Back Translation

We offer back translation into the source language for quality assurance purposes, accompanied by a Quality report that highlights any discrepancies between the source and target content.

It is important to be aware of the fact that back translation is not a value-added service but a completely different approach to validating a translation. This approach can be implemented in any translation and localization project upon request.

Pros and Cons

While back translation has proven over time to offer no particular value in improving the style and syntax of a translation, it is a useful translation quality control tool when it comes to validating the integrity, accuracy and conceptual coherence of a translation. This refers mainly to scientific (pharmaceutical, medical, technical, etc.) or highly sensitive legal texts, where it is essential to make a word-for-word comparison between the source and the target content.

It is important to note that this approach has advantages and drawbacks. Here are some basic facts about back translation that you may need to consider:

• It is more time consuming than the alternative approaches, such as proofreading and editing as the back translation involves multiple text analyses and comparisons.
• It is more expensive due to the number of specialists and project management involved.
• It often offers no benefits for the style and syntax of a translation.
• It is a great tool of validating your translations for terminological accuracy and completeness.