Key Metrics-International Standards for Quality of Translation?
Thread poster: Jared Schy
Jared Schy
Jared Schy  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:52
Chinese to English
Dec 19, 2019

I am aware there are international metrics by which companies may use as a guide to judge translations. I am working from CH-EN. Looking for conversation on quantifiable metrics that have been certified/agreed upon internationally to judge a translation/translator ability by.

Starti
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I am aware there are international metrics by which companies may use as a guide to judge translations. I am working from CH-EN. Looking for conversation on quantifiable metrics that have been certified/agreed upon internationally to judge a translation/translator ability by.

Starting points:
https://www.pangeanic.com/translation-services/quality/iso-translation-standards/#
https://blog.taus.net/the-8-most-used-standards-and-metrics-for-translation-quality-evaluation
https://www.morningtrans.com/translation-quality-standards-what-do-they-mean/
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Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 16:52
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Jared Dec 19, 2019

Jared Schy wrote:
I am aware there are international metrics which companies may use as a guide to judge translations. I am working from Chinese to English.


These metrics are generally not language-specific. The translation is sent to a reviewer, who fills in a standardized quality assurance form. One such metric that I often encounter is the LISA LQA. It's useful in the right hands, and an utter waste of time in the wrong hands. Such metrics encourage translators not to think of what is best for the client, but to learn how to become good at defending one's position from penalties.

https://blog.taus.net/the-8-most-used-standards-and-metrics-for-translation-quality-evaluation

Oh, by the way, the language code for Chinese is ZH, and the letters "CH" is the country code for Switzerland.


neilmac
 
Kevin Fulton
Kevin Fulton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:52
German to English
Recently surveyed regarding ISO compliance Dec 23, 2019

A long-time ISO-certified customer now under new ownership/management recently sent me a questionnaire to determine my compliance with ISO 9001/17100 standards. Since I am a sole operator and do not – per agreement – outsource work from this agency, and haven't outsourced any work at all for several years, I was unable to respond to some of the questions, nor could I provide any meaningful documentation such as an organization chart. The person sending the survey indicated that I should fill... See more
A long-time ISO-certified customer now under new ownership/management recently sent me a questionnaire to determine my compliance with ISO 9001/17100 standards. Since I am a sole operator and do not – per agreement – outsource work from this agency, and haven't outsourced any work at all for several years, I was unable to respond to some of the questions, nor could I provide any meaningful documentation such as an organization chart. The person sending the survey indicated that I should fill out the survey completely nonetheless.

Over the years I've taken work from ISO-certified outsourcers who applied certain standards when determining my fitness to perform translations, and who have sent contracts specifying quality standards and methods for remedying errors. My own policy is that if a client discovers an error, I fix it. There's no separate documentation, apart from the corrected file. I don't maintain a procedures manual.

As I understand it, these ISO standards were developed to specify procedures for organizations, not individuals. Requiring freelancers to comply with ISO certification standards, including extensive documentation requirements, will place an unfair burden on all types of self-employment. Outsourcers engage a range of freelancers, from translators and technical writers to DTP operators and graphic artists. Freelancers are the life blood of most agencies; killing off this profession would be suicidal for these organizations.

Is this what the future holds for us, or am I just being an alarmist? I've been with this agency for over 15 years, and losing it as a customer will make me consider retirement.
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Key Metrics-International Standards for Quality of Translation?







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