At Dijital Tercüme, our translation procedure is not limited to the mere act of translation. Developed for providing the best-quality service, our “step-by-step translation process” is the prominent approach in many fields and the guide for quality-focused translation companies.

The “translation process” at Dijital Tercüme starts as soon as the source text reaches us by e-mail/cargo/courier. The translation documents go through the following steps respectively:

PROJECT ANALYSIS:

• 1- Practicality:

Our project team examines the source text thoroughly, defining the source and target language, and deciding whether the document can be put into operation. If the document is not appropriate for operation for any reason, the customer is immediately informed and the translation is not performed on the document. Therefore, Dijital Tercüme is 100% competent in all translation fields when a document is accepted from the customer.

• 2- Evaluation:

Your projects are first evaluated by our project team. At the end of evaluation the word count, terminology, content, visuals (if there are any tables, diagrams, images, graphics in the document it must be decided in which format they will be prepared and how they will affect the translation process and delivery time) are specified. Any exceptions,special considerations and requests from the customer are assessed in this stage to move onto the next step.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT:

• 3- Analysis:

A- Choosing The Translator

Through the archive-searching process, our project team determines competent translators in source-target language pairs and assigns the most appropriate translator for the project. Current data in the translator’s archive is also taken into consideration. For instance, if the customer gives a medical text to be translated from English into Turkish, the project manager cross-references the medical translator’s page with the English translator’s page in the archive. The translator best fit for the project (according to work and field experience, time-efficiency, and proficiency) is assigned and an appropriate deadline is determined.

Being bilingual or bicultural is not enough to do translations; competency in specific fields of expertise (such as commercial/technical/legal translation) is also necessary. Translators working in the legal field for example, should be well-versed in legalese and should have the proper background for such translation work; likewise for translators working in other specialized fields. For us, a translators’ reliability depends on their field of expertise, and we choose them accordingly.

B- Choosing the Editor:

The editor is chosen using the same criteria used to select translators. Editors with localization experience are chosen for documents requiring localization. The localization process is completed prior to the spelling and grammar check.

C- Price and Guaranteed Completion Date:

For every document delivered within working hours, Dijital Tercüme prepares an offer including a price and guaranteed delivery date and sends it to the customer.

• 4- Confirmation from the Customer:

After written confirmation from the customer, the offer is changed to a "confirmed translation project".

• 5- Project Schedule and Informing:

An introductory leaflet describing the professional field to the customer, our workbook and e- catalog, along with an invoice including detailed company information, the deadline of the project, unit price, price calculation, the terms of payment and other explanations are provided to the customer. By doing this we establish an agreement with our customers that describes the whole process and offers a transparent price calculation.

• 6- Supervision of the Project Manager:

After determining the translator, editor, deadline, budget and field of expertise, the document is given to the project manager. The assigned project manager enters the project data under “File Execution” using our project management system software. A specific reference number is determined for every file in this software. All of the translated documents are archived in chronological order in our Project Management System. With the help of this system, our customers can access all their project data by attaching the reference number, date and name of the document.

• 7- Assigning The Translator:

When the project data is entered into the system, the schedule for the 16-step process is forwarded to the translator. Upon written confirmation from the translator, the translation document is officially assigned to the translator, a process known as project assignment.

THE TRANSLATION PROCESS:

• 8- Confirmation of the Translator:

When the translator’s offer is confirmed in writing, the following 3-step translation process begins:

A- Preparation and Creation of a Database:

If relevant terminological archive or translation memory exists in the database, it is forwarded to the translator. All sources, documents and technical directives are prepared in order to minimize the time required for the process. The translator is provided with dictionaries, list of terms and company data.

Once all materials are collected (parallel text, field dictionary, memories etc.), the translation process starts. If no term list exists, one is created in order to extract an outline of the document and then sent to the editor or customer if necessary. Consequently, accurate translation is guaranteed regardless of the content or difficult terminology.

B- Translation:

The document becomes ready for editing after the translator completes the translation process according to standard translation rules unless the customer requests computer aided translation. If requested, computer aided translation tools are included in the process.

In order to avoid any misunderstandings, the translator meticulously chooses each word, eliminating ones about which s/he is unsure. If any terminological obscurity or controversy arises from the original text, we consult our customers and the translated text is corrected accordingly. Before going through the first editing/pre-reading process, the completed translation’s statement report is forwarded to the Project Manager while s/he gives information to the customer about the process.

C – First Editing/Pre-Reading:

The editor thoroughly reads the text twice for better understanding. Grammatical errors, typos and incoherent sentences are determined and corrected. Pre-reading is the detailed process of the basic editing of the text for full-comprehension and getting confirmation from formal/private corporations. The translated text is reviewed line-by-line, edited and rendered coherent, plain, fluent, and comprehensive. It is then delivered to the project manager by the agreed time.

CHECKING THE TRANSLATION:

• 9- Assigning The Editor:

The editor receives the pre-read-text and starts editing. The editing process includes both basic pre-reading (spelling and grammar check, coherency, format check) as well as checking linguistic performance (double entendres, ambiguity, redundancy, semantic problems, grammatical and syntactical errors, ambiguity in idioms and proverbs, logical errors, omission of sentence elements, subject-verb disagreement). The text is also reviewed according to academic, legal, medical, economic, commercial, financial, literary, social, and technical terminologies; use of foreign words; and proper formatting (especially for patent documents). For academic publications, we also ensure professional editing to the customer; and for advertisement and website texts we provide customer-oriented translation.

In conclusion, our central aim is create error-free texts by listening to the requirements of the customer/publisher/writer and preparing everything for the authorized corporation. Our other responsibilities include protecting the original aesthetics and delicacy of the texts, editing each word, and searching for and creating proper alternatives. Competent people who are native speakers of the text’s target language are assigned for these tasks.

Editors, following instructions of the Turkish Language Society (TDK), can make changes while also commenting on the text, with the help of the “Track Changes” feature.

• 10- Localization:

Localization refers to the process of adapting the translated text for the specific country and culture, general custom, and current usage of the target language. It is important for the text to feel familiar to the readers of the target language. Technical knowledge of the language and its features are not enough, but also being acquainted with accurate use of all the words, proverbs and idioms and their contextualized meanings specific to geographical regions. For example, word selection is different in legal and informatics texts. Thus, localization is editing for regional accuracy. An editor proficient in formal and informal language and slang completes this process, revising the translated text to match the current use of language. S/he also edits the translated text with regards to the proper sector (software, website, advertisement, literary text, legal agreements etc.). The translation is now "localized," eliminating the distanced feeling the reader sometimes feels. In some cases, comments are added with a “translator’s note”.

After the editing and localization process, the translated text is delivered to the Project Manager, and the customer is informed that the proof-reading process is complete.

DELIVERY OF TRANSLATION:

• 12- Delivery:

When a text has been through all processes, it is delivered to the customer by the agreed date and time.

• 14- Billing:

The payment determined by unit price is billed and delivered to the customer via free courier within the same day.

• 15- Customer Satisfaction:

We call our customers to confirm quality after every translation operation. If any problem has occurred, necessary arrangements are made.

CONTINOUS ARCHIVING:

• 16- Safe Box:

Confirmed translations are recorded in the archive with backups on two different computer systems, entered into a digital box and assigned a project code. Thereafter, the customer can access the translated text whenever s/he wants.

Quality Assurance: Our customers have quality assurance because we detail our “step-by-step translation procedure” consisting of 16 stages to them during the offer process.