What Translators Need To Know: Precautions

In an ideal world, one can rely on professional integrity and common decency to be sure that the services received would be of an acceptable quality. However, a somber truth all must face is that everyone must take their own precautions in their dealings with others. This is the case as well in the field of certified document translation services in Singapore, where client and freelancer alike must exercise care while translator and translation company weigh options and interactions. Fortunately, if an individual takes the time to safeguard themselves and their own interests, whether they seek to employ or be employed, their efforts can be well-rewarded.

On the part of clients, there are plenty of intermediary companies that can verify the quality potential translators for you, but if you are seeking out translators on your own, then you will need to manage the risks as well. For instance, if you are employing a person or a company for a one-time legal translation of a sizable document, and you are uncomfortable with how you are personally unsure of their abilities, then you can ask them to translate a few pages of the document as a trial run. A certified translation company in Singapore can do the same, testing potential translators with a few pages of foreign-language text that the company already knows the meaning of.

In a similar vein, depending on the size of the document to be translated, you could separate it into segments for the translator or translation company to complete one at a time, who can then be paid of each upon completion. This is to their benefit as well if they are unfamiliar with you, as this would split the task into manageable parts and lower the risk of a client disappearing without paying for the final product. It is for this reason that the fee for smaller jobs is usually split into two halves: a deposit to be paid before the translation service begins, and a final payment before the final translated product is sent to the client. This is the case even if only a single page is involved, such as a PR application translation for a single birth certificate. Such a job can also become a notarized translation, which would have the translator or translation company incur costs during the translation process, such as the fee from the lawyer who handles the notarization process.

When translation services are provided, both parties are facing risk, especially if each is unknown to the other. However, so long as each takes the effort to understand the other’s position and the precautions that each needs to set in place first, then mutual agreements can be reach and the provision of certified translation services in Singapore can proceed smoothly.