Free French to English Translation Guide: French Language Translator FAQLooking for a French language translator? Our free French to English translation guide offers objective advice to help you make the best decisions about your French translation project. Working in the translation industry, we noticed that many buyers were going into the process blind. They didn't know how much a translation should cost, how long it would take, or how they could save money. In some cases, we sent away potential clients because we realized they didn't actually need to pay for a translation agency at all. Translation Advisor gives all you the background knowledge you need to:
Free French to English Translation Guide - ContentsChoosing among French translation options. Should you go to a translation agency, hire a freelance translator, or just get a free French to English translation online? We explain the pros and cons and hidden costs of each option. How to choose a French language translator. Hiring the right translator will make the difference between success and failure for your translation project. Here are some tips to make the best choice. How to choose a translation agency. It seems like every translation agency in the world has the same marketing manager. They all promise "quality," fast turnaround, and a competitive price. But if you look beneath the surface, there are big differences that you need to know about. Average French translation rates. We analyzed the translation rates charged by twenty freelance translators and five translation agencies. Here are the results. Understanding translation pricing. Apart from the number of words, here are some of the other factors that affect the price you will pay for a French translation. Essential project management for your translation. Just send the document to a French language translator and hope it all works out? If that's your approach to translation management, you are asking for trouble. Here is a better approach. What you should tell your French language translator. If you want a high-quality translation, make sure your translator has the information he or she needs to do the job right. Strategies for saving money on your translation. When should you ask for a discount? How can you avoid minimum charges for small translation jobs? Find the answers here, along with more money-saving tips. Everything you need to know about translation timing. How fast can you reasonably expect your translator to work? What kind of timing offer is "too good to be true?" How can you speed things up in an emergency? Find out here. Free online translation tool. Get a free French to English translation from this tool. And read important advice about the limitations of free French to English translation software. Interview with an English to French translator - 1. We spoke with Perrine Souffez, Spanish and English to French Language Translator and Project Manager about her experience doing technical and marketing translations. Interview with an English to French translator - 2. In Part 2 our interview, Perrine offers advice on selecting a freelance translator or agency. Interview with an English to French translator - 3. Get a behind-the-scenes view of the operations of a translation agency as Perrine describes her experiences working as a translation project manager. Free French to English Translation Guide - Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about French TranslationQ: Can I use a free online translator? A: You can use a free French to English translation tool if you only need to get a general understanding of a French-language text. However, machine translations are not reliable and often can sound strange or even ridiculous. It is therefore very risky to use a machine for any French language translation that you will be publishing or sending to other people. You can find a free French to English translation tool here. What can go wrong with a machine translation? For an example, look at this excerpt from a French Wikipedia article about former U.S. president Bill Clinton, which has been translated to English by one of the most popular online translators. Here is the free French to English translation that came back: “His/her mother raised it only, it was born poor in a working-class family, it plays of the saxophone and it adores the sandwiches in McDo”. His Hillary wife plays a great part in her government and is highly criticized. Many people regard the couple as political partners and some even think that it is Hillary which “carries the breeches”." Q: How much will it cost? A: Translations are normally charged based on a per word rate, which varies widely from one translation provider to another. In our price study of twenty U.S. based French translators, we found an average rate of $0.11 per word for English to French translators and $0.14 per word for French to English translators. The agency rates we looked at were as much as twice as high. Click here to read more about French translation prices. Q: How long will it take? A: That depends on your translator's availability and the type of translation. A professional French language translator who is working full-time on your translation can often translate 2500 or 3000 words per day. An agency may take longer, since there is administrative time to be factored in and, hopefully, editing and quality control. An agency may also be able to put multiple translators to work simultaneously on a large translation and thus save time. There are some risks in that case, though, of an inconsistent translation. Click here to read more about translation timing. "The calculation is that more or less 2500 words can be translated in a day. Some translators can do 3000. But if, for example, you have a 5000-word project, and the translator offers to give it to you tomorrow, it's little bit worrisome." - Perrine Souffez, French Language Translator and Project Manager Q: Should I use a freelance translator or an agency? A: There are advantages and disadvantages to both options. Working with a freelance French language translator is normally less expensive than working with an agency and gives you more direct control over your translation project. On the other hand, a good agency can save you time, reduce risks, and add extra quality control to the process. Click here for a comparison of different French translation options. Q: How do I choose the right freelance translator? A: Generally speaking, the translator should be a native speaker of the translation's target language (that is, the language into which you are translating). For a translation from English to French, your translator should be a native French speaker, and for a translation from French to English, your translator should be a native English speaker. If the document you're translating is technical in nature, you might also need a French language translator who is specialized in the subject matter. Click here for more advice on choosing a translator. "It's important for the translator to ask questions when he has them, to say, 'Hey, I don't understand this here,' to check a word with a client when he's not sure. That's a translator who is looking out for quality." - Perrine Souffez, French Language Translator and Project Manager Q: How to I choose the right translation agency? A: Ask the agency about their translator selection process, and their quality control measures. Ideally, you want an agency that regularly uses both a native translator and a separate native editor on each translation (note: if the agency just talks about "quality assurance," or "revision," that does not necessarily mean a native editor -- investigate further.) Also ask for client references, and then call those references to find out how satisfied they have been with the agency's service. Click here for more advice on choosing the right agency.
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