High translation quality is achieved through structured quality assurance measures throughout the entire translation process. These include maintained terminology, style guides, Translation Memories, corporate knowledge, AI-supported quality checks and – depending on the area of application – subject-matter review by qualified translators or subject-matter experts.
Quality is not only checked at the end of a translation; it is supported as early as the preparation of the source material and throughout the entire translation process. The earlier potential deviations are identified, the more efficiently they can be corrected and the lower the subsequent correction effort.
The most important quality assurance measures
- Use terminology consistently: Approved glossaries ensure that technical terms and corporate language are used consistently in all translations.
- Integrate corporate knowledge: Style guides, reference documents and Translation Memories help ensure that style, context and existing wording are adopted consistently.
- Use AI-supported quality checks: Automated checks identify terminology deviations, inconsistencies, missing content or formal irregularities during the editing process.
- Plan for human subject-matter review: For legal, technical or safety-related documents, review by qualified translators or subject-matter experts ensures that subject-matter and regulatory requirements are met.
- Continuously improve quality processes: Insights from corrections and completed projects are incorporated into glossaries, style guides and translation processes, thereby improving translation quality in the long term.
✅Example from practice
A software company regularly translates user manuals into ten languages. During the translation, the system automatically checks the terminology, identifies missing translations and flags deviations from the company guidelines. Before publication, a specialist translator reviews the safety-related content. This means that errors are identified at an early stage and the quality of the translations is sustainably improved.
✅ Good to know
Effective quality assurance does not mean manually checking every translation in full. Modern translation processes combine AI-supported quality checks with subject-matter assessment by translators or subject-matter experts. This makes it possible to create translations more efficiently without compromising on consistency, traceability or subject-matter quality.