Hello!
Which languages are available for translation?
We’d like to say all of them! But let’s be realistic, if you require a translation from Thai to Swedish, there’s a strong possibility that it’ll be hard to find a competent translator, or any translator at all! That said, we work with a wide-ranging network of professional translators, from all over the world, allowing us to offer translations in a very wide variety of linguistic combinations, from everyday languages to rarer options..
Which fields do we cover?
Texts can come from a variety of fields: technical, legal, economics, commercial, medical, academic, etc.
Our skills are multiplied thanks to our vast network of professional translators, allowing us to cover a very wide variety of sectors: aeronautics, agro-food, automotive, biology, chemistry, construction and public works, energy, logistics, fashion/luxury, sport, telecommunications, tourism, transport, industry, health, IT, media and entertainment, distribution, insurance and auditing, administration and real estate, etc.
What types of documents do we handle?
The documents we work with can vary depending on the fields being covered.
To give you an idea of the sectors where we work, feel free to check out our references.
Technical and scientific
Technical specifications, standards, patents, nomenclatures, plans, user and maintenance manuals, technical sheets, job quotes, labels, catalogues, feasibility studies, scientific publications, technical reports, etc.
Legal and financial
Contracts, business statutes, annual reports, company reports, company registration certificates, sentences, minutes, general sales conditions, vital records, legal correspondence, sworn documents, etc.
Medical and pharmaceutical
Instructions, medical tests, publications, clinical trial results, toxicity studies, health reports, conference reports, pharmaceutical documents, medical check-up reports, etc.
Business, marketing and tourism
Market studies, press releases, brochures, advertising campaigns, catalogues, posters, flyers, tourist guides, questionnaires, surveys, websites, restaurant menus, etc.
How long does it take to complete a translation?
The deadline for a translation depends on several criteria that can be measured in 3 phases.
The pre-translation phase
Before sending the project to the translator(s), some files might need to be prepared upstream by the project manager; this is particularly the case for non-editable files, such as certain pdfs or images, and also html files. As far as Office files are concerned, they are generally sent to our translators with no further formatting.
The translation phase
Obviously, the more words in a work document, the longer the translation will take. The technical difficulty of the text to be translated also affects how long the translation takes: the more technically complex the text, the more research is required and the longer it will take. In general, we believe that a professional translator will translate an average of 2,000 to 2,500 words a day.
The post-translation phase
On receiving the translation and before final delivery to the customer, a quality check is systematically run by a corrector/reviewer who verifies that it matches the source text, checking the grammar, spelling and readability of the target text. It is often useful for the translator(s) and the reviewer to consult each other.
If the service provision requires DTP work, it will begin at this stage and therefore requires extra time.
How much does it cost?
For any translation, the price is set depending on the number of words in the source or target text.
Target word count? You are doubtlessly wondering how it is possible to know how many target words there will be when the translation has not been completed… This concept can raise a few questions, so it is worth explaining:
Let’s take the example of France where tradition dictates we invoice the number of French words, regardless of the direction of the translation. So, when the source text is written in a foreign language, we have to use what we call a proliferation coefficient to determine the number of French target words.
At Dimma Traduction, the translation rate mainly depends on the following criteria:
– la combinaison de langues demandée
– la technicité du sujet traité
– la qualité du format du document source
In other words:
– the rarer the requested linguistic combination;
– the more technically complex the source text;
– the poorer the quality of the source file format;
the higher the translation rate.
As a guideline, here are our basic rates
Translation from English/Spanish <> French = 0,11 €/French word
Translation from German/Italian/Portuguese <> French = 0,13 €/French word
Translation from/into a rare language = starting at €0.15 €/word
Are your texts to be translated generally repetitive?
Never fear, we tend to apply a gradually decreasing rate in this case. Creating translation memories for each customer means we can optimise prices and deadlines when drawing up the quote.
If my request is urgent, will it be more expensive?
Urgency means that a translator is being asked to translate more than 2,000 words a day… At Dimma Traduction, there is no special urgent rate.
We usually do our very best to meet your more urgent requests. However, keep in mind that we recommend a reasonable deadline to guarantee high quality work. An urgent translation is not necessarily a poor quality translation!
If the volume to be translated is too great for just one translator, we will share the work between several translators and harmonise the overall document in-house. If your deadline is really too short, running the risk of affecting translation quality (going against all our values…), we will clearly inform you that it is impossible to complete this project in this time frame.
Is a minimum rate applied to small translation jobs?
Regardless of the volume to be translated, all translation agencies have project management overheads that cannot be reduced. Consequently, we apply a minimum rate of € 50.00 before tax for translation jobs under 500 words.
However, if your organisation frequently needs short translations, it is entirely possible to avoid this flat rate by offering you a custom-built service. Ask your project manager about this option.
What about confidentiality?
In the name of professional secrecy, we are entirely committed to the strictest confidentiality regarding all documents and/or information entrusted to us. In the same way, professional ethics also require our translators to maintain strict confidentiality.
Just say the word and a confidentiality agreement can be drawn up and signed.
I haven’t found the answer to my question…
For any specific questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by calling us on +33(0)1 80 88 60 64. A project manager will be delighted to answer your questions.
Another option is to write to us at traductions@dimma-traduction.com and we’ll get back to you as quickly as possible.