Quality Procedure

To assure quality translations every time, we handle each project according to our 4-step Quality Assurance Process:

1. Negotiation

You submit a job request to us, either with our without your desired price range.  We recommend you provide us any style guidelines, desired work methods, or any information about the intended audience or method of receiving and returning files. Also, it is highly recommended that you provide us the entire source text at this time. We can provide per-word estimates, but will not be able to quote to you a bottom-line figure without the entire source text.

1. Once we receive your source document, we review it carefully to ensure that we have a solid understanding of the source text. The document will be reviewed and unfamiliar terminology will be noted. Please note that we will not accept projects where we feel we cannot convincingly explain the subject matter to a third party, or translate comfortably.
2. We estimate the time required to complete the translation and compare to your project deadline. If there is any doubt about completing the project on time, we will communicate this to you.
3. We will inform you whether or not we can complete the work within the allocated time and within your budgetary requirements (if you provided us your target price when you contacted us).
4. If you did not provide your target price when you requested the project, we will provide you a cost estimate. The cost estimate will be broken down as:
   
   -Price per target word (in USD, your local currency, or JPY)
   -Estimated total target words (This may vary by as much as 20%) (note  - we will be unable to provide a total target word estimate unless you provide the entire source text)
   -Estimated reworking or other non word-fee costs
   -Estimated total for the job
   
   Note:  Since our fee is based on target word count, and target word count cannot be known for sure until the project is completed, the quote is a rough estimate. The actual billed amount may be higher or lower.  If you would like to be certain of the cost before beginning the job, we can work out a fixed price, but considering the risk, this may be higher than the quoted amount.
5. You read and agree to the rates and conditions. See the rates section for specific rates and conditions.
6. At this point you are free to decide whether or not to request the work to be done.

2. Translation

We will take up your source text and begin the translation. The translation process is divided into the following steps:

1. Comprehension and Planning
   We review the source document, making notes as to style or terminology.
2. Translation – First Pass
   The first translation is a mixture of direct word-for-word translation and natural translation, depending on how easily the source text can be rendered in the target language. The objective here is to translate each phrase for maximum semantic retention, at the expense of being awkward to native audience. Many lesser-quality Japanese to English translations stop here. Here, we may include several notes to ourselves regarding intended ``gist'' or points each phrase is trying to make.
3. Translation – Second Pass
   During the second pass translation, phrases are reworked into natural target language equivalents. Awkward word-for-word translations are replaced with natural, free flowing phrases that retain the original meaning.

Note –
During the translation, it is generally possible to ‘work around’ uncertainties with carefully worded sentences, but this is not possible, we may need contact you for clarification. For Japanese source text, common queries include clarification of the pronunciations of personal or place names, the subject of a sentence (the subject is commonly omitted in Japanese grammar), plurality of a subject or object, specialized terminology, etc.

3. Review

Once the first-pass and second-pass translation are complete, these final steps prepare the document for final submission.

1. Proofread. As sentences are reworked, certain inconsistencies can pop up. To avoid this, the entire document is carefully examined for terminology and style consistency as well as grammatical or spelling errors. The translator also works here to ensure smooth reading flow between phrases or ideas.
2. Formatting. We ensure formatting and punctuation throughout the entire document is consistent and modify as necessary.
3. Word count. The document's word count is tallied and a billing invoice is prepared.

4. Submission

1. The completed document is returned to you with our billing invoice. Review the document to be sure it is to your satisfaction.
2. We are available to answer any questions or rework any passages as requested.

J-Translate. Tokyo, Japan http://www.jTranslate.com

Kurt Hammond's personal website: http://www.hammondjp.com