio-cultural framework standpoint.
And Quality is inherently and inextricably linked to functionality. Ideally, a good, accurate and adequate translation will fulfil to the communicative functions required and expected by the target audience.
High-quality Localization Framework
High-Quality Localization is heavily reliant on two main quality control aspects: LQA and LQC.
Localization Quality Assurance, abbreviated as LQA refers to a comprehensive process of ensuring quality translation and localization output, involving the acquisition, training, and management of qualified ‘human ware’ (Linguistic Project Managers, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and Linguistic Analysts) and their respective tools (Translation and Localization hardware and software).
In order to ensure standard-compliant Translation Quality Assurance, Language Services Providers (LSPs) are required to devise and optimize long-term, comprehensive strategies for providing the relevant training and feedback to linguistic vendors involved in the processes, as well as for the internal management of translation assets such as client Translation Memories (TMs), term bases and Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools.
On the other hand, Linguistic Quality Control (LQC) implies more specific, short-term procedures, which make up a solid segment of the entire Translation Quality Assurance process.
Linguistic Quality Control (LQC) entails fine-tuning the final translation product, ensuring that there are no blatant flaws and that the linguistic steps of the process (translation, editing, proofreading) have been successfully performed in terms of resolving inconsistencies, misspellings, and mismatches.
According to the Project Management Institute Annual Report, Project Quality Management entails a series of processes and activities undertaken by a translation-performing organization to “determine quality policies, objectives, and responsibilities so that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken” (PMI, 2013, p. 227).
Applying this rule to Translation Project Quality Management exclusively, the QA process would imply a complex translation ecosystem coordinated by Project Managers (PMs), Linguistic Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), and QA Analysts performing in-depth quality control based on parameters of translation linguistic and stylistic accuracy, project and language-specific key-metrics and UI/UX variables.
The Bottom Line
High-Quality Translation and Localization and Linguistic Quality Assurance are a hot topic, indeed. The ever-growing interest in safeguarding the level and values of quality is gaining momentum within the translation landscape and the generic approaches to translation quality demand superior benchmarks in line with communicative conditions and competency requirements, for achieving and evaluating the adequacy of translation products across any industry, topic and level of difficulty.
Optimal implementation of Translation Quality Assurance models that suit the targeted translation services and industries is of paramount importance in outlining the focus of the Translation Quality Assurance, whether we are talking about translation as a product, as a service, or as an elaborate process for all stakeholders involved.
AD VERBUM takes pride in ticking all of the above-mentioned criteria boxes through a well-established internal Translation Quality Assurance process, ISO-optimized and streamlined to cater to a wide spectrum of needs and stringent requirements. By tailoring our efforts to the specific needs of every single customer and following up on our performance, we ensure that the services provided are of consistently high quality and enhance the overall customer experience.
