FAQ
Frequently asked questions about specialist English translations
I translate from German, Spanish, and French into my native language, English. After many years in German, Spanish, and French-speaking countries, you have a language expert at your side who understands the cultural nuances of your texts and conveys them accurately into English. This gives you a professional English translation that is correct and stylistically sound – perfectly adapted to your target group.
When I carry out proofreading, I focus solely on grammar, spelling, punctuation, and typos – ideal if you just need a quick check to make sure that your text is free of errors.
With editing, I do this and more. I work on your text more thoroughly, making a variety of stylistic improvements and checking whether your sentences fit together and make sense (are they easily understandable and comprehensible to professionals/non-professionals/your target audience?). Particularly for English business texts, scientific texts in English and marketing translation for the English-speaking market, this is an important step to take to ensure that your texts achieve the maximum effect.
For colleagues, translation agencies (LSPs) and other language service providers, I also offer bilingual revisions. With revisions, I check the translation against both the source language (German, Spanish or French) and the target language (English) to ensure your translation has an accurate and consistent style, terminology and content. Thanks to my many years of experience in this field, I provide you with reliable quality – whether it’s a scientific study, marketing copy or technical documentation.
Every text is unique. This means that every translation is unique and – you guessed it – every quote, as well. This is why I’m not able to list general prices for you.
For translations into English, I usually charge a per-word rate.
For proofreading, editing and revisions I also usually charge a per-word rate. However in individual cases, a rate per hour or per page may be more appropriate for both of us.
Transcreation, which can often require a lot of research for a relatively small text or claim, may be charged per hour, depending on the circumstances.
For very technical texts, urgent projects or special formatting requests (including PDFs), the rate may be higher. Just get in touch and we can discuss your individual needs together, then I can draw up a free quote for you. If you already have a deadline in mind, feel free to tell me this as well.
A CAT (computer assisted translation) tool is a software that supports professional translators in their work. This is not to be confused with automatic translation like Google Translate, etc. It is a tool for improving the quality and consistency of my English translations.
CAT tools store previously translated phrases in a translation memory (a database), enabling them to recognise repetitions or similar phrases in new texts. This allows me to use consistent terminology – particularly important in business translations, IT translations or technology translations – and work more efficiently, even for larger projects. I personally work with the industry-standard CAT tool Trados Studio.
Yes, I offer professional post-editing machine translation (MTPE) according to the DIN EN ISO 18587 standard. This means editing machine-translated texts to bring them to a professional level in terms of language and style.
The rate for MTPE depends on the quality of the machine translation. Just send me an excerpt – I will give you a free assessment and make an appropriate offer.
If you don’t have your own translation engine, no problem. I work with a data-protection-compliant MT engine that I only use on clients’ express request.
I use the professional translation software RWS Trados Studio, which supports all common file formats including:
- .doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx, .xls, .xlsx, .odt, .odp, .ods
- .srt (subtitles)
- csv, .idml, .xml
- .pdf (may include editing charge)
You can find a complete list of the supported file types on the RWS website.
If your file is in another special format, just let me know and I’ll see if I can help you. An additional fee may apply for converting a non-editable/image file into an editable format. Such costs will of course be communicated clearly in advance.
The translation time can vary depending on length, subject area and complexity of the text.
- Normally, I can translate shorter texts (e.g. up to 2,000 words) within a few days.
- Larger or more complex documents will take correspondingly longer.
Feel to communicate your own deadline if you know it. I’ll then do my best to accommodate to your schedule and give you a realistic timeline. (send a message)
ISO 17100 is the quality standard of the translation industry, which sets a minimum standard for the qualification, work processes and continuous training of language service providers.
I am not officially certified according to ISO 17100. It is uncommon to get certified as an individual freelance translator for many reasons.
However, for colleagues and other language service providers, it is important to note that I meet the ISO 17100 criteria and adhere to the standards that this standard requires, including:
- Recognised degree (MA) in Linguistics from a higher education institution plus 5 years’ professional experience in translation
- Uniform project management (creation , production, post-production and delivery)
- Use of translation technologies (CAT tools, TM systems)
- Regular professional development
- Confidential handling of your data
Irrespective of this certification, these standards are the norm for me.
Want to find out more?
Simply send me the text that you would like me to translate/edit and I’ll send you a free quote
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