We translate many different types of document in a variety of fields, mainly Technical, Scientific, Legal and Marketing. To obtain a more detailed view of our specialisms, please refer to the relevant headings in the section entitled ‘Fields we work in’. We accept any documents in Microsoft Office format (Word, Excel, etc.), PDF (preferably not scanned) and certain Adobe formats, among others. However, if your document is in another format, please do not hesitate to send it to us so that we can analyse it.
Within our Dialinguo translation agency, we translate exclusively into our native language, French. We stick to this principle of translating into our own language, because only a native speaker of a language can convey an idea faithfully into their native language with all the subtleties and nuances this requires. This is especially important in Marketing translations. However, we can call on a network of translation partners we trust who are ready to translate your documents into other languages, such as English, German, Spanish or even Dutch, just to quote a few examples.
We need to make a distinction between (written) translation and (spoken) interpreting. We mainly produce written translations, but we would be delighted to offer you our services as interpreters in languages such as French, German and English. We move around the areas of Alsace and Franche-Comté in France as well as the neighbouring Swiss cantons and German Länder. Please do not hesitate to contact us, though, with any requests for information, because we are mobile.
Our clients are many and varied and are concentrated essentially in the fields of Engineering & Technology, Health, Electronics, IT, Marketing & Communication, and Law, just to name the key ones. The main business we work with are very small enterprises and SMEs, but we have already had the opportunity to translate for large Groups through our partners.
Machine translation (and its main representative, Google Translate) has made great progress over the last few years. Nevertheless, it remains a tool which allows you just to understand the general sense of a text as a whole. It is not able to replace a translator who understands all the aspects of your subject and is able to add a human dimension, that vital grammatical precision and all the nuances to your text. Do not entrust your documents destined for the public domain to this type of platform, because the results might be surprising.
Naturally, like any progressive translator, we use IT CAT tools to assist us with translations. That does not mean, though, that these tools ‘translate for us’. They simply help us work more quickly and more efficiently, meaning that they also reduce the costs for us and our clients. The main feature of these tools is a ‘Translation Memory’. This enables the translation of sentences to be stored and suggested again in other similar situations. This is very useful, for example, in documents made up of repetitive passages. Our main CAT tool is SDL Trados Studio, but we are flexible and can adapt to other software.
We mainly bill translations by the word. We import your document into our CAT translation tool. It analyses the number of words it contains and we then issue a quotation based on this analysis. However, we reserve the right to charge by the page or by the hour if the source document is of poor quality (scanned or barely legible document) or requires a huge effort to format the text on the page or considerable terminology work, for example.
Translation, like any other discipline, is learned. It has its own rules and subtleties, and these are often acquired during a dedicated training course. Many people think they are able to translate their documents themselves, and this is tempting when you have achieved a good level in the language. However, you are always at risk of misunderstanding what is meant or even understanding the diametric opposite. This can have an enormous impact on your translation. You originally thought you might make some savings, but in the end you run the risk of spending too much time and effort on it because it is not your area of specialism. Yet time is too precious for this in a company. Please do not hesitate to call on real professionals who are qualified in this area.
As we said earlier, translation is a profession which has to be learned. Spending a few years abroad is certainly enriching and useful for holding a conversation, but it does not necessarily help you to translate a technical manual containing complicated terminology in a field you are not familiar with. Moreover, you risk missing many subtleties, lacking in inspiration or failing to find just the right word. You concentrate on your key tasks and your core business, and save your time and energy by entrusting your translations to a qualified translator who has perfected their art.
Firstly, send us with the document in question. It’s as simple as that. Also, if you have any reference documents which are similar in content, or even better, if you have any old translations of other documents on the same subject, please let us know. They might be really helpful and speed up the translation process. Also, we might be able to identify recurring terms and translation choices (especially in the case of old translations) which we could reuse to make your text consistent with your other documents.
There is not one, precise answer to this question, because the amount of time spent on a translation depends entirely on the quantity of words and also how technical it is as well as its editorial quality, the amount of terminology research required, and many other factors. Translating instructions for creating an account or an internet connection will be much quicker and easier than a troubleshooting manual for farm machinery, for example. To give you an idea though, we reckon on translating an average of between 1500 and 2000 words per day for translations in French, German or English.
Of course. At Dialinguo, we process all the documents you entrust to us (the documents for translation as well as any reference material, annexes, etc.) in the strictest confidence. We sign a confidentiality agreement from the time we start working with you and we adhere to it strictly.
Naturally, our trusted partners are also subject to the same confidentiality requirements. We also comply with a code of professional conduct and professional secrecy. Our hosting and file storage facilities are based in France and are therefore subject to French legislation which is especially stringent as regards protecting personal data and respecting personal privacy.