Translation and interpretation are a key part of making sure that government services and programs are accessible to everyone who lives in the United States, regardless of their linguistic background. But government agencies often work on a tight budget, and translating document after document and contracting interpreting services can be costly and time-consuming.

Fortunately, translation companies understand the constraints that government agencies have to work under. In order to help government agencies reduce costs and save time, we leverage a wide range of technologies, such as machine translation, translation memory, and automated workflows, just to name a few. These tools streamline the translation process making every step quicker, from the initial phase of commissioning language services to the actual translating of documents from one language to another.

In this blog post, we’ll take a look at four different kinds of translation technologies that are widely used to help government agencies reduce costs and improve efficiency of language services.

1. Machine Translation, Glossary Creation, and Translation Memory

If you’ve ever used apps like Google Translate or Microsoft Translator, you’re familiar with the basics of machine translation (MT). In the language services industry, businesses use more advanced MT tools that allow for a degree of customization.

When you use a free tool like Google Translate, the process is fairly simple: You input text in one language, and the app generates a translation of that text in a matter of seconds. But this can yield inconsistent and, perhaps more importantly, inaccurate translations.  When professional translators utilize MT tools, the process is much more complex — we factor in glossary creation and translation memory to make sure that the translation generated matches the client’s standards.

The glossary creation process entails the creation of a database of key terms and phrases that are typically specific to a client’s industry or company. Oftentimes, literal translation of these words from one language to another will lead to inaccurate results; by creating a glossary to incorporate into the MT process, you ensure that these terms will be translated appropriately and consistently. Likewise, translation memory (TM) technology stores past translations so that the MT tool can re-use them when needed. This can be helpful for specific phrases, sentences or paragraphs that come up frequently in your documents — think forms, boilerplates, etc.

Over time, TM can reduce the actual word count of your translation projects, in turn lowering the cost as well. Some of our clients who leverage this technology translate an average of around 60 words for every 100, thanks to previous translations that TM reuses.

These technologies come together to reduce the turnaround time and cost of your translation. Glossary creation and TM make your translations more consistent, while MT makes the translation process much faster. Language service providers work with human linguists during each step of the MT process, ensuring that translations produced by MT tools are accurate. These linguists carefully review MT output so you can be assured that your translations are of high quality.

2. Client Portals

Acting as centralized hubs for communication between clients and language service providers, client portals simplify workflows and offer tools that can save time and overhead costs.

When it comes to language services, there are three main types of client portals: general, one-stop-shop portals, interpreting platforms and translation management system (TMS) platforms. The former are comprehensive platforms where clients can manage translation projects, submit files, track progress, and even handle payments in one place. These platforms can include cloud storage for file management, template requests for recurring projects, and data insights, which allow users to monitor project trends and performance.

On the other hand, interpreting platforms focus on interpreting services — using a company’s interpreting platform gives you access to real-time language services like on-demand video remote interpreting and over-the-phone interpreting. Many interpreting platforms also highlight domain-specific expertise, regulatory compliance, and transparency regarding minimum fees or subscription requirements.

Agencies that have their own internal language teams may want to work with a translation company that also has a TMS platform. Your linguists may use this portal to monitor progress on projects, perform the translations, and communicate preferred terminology.

By leveraging these platforms, government agencies can enhance their efficiency and responsiveness, delivering high-quality language services while staying within budget. The general portals ease communication between you and the translation agency — after all, it’s easy to lose track of important information when all your communication is over email and phone calls. It also gives you the data needed to analyze how you’re using language services and how to be more efficient. Likewise, interpreting platforms allow you to tap into a network of interpreters that are ready to provide their services at a moment’s notice.

3. Automated File Processing

To translate documents efficiently, translators need to receive documents in editable formats such as .txt and .doc files. When clients provide non-editable texts such as .pdfs or paper documents, the LSP must convert them into editable formats – in the past, this was a rather tedious and time-consuming task requiring manual keying. Fortunately, optical character recognition (OCR) technology has made this process a breeze, allowing for automated file processing.

By eliminating the need for manual data entry, OCR technology saves you time and money. Companies use OCR technology to scan files such as .pdfs and physical documents and convert them into text that can be easily edited in a .txt or .doc file. Beyond simple conversion, automated file processing can be seamlessly integrated into translation workflows. For example, once a document has been scanned using OCR, it can be automatically categorized, tagged, and prepared for translation. Likewise, text that has been processed by OCR can be copied and pasted into MT tools to kickstart the translation process.

4. Custom Automated Workflows

Custom automated workflows provide the flexibility needed to handle unique client requirements. These workflows streamline repetitive tasks and allow organizations to tailor the translation process to their specific needs.

Automating your workflow requires us to identify manual steps that can be optimized, such as file preparation or document formatting. A custom workflow might automate tasks like converting documents into required formats, or applying pre-approved glossaries and translation memories to speed up the translation process. By leveraging custom automated workflows, translation companies improve the consistency of translation projects commissioned by a given client.

Not all language service providers are equipped to offer customized workflows — if you’re interested in these workflows, check with prospective providers to make sure it’s an option. Language service providers with internal IT teams are often better equipped to offer these tailored solutions. Such teams can design, implement, and maintain custom workflows that align perfectly with a client’s operational goals.

Summary

Whether you need to translate routine paperwork into Spanish or want to expand the number of languages you can provide over-the-phone interpreting for, translation companies have a wide range of technologies that can make these services affordable without sacrificing on the quality of service.

1. Machine Translation, Glossary Creation, and Translation Memory: These tools allow translation companies to produce high-quality automated translations that are consistent. Machine translations are always reviewed and edited by human linguists to ensure quality and accuracy.
2. Client Portals: Client portals serve as a one-stop-shop for commissioning new translation projects and analyzing usage data. Interpreting platforms make scheduling interpreting services easy and also allow you to tap into a network of remote interpreters at the click of a button.
3. Automated File Processing: OCR technology makes it easy to digitize physical texts and convert uneditable files like .pdfs and .jpgs into easily edited files. This allows linguists to get started on the actual translation work much quicker.
4. Custom Automated Workflows: Automate repetitive tasks that regularly come up in your company’s translation projects, enabling linguists to translate faster and more efficiently.

At Avantpage, we’re proud to leverage our proprietary technologies like AvantPortal, AvantMemory, and AvantShield to streamline the translation process for our government clients. If you’re in need of a technology-driven language service provider for your next project, look no further — contact us today at [email protected] or (530) 750-2040.