Case study: Multilingual quality recovery & typesetting
Background
One of our government clients wanted us to assess an existing translation project from an external party involving 20 languages for materials intended for publication. The project also required full typesetting. After our assessment, we identified significant quality issues and recommended a complete re translation and re typesetting of the content to fit the ISO standard. The client subsequently expanded the scope to 25 languages.
Challenge
A detailed review was conducted and the findings concluded that there was incorrect formatting for right to left (RTL) languages (which had been typeset left to right, rendering the content unreadable). There were also structural and linguistic errors that made the content unsuitable for publication.
Based on these findings, Translationz advised the client that a full re translation and re typesetting would be necessary to ensure accuracy, readability, and publication ready quality.
Our Project Management team provided the client with a comprehensive breakdown of the issues, including examples of formatting and linguistic inconsistencies including:
- Literal translations that did not convey the intended meaning
- Omissions of key information
- Illegible RTL text due to incorrect directionality
- Incorrect terminology inconsistent with industry standards
After reviewing our feedback, the client:
- Approved a full re translation of the 20 original languages
- Added 5 additional languages to the project scope
- Requested full typesetting in InDesign
Solution provided by Translationz
To ensure accuracy and consistency, we engaged NAATI certified translatorsNAATI certified translators and implemented a rigorous two step linguistic workflow:
Step 1: Translation
Each language was re translated by a specialist linguist with subject matter expertise.
Step 2: Independent Review
A second linguist reviewed the translation to ensure accuracy, clarity, and adherence to terminology.
Step 3: We also used our internal QA checking tools to run additional checks and confirm the quality of the final translation.
Once the content was typeset in InDesign, our linguists performed an in context review, checking for a series of formatting consistencies.
This ensured the final files were not only linguistically accurate but also visually correct and publication ready.
Outcome and results
Thanks to the combined expertise of our Project Managers, NAATI certified translators, and typesetters, internal QA tools, we corrected and improved the entire multilingual set and delivered a publication-ready file across 25 languages. Alongside this, we provided the client with a detailed quality report outlining all issues identified in the original translation. This thorough approach strengthened the client’s confidence in our processes and has led to ongoing collaboration.
Accomplishment
This project showcases our ability to rectify complex multilingual content, ensure linguistic and technical accuracy, and deliver high quality results across a large number of languages.
Written by Alice Vanden Berghe (edited by Josephine Campbell)