Are you a project manager who is tired of sending emails back and forth to ask and answer questions, pass documents between linguists and then implement feedback received? Are you a business who wants to receive high-quality translations within a reasonable timeframe that aren’t ridiculously expensive? Then collaborative translation might just be the answer you’re looking for.
With the globalisation of businesses, there is a growing need for collaboration in translation. New advanced technology is enabling translation teams to work together in real time. But how?
What is collaborative translation?
Collaborative translation brings together a team of project managers, translators and other linguists to work on the same tasks together. This type of workflow introduces different technologies to allow all team members to interact with each other in real time and find solutions to various translation challenges together.
Traditionally, translators tend to work independently on projects, especially those who work as freelancers. While it isn’t unusual to consult a colleague about problematic words and phrases, the translator still works as an individual in making final decisions. This is one way in which traditional translation methods differ from collaborative translation workflows, as the team can debate and reach decisions together.
There are several ways of implementing collaborative translation methods: using cloud-based softwares and Translation Management Systems (TMS), peer review processes (a crucial stage in our translation process) or messaging platforms.
Why collaborative translation is essential in today’s global market
Accurate and consistent
Collaborative translation allows a team to consult each other and make decisions on specific terminology and vocabulary, if this hasn’t already been provided as a glossary by the client. This ensures that there is consistency across all marketing materials and pages of a client’s website.
In many cases, translators have different opinions on style and vocabulary choices, which can often be incredibly subjective, so being able to make these decisions together leads to accuracy and consistency throughout all future projects.
High-quality content
If the team discovers any issues while working on their translations, they can raise these immediately and solutions can be found. This allows for high-quality translations to be delivered to the client, along with notes on any issues found in the source text in order to improve the client’s existing content as well.
Cost-effective and efficient
All of the above saves time for all team members as it reduces the need for back and forth communication via email since messaging and leaving comments on the translations is much more time efficient. The time-saving and efficiency of collaborative translation ultimately saves on costs.
Top tools and software for collaborative translation
With continuous advances in technology, new collaborative tools and software are always becoming available. Here are some of the different ways you can collaborate and the tools we combine with our expertise to do so at LEaF Translations:
| Collaborative tool | Example | How and why? |
|---|---|---|
| Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools | Phrase TMS | Files can easily be assigned to different linguists and will go straight to the proofreader once the translator has finished. There is an option to leave comments and questions for another linguist. The Translation Memory for a project is constantly updated as other translators are working so everyone in the team can ensure their translations are consistent with each other. |
| Communication platforms | Slack | Several channels for different projects can be created so that all members of the translation team can collaborate and chat to each other easily. Not only does this help with questions and decision-making, but it also raises morale and the sense of belonging to a team. |
| Collaborative documents | Google Docs and Google Sheets | Share documents with either translators or clients and have the ability to work on them at the same time or leave comments and suggestions. A great tool for listing queries to a client or creating a glossary. |
What do we do at LEaF Translations?
While we have always taken a collaborative approach through the use of Google Docs and Google Sheets to allow multiple team members to work on documents at the same time, over recent years we have incorporated more technology into our process.
We introduced the CAT tool Phrase TMS when we started working on a project for Wallpaper Direct, translating their English website for the French market. Introducing this technology allowed our translation team to create standardised terminology for the website and keep our translations consistent. We have continued to use Phrase TMS ever since.
When Wallpaper Direct asked us to start the whole process again but for the Spanish market a year later, we went one step further and created a Slack channel for our translators to communicate, at the suggestion of one of our team members. We have learned a lot along the way but we will incorporate this in future projects.
When Kitty told me about the WD project and what it would involve, I quickly realised that the conditions were similar to those faced by video game localisers (several translators working on a large amount of content, strong need for terminological consistency), so that’s why I proposed using Slack as a way to keep constant communication within the team in real time. As the project has progressed, all the translators in the team have been proactive in discussing their ideas, we’ve been able to establish a high degree of consistency, and every new batch is translated and proofread more efficiently than the last as a collective style of writing gets increasingly defined and utilised by everyone.
Breogán Zazpe
EN>ES translator and video game localiser
Best practices for successful collaborative translation
Whether you’re a project manager who is familiar with setting up collaborative translation projects or you’re completely new to this style of workflow, here are our top tips for establishing a successful project. While these can be incorporated retrospectively, integrating these practices from the beginning will allow the project to be smooth sailing.
1. Establish your team
Once you have found your initial team members, make sure everyone is happy to be part of a collaborative project. While it seems like a great process, some people much prefer the traditional workflow methods and would prefer not to be part of Slack channels and other platforms. Remember that you can grow your team at a later stage too.
2. Set up the technology
Make sure that you have your chosen technology set up and ready to go. This includes private Slack channels for the project, as well as Translation Memories and Term Bases in a CAT tool like Phrase TMS. Try not to use too many different pieces of software and platforms as this can be quite overwhelming and time-consuming for the team, which defeats the purpose of collaborative translation.
3. Introduce roles and responsibilities
Introduce your new team to each other and make sure everyone understands each other’s roles and the process of the project. If you’re planning to establish some ground rules about communication*, now is the time to do it!
4. Prepare for questions
If you’re a project manager, be ready to answer a lot of questions and mediate any debates about problematic vocabulary. (Yes, this will happen, even when the translations are wallpaper descriptions!) If you are the client, be prepared for some of these questions to head in your direction too (although we will limit this as much as possible).
*It is incredibly important to have clear communication among team members so it may be a good idea to establish some ground rules early in the project.
While it is nice to have a chat with colleagues, it is important to understand that not everyone is there for the light-hearted conversations and many people will want to focus on their work. It is important to keep the project at the heart and use the collaborative resources to be more productive and efficient.
One solution could be to create a separate channel for team members to catch up with each other, just like having an office kitchen conversation while making a cuppa that freelancers often miss out on.
Common challenges in collaborative translation and how to overcome them
Language barriers
If you have a multilingual project to set up, creating a different channel for each language will allow the linguists to communicate in their working language if they wish. Alongside this you could also have a general project channel where a core language like English is established.
As a project manager, it can be hard to mediate debates when the topic of conversation goes beyond your own language skills – for example, when there are references to specific terminology that are not in your native language. In these instances, let the team come to a decision and summarise the conversation for them at the end.
Time zones
If the team is spread across multiple time zones, it would be a good idea to make it clear that responses don’t need to be immediate. Each member must respect the others’ working hours and can turn off their notifications when they have switched off for the day. This won’t affect productivity or efficiency but will let everyone enjoy their time away from work.
Differing opinions
Everyone has different opinions and translation decisions can be subjective so not everyone is going to agree all of the time. It is important to try and find a middle ground or neutral alternative, or check any decisions made with the client.
Future trends in collaborative translation
In collaborative translation we can already see emerging trends such as AI-assisted translation or machine translation, as well as machine learning. While these technologies may seem like a cost-effective and efficient option, it is important to consider the environmental and ethical impacts that they could have. Quality could also be impacted, which is why we will continue to work with our trusted and talented professional translators until we fully understand the implications of AI.
From consistency and quality in translations to efficiency throughout the process and cost savings in the project, collaborative translation workflows have many benefits for the linguists, project managers and clients. If this is not something you have already incorporated into your processes, we would highly recommend you giving it a go. And if you’re interested in putting the collaborative translation process to the test, get in touch with our team for a free quote.
