Translation is our bread and butter. It’s what we’ve been doing here at Atlas since 1991 and in that time we’ve seen how hundreds of businesses have opened up opportunities by using different languages.
We work across a huge variety of industries but they all have this in common: they use the power of translation to connect with more people and to increase their reach. It might sound simple. Take some writing or speech in one language and change it into another. But this means more markets, better brand relevance, and business growth.
Our expert translators don’t just switch your text word-for-word. They have knowledge of the culture, the context and your industry to craft your message perfectly.
Always human
With Atlas, you will always communicate with a real human and a human will do your translation. This is how we work best and how you get the best result. A translation app or AI tool will prioritise speed over accuracy. It doesn’t understand tone, context or cultural nuance. An AI bot has never stood in the aisle of a Spanish supermarket, deliberating over what snack to buy. Our Spanish translator probably has!
Even before we get to the translating, however you choose to contact us, you will type and speak to a human every time. Yes, even with that chat box in the corner. It’s really us!
Everyone speaks English, don’t they?
With nearly 1.5 billion speakers across the world, yes, lots of people do speak English. But who are you trying to reach, and what message do you want to send? Communicating with people in their own language will nearly always get a better result. You don’t want to be that Brit on holiday just speaking English at people in a loud voice.
There are lots of reasons to translate, including:
- It can take more brain power and energy to read or listen in a second language.
- A translation will use culturally-specific vocabulary and references to strike a chord with people’s experience.
- There are historical reasons why someone might not feel friendly towards a company forcing the English language on them.
If your business is trying to sell something, you need to tap into their desires. Ask yourself: what language do these customers dream in? Probably not the one they had to learn at school.
And of course, certain documents in certain industries are required by law to be in a particular language, so you don’t have a choice!
Localisation
Localisation is the process of adapting a product or service to a new region or culture. This takes into account legal requirements, formatting specifications, and the cultural nuances of the new market. It is a good idea to localise your product or text if you are looking to market your service and appeal to a specific country.
Our localisation process:
- The target market is analysed
- Source content is examined
- The text content is adapted (i.e. for Americanisation or Australianisation)
- The text is translated if required
- Translated text content is proofread
- Any visual content used is checked for suitability
- The finished translation is formatted and/or typeset
- Final checks are completed
We localise each and every translation that comes to us, be that changing phone numbers, adapting cultural-specific references, or even changing images.
Transcreation
If localisation is adapting text for a new market, then transcreation is rewriting. We recreate the content so it works in a different market. This is a more creative approach, where often the translator will move away from the original text entirely. This approach is often needed for slogans, carousel copy, and brand messaging.
We’ll be able to discuss if this approach is something you need when we talk about your project.
Personal translations
It’s not just business we work with. We help individuals, too. Birth, marriage and death certificate translation. Medical notes. Family letters and history. Whatever you need, we offer reasonable prices, fast turnaround, and project managers who make the process easy, even if you’ve never done anything like this before. Find out more about personal translations.
Do I really need proofreading?
The short answer is yes! Our proofreading and checking process is how we consistently guarantee quality.
We have four stages of checks and edits to ensure the finished article achieves the quality our clients expect.
The first stage involves Atlas Translations choosing a suitable linguist for the task at hand. Our team of translators consists of experienced, qualified linguists. Even though they come to us highly recommended, that isn’t enough. We always select a translator who is an expert in the relevant field.
Second, the translator gets to work and translates the source text into the target language. Afterwards, they return their draft to Atlas Translations.
Third, we ask another linguist, equally qualified and experienced in translation in the same field, to proofread the first translator’s work. Our proofreader may make suggestions or identify areas for improvement. The text may need tweaking. It may be perfect. But it’s always better to have a second pair of eyes to assess it. The original translator returns the reviewed translation for amends.
Fourth and finally, once we have the final draft at Atlas, we perform an in-house quality check. This ensures the text translation, review, amends and typesetting meet our high standards before sending the final version to the client.
This process will be part of the price and turnaround time we quote for you when we start to work together. Contact us to start the conversation.
