We get it. For those of us in the business world, overused management expressions can quickly become buzzwords that end up losing their luster regardless of how important and relevant the message still is. For the language services industry, that buzzword is “quality.” You won’t have to go too far to find heated debates arguing the merits of translation quality, what translation quality actually is and isn’t, and whether or not translation quality even matters, depending on a particular client’s desires.
Nowadays, multilingual content can be generated from a great many sources, and multilingual content buyers can become easily overwhelmed with choices. Human translations, machine translations, user-generated translations, translation memories, and more – which method should you choose? But it isn’t just about the method. Multilingual content buyers must also consider the various metrics and standards that rate the quality of the translated content.
As a company’s content demands grow and the sources of their multilingual content increase, content monitoring becomes a critical step in the overall localization process.
What exactly is LQA?
Linguistic assessment is an integral part of the localization process. LQA takes into account each locale’s unique linguistic rules and norms, as well as the different cultural and social aspects which all affect the end-user experience. Before the final file is delivered, clients should be confident that their project has gone through a rigorous LQA process and that the source and localized texts perfectly mirror one another.
Why are Companies Investing in LQA?
The world is becoming progressively more globalized. The global trend in migration has been steadily increasing for decades. This shift in a country’s demographics requires the services industry to consider how they advertise. Are you actually reaching your target audience if you only cater to one language? Chances are, you are missing out on thousands — if not millions — of potential customers:
The United States ranks number one in terms of its immigrant population, followed by Saudia Arabia and Germany, but migration has truly become an international affair:
“… immigrants expand the economy’s productive capacity by stimulating investment and promoting specialization, which produces efficiency gains and boosts income per worker.” In order to support the world’s multilingual communities and ensure they have access to the same quality of communication as the rest of the population, localization plays a key role. – Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Localization and LQA aren’t just for international companies. American companies risk alienating their growing diverse populations if they don’t invest in quality language services. For any company wishing to reach a larger, multilingual audience and earn their trust, it is critical that their products and services go through a rigorous linguistic quality assurance process.
Akorbi’s Global Reach and Customized LQA
Akorbi currently holds 128 partnerships around the globe and manages over 100 locales in the APAC, EMEA, LATAM, and NA regions. Our clients hail from very diverse industry verticals, including the healthcare industry, IT, retail, financial, and even the legal sector.
We have the global reach. We have the experience. We have the expertise.
In-house, European, and Latin American Vendor Management and QA Teams
Multilingual content needs to be thoroughly reviewed and checked for errors, but some LSPs rely on crowdsourcing and untrained machine translation with inconsistent memories for their LQA. This risks the quality of glossaries and negatively affects overall project control. It can also limit a company’s ability to guarantee the expertise of the subject matter and linguistic experts. Even worse, a company’s name and reputation can be negatively affected. Too much of a reliance on machine translation can lead to financial, medical, and legal implications if errors are not caught and corrected in time. But luckily, that’s not how we do things at Akorbi.
Akorbi’s vendor management and QA teams work collaboratively to qualify, onboard, and train experienced in-country subject-matter and linguistic experts, translators, editors, and proofreaders. Through team collaboration, each onboarded professional possesses the required skills, expertise, and qualities necessary to ensure the source type and translator profile are a perfect match.
In addition to this collaboration, the QA team provides a multitude of training workshops, including linguistic and workflow training, paying particular attention to project-specific topics and tools. With Akorbi’s very own vendor management and QA teams, clients value our:
- Quick turn-around time
- Intimate knowledge of company protocol
- Full project control
From localization specialists and translators, to editors and proofreaders, Akorbi offers an experienced team of highly-skilled professionals.
The Process
Each of our in-country experts receives professional training in order to provide localized end products that exceed our clients’ expectations. These professionals create, maintain, and follow the style guides and glossaries unique to each project. The Akorbi Language Quality Manager prepares a dynamically flexible quality model based on the required criteria. After the translation stage is complete, all target files are post-processed to perfectly match the source file from a layout and format perspective.
Akorbi’s project managers, translators, reviewers, language leads, QA managers, and designers all play a critical role in our LQA process:
Akorbi Quality Metrics
The Akorbi Quality Metrics are based on the TAUS Dynamic Quality Framework (DQF) standards. The scores are calculated according to the number and severity of concrete errors, as well as the scalar rating and their defined weights:
Quality Score
- Good/passing – 90% and above
- Satisfactory/passing – 85% – 89%
- Poor/Fail – 84% and below
The evaluated categories include grammar, meaning, style, compliance, and punctuation. Each category has different weights based on the type of content the team is reviewing and on the level of severity for each error range from “minor” to “critical.”
Accessibility Remediation
Akorbi works hard to ensure no community is left marginalized. In order for your documents to be accessible by people with disabilities, they need accessibility remediation. Whether you require assistance with braille, tags, table of contents (TocS) and bookmarks, alt text, electronic forms, color contrast, or font size, we have the expertise and the resources to get the job done right.
Akorbi – when second best just won’t do
Akorbi strives to earn your trust and your loyalty. We are committed to each of our client’s unique needs, and go above the fold. Here are just a few more reasons to trust Akorbi with your project needs:
- We independently handle the entire quality assurance project
- Our translators can work remotely or onsite within your facility
- We provide consulting services for each client’s team members
- We offer in-country and out-of-country resources for long-tail and popular languages
- We provide project management services
- We house localization engineers for your multilingual content
- We deliver coverage around the globe
Still not convinced? Here is what just a few of our clients have to say:
“Akorbi has provided consistent, excellent customer service for the past 6+ years of our partnership.”
“I submitted a document on Friday and had the quote that afternoon. The translation was done quickly. I could not have been more pleased with the prompt attention and friendly correspondence.”
“It is a pleasure working with Akorbi. I appreciate the excellent communication and customer service I receive.”
Akorbi – a cut above the rest!
Give Akorbi a call, and let’s get your project started today!
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Created in partnership with GIM Writing Services.