1. I have an engineering English text I need translated into Spanish. Would you take care of this project?

2. Do you translate from Spanish into English?

3. Are you a translation agency? Do you subcontract your translations?

4. What if I need a "second pair of eyes" for the documents I've sent you for translation?

5. In your website you seem to differentiate computer-assisted translation and machine translation. Aren't they one and the same?

6. Do you use machine translation tools for your translation projects?

7. Do you do machine translation post-editing?

8. I am a medical school professor of immunology and I need several of my papers translated from English into Spanish. Do I need a professional translator? Couldn't I just ask a Spanish friend of mine who has a great command of the English language?

9. So I need a professional translator for my immunology papers. But does s/he have to be specialized in the medical field?

10. Will the confidentiality of my documents be preserved?

1. I have an engineering English text I need translated into Spanish. Would you take care of this project?

No. We are fully specialized in Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. We believe specialization is key for top-quality results, and we couldn't do as good a job in disciplines that are not our own. For your engineering text we'd suggest you contact somebody specialized in that field.

2. Do you translate from Spanish into English?

No. Our native and dominant language is Spanish. The native language is the language one grew up with. The dominant language in the language one is most fluent in. Usually, as is our case, the native language is also the dominant language. Rarely, because of prolonged, total immersion in a non-native language later on in their lives, some translators are able to produce the same or better quality in a non-native language. If you need a top-quality text in English, we would be happy to recommend a professional translator whose dominant language is English.

3. Are you a translation agency? Do you subcontract your translations?

We are not a translation agency. We personally take care of all the projects we accept.

4. What if I need a "second pair of eyes" for the documents I've sent you for translation?

We offer our clients a "tandem translation process" (as per International Standard ISO 17100: Translation Services - Requirements for Translation Services): the first linguist takes care of the translation plus revision (bilingual editing) of the text in compliance with the standard's requirements and the client's specifications; the second linguist then performs an independent revision (bilingual editing) of the first-linguist version in compliance with the standard's requirements and the client's specifications. We deliver electronic copies of the first-linguist version and of the second linguist-revised version.

5. In your website you seem to differentiate computer-assisted translation and machine translation. Aren't they one and the same?

They are different processes. Computer-assisted translation or computer-aided translation (CAT) is human translation aided by different software tools, including translation memory tools. Translation memory tools suggest to the human translator target segments corresponding to identical or similar source segments stored in a database of source-target segments from previous human translations in that language pair. The human translator accepts, rejects, or edits the target text suggested by the translation memory tool so that the final segment in the target language matches the segment in the source text. Provided the translation memory's quality is good and it's carefully maintained and updated, the use of such tools reduces translation costs and turnaround times and maximizes terminology and style consistency. Although the term "CAT" tends to be used as an equivalent to "translation memory tools", CAT actually involves the use of many other software tools that aid in the different phases of a translation project (such as spell and grammar checkers, terminology management tools, quality assurance tools, etc.) and allow linguists to focus on those tasks that can only be performed by human beings. Machine translation (MT) or automated translation is computer translation without human intervention during the translation process itself: MT systems produce a preliminary, raw target text that requires post-editing by a human being.

6. Do you use machine translation tools for your translation projects?

We do not use machine translation tools for our translation projects. All our translation projects are human-translated (full traceability for every step). For most of them we use computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools, which allow us to reduce costs and turnaround times and to maximize terminology and style consistency.

7. Do you do machine translation post-editing (MTPE)?

We are MTPE-certified by the RWS Group. For several clients we do machine translation post-editing, that is, the company that hires us sends us a text that they have previously translated using their machine translation tool, and we review the translation against the English source and make all necessary changes in the translation to ensure that the final text meets the client’s specifications for that project.

8. I am a medical school professor of immunology and I need several of my papers translated from English into Spanish. Do I need a professional translator? Couldn't I just ask a Spanish friend of mine who has a great command of the English language?

That would depend on how much you actually need to be able to trust the translation of your papers. If you wanted a sailing boat built that would float today and also ten years from today, you would contact a professional boat builder, not an experienced sailor. Professional translation is a profession, just as architecture, engineering, or lawyering. It has its fundamentals, its general and specialized tools of the trade, its specific challenges and pitfalls, its tricks, a learning curve that cannot be hastened… What are Across, Déjà Vu, Trados Studio, STAR Transit, Wordfast, XTM, etc., and how can they help translators provide a more terminology- and style-consistent translation with a faster turnaround? What should a translator know about automated quality assurance tools to optimize translation quality? What are standards ASTM F 2575, ISO 17100, and ISO 18587, and how are they relevant to a translator's line of work? Why is "carbunco" the correct translation into Spanish for "anthrax", and "ántrax" the correct translation into Spanish for "carbuncle"? If you need to be able to trust your translation, you need a professional translator.

9. So I need a professional translator for my immunology papers. But does s/he have to be specialized in the medical field?

Yes. Medical translation is inherently difficult: medical terminology is massively vast, ever-growing, context-dependent, register-variable, and false friend-friendly. And medical translation is not only about the terminology. It's also about using the right medical language, that is, expressing things in such a way that physicians, nurses, and biomedical sciences professionals feel "at home" with what they are reading. But medical translation is above all about understanding the subject: in order to comprehend simple and complex medical processes and techniques, translators working in the Medicine and Biomedical Sciences fields need a solid knowledge in anatomy, genetics, internal medicine, molecular biology, pharmacology, physiology, semiotics, statistics, etc. This knowledge may come from a medical school background, from specific medical translation training and experience, or from both (our case). Medical translators also need to be familiar with the procedures and instruments involved. A medical school background again is a huge advantage, since having studied, performed, witnessed, and read about these procedures and instruments for years (and having the possibility of examining them at a hospital and consulting about them with colleagues) decidedly helps: How do you map and ablate atrial fibrillation foci within the pulmonary veins using a single multi-electrode radiofrequency catheter? How do you locate anatomical points and determine trajectories for cranial surgery through three-dimensional neuronavigation with frameless stereotaxy? If we translators don't understand the procedure, we'll just parrot the source, and we are bound to make mistakes in the process or, in the best of cases, to produce ambiguities and to transfer overlooked source errors to the target text. We should also point out that we medical translators never stop learning, and our professional trajectory is marked by a substantial investment of personal time in studying and researching.

10. Will the confidentiality of my documents be preserved?

We normally sign non-disclosure agreements. The information we handle is often sensitive or confidential in nature. We understand the necessity of rigorous confidentiality and non-disclosure standards. The confidentiality of all your personal information and of all your documentation will be preserved, from the moment you contact us.