常见问题:我经常问客户的问题
本文最初发表于 TAGS-Language解决方案. 经许可转载.
Frequently Asked Questions on a website are a great way of addressing any potential doubts without the need for any time-consuming back and forth.
但, 在我做自由翻译的那些年里, I’ve found that just as or maybe even more important than the questions that my clients ask me, are the questions that I ask them before I start work on a translation.
To make the process more efficient for everyone involved and ensure that the cogs in my freelance translation business turn smoothly, over the years I’ve come up with a translation brief that I send to new clients with every quote.
If my clients fill it in as best they can before I get started on their translation, they get all of my questions out of the way in one fell swoop at the beginning.
这是一个双赢的局面. I have all the information I need to work efficiently, and they don’t have to worry about being available to answer emails from me with queries.
Let me share just a few of the FAQs I include in the brief so you can get a good idea of the kind of information a translator needs to provide you with the best possible end result.
在何处、何时以及如何使用翻译?
You would never write a piece of content without knowing the target audience and the content in which it will be used, 所以翻译也不例外.
If a text is going to have the same intended impact on its audience in the target language as it would in the source language, I need all the relevant information that can be provided.
How do you want readers to react when reading the translated text? 语气和风格?
My choice of words and language will hinge on the information you give me about what you want the text to achieve. I need to know whether the tone of voice should be playful, serious, or anything in between.
Should we use the formal or the informal way of addressing the reader?
说到这里, in Portuguese and in many other languages in the world there is a distinction between informal and formal ways of address, and using them can completely change the feel of the text, so it’s very important for me to know which to use from the outset.
产品/品牌名称应该翻译吗?If you have existing translations for them, please provide them.
Some companies choose to translate product and brand names, but in some cases, it isn’t necessary. This is a decision that should be made before any translations are done, for the sake of consistency.
Translating your product or brand names for the first time is a different service to straightforward translation as it will involve careful research and consultation with you.
Should measurements and/or currencies be converted, if applicable?
These are details that people don’t generally consider when they’re new to the world of translation, and will all depend on the purpose of the finished product.
Knowing whether the client requires these adapted from the beginning saves either them or me a lot of time trawling back through the file to edit them later on.
Is there anything else you would like us to know?
There’s an extra space at the end of my brief for you to add in any extra details you think are relevant.
别害羞,我知道的越多越好, 最后的结果就会越好, so include absolutely anything you think it might help me to know that hasn’t been covered by the other questions in the brief.
Ready to put all of these together in a message so that we can kick things off?
作者简介
特蕾莎修女苏萨 is a Portuguese translator and copywriter with a special focus on all things digital marketing and SEO. Working in the translation industry since 2005 she has had the chance to take on different roles and currently works closely international organisations, ecommerce global brands or start-ups who want to unlock the Portuguese market. 她也是一名SEO教育者, having trained hundreds of localisation professionals looking to diversify their offer with SEO language services.
这是一件很棒的作品,女士. I enjoyed and have learned a lot from it as a translator. 非常感谢!
伟大的文章! 谢谢你,奎里娜.