English-Polish Translation

ARE YOU IN NEED OF AN ENGLISH-POLISH TRANSLATION?

Deciding who is going to handle your English-Polish translation is not a task to be taken lightly. Only you can say how much time and effort was put into the original document. So before you begin translating it you need to ask yourself these questions :

How important is this translation?

What is at stake?

What do I want to achieve?

What am I risking?

By answering these questions you can define the purpose of your translation. If it is to give general background information to a select audience then it may not need the same level of service as for a translation intended for mass publication.

Defining its purpose brings you one step nearer to finding the right translation partner. There is no point spending a lot of money on an English-Polish translation if it is not necessary. On the other hand, if you are hoping to impress a future client then choosing a "cheap and cheerful" translation company could spell disaster. You get what you pay for, as the old saying goes.

Generally speaking, there are many translation companies offering a good service. However, there are others (as in any industry), which fail to live up to their promises. Some companies may offer top quality English-Polish translation services, but they have blatant translating errors, even on their own web site!

This page is all about helping you to choose a company to handle your translation project. Unfortunately, we can't cover everything on one page, because this subject alone could fill an entire website. The intention is to highlight the good points and the bad points; what to look for, what to avoid, etc...

These considerations are intended to help you become more aware of both the positive and negative qualities that might surface when looking for English-Polish translation companies.

1. What is the purpose of the translation?

Spell out your ambitions to the translation companies you talk to. Tell them what you want to achieve. They must be able to deliver. Don't let them overcharge you for a simple job, but choosing the cheapest and fastest at the expense of quality is a poor investment.

2. Make sure that the company handling your English-Polish translation is using native Polish translators.

Truly accomplished translators do not simply transform words from one language into another. What they must have is a local viewpoint. Whilst engaged in the translation process, they must be able to visualize Poland and try to work out how an English sentence could be said most effectively in that particular cultural context. To do this, of course, they have to feel at home in Poland and understand its nuances. This is the case only with people who have actually lived there, which is entirely different from simply knowing the language. Make sure your translation company uses native translators.

3. Subject knowledge

Any company handling an English-Polish translation project must be able to provide you with translators who have specialist knowledge in your subject. The more specialized your translator is, the better the outcome will be. Just as you would not ask a mechanic to treat a back pain problem, do not let a farming specialist translate a computer operator's manual. You need a computer specialist instead.

4. Unrealistic promises

Some companies can promise more than they can deliver. They are offered a lucrative assignment and hate to give it up. So they commit themselves to a timetable which is unrealistic, but hope to get an extension.

Experienced companies, offering English-Polish translation services, know that this approach is the best way to lose a client and tarnish a reputation. The way to handle larger volumes of work quickly is to split the project between several translators as, on average, a single translator will only be able to translate 1500 - 2500 words per day day.

However, splitting projects can give rise to inconsistencies. To alleviate this problem we always provide glossaries and guidelines for all the different translators who work together on one project. This gives a level of consistency in terminology and style. The entire work is then handed over to a single specialist editor, who coordinates the files and ensures that there is a uniform flow to the entire document.

Please feel free to contact us to discuss how our professional services can help you to acheive your aims.