Nederlands
English
Deutsch
Français
Which languages do you translate?
We translate from and into virtually all languages. We have our in-house translators and our worldwide network of affiliated regular professional translators and translation agencies which often have collaborated with us for many years, to take care of the translations. Our principle is that a document should be translated by qualified, so-called "native speakers" into the target language.
How long does it take to deliver?
We always adapt the delivery time to the customer's wishes. Usually our delivery time is based on 2500 words per day per translator. Multiple translators can work simultaneously on a project when a shorter delivery time is desired. Please contact us for a free quote to inquire about the delivery time.
How much does a translation cost?
That mainly depends on the language combination, the number of words, the delivery time and the file format in which the text is delivered. Our rates are very competitive. Please contact us to inquire about the cost and for a free quote.
What is your work method?
Our work method is transparent and based on the European standard EN-15038 for translation services. Our work method is explained in the above mentioned link.
What is a translation memory program or Translation Memory (TM)?
A Translation Memory or TM is a database which stores previously translated sentences for a specific language combination. Our translators use these translation memories intensively because this works faster and it expedites the consistent use of text that has already been translated. In other words, the use of translation memories benefits efficiency and quality.
What does localization mean?
Localization is the process with which a product (such as a software package, website, etc.) is adapted to the language and culture of a certain area or country.
What do you mean by 'native speaker'?
A native speaker is the usual term in linguistics for a person who speaks his mother tongue. A characteristic of native speakers of a language is that they have the intuition to know what can and cannot be said in their language. At Helena's the principle is that a translation into the target language is done by a native speaker. Therefore a translation into English is translated by someone whose mother tongue is English.
How do you deal with confidential files?
We maintain the confidentiality of each order. Our employees have signed a confidentiality agreement and our work procedures are designed to maintain confidentiality. Upon request we will be happy to sign a confidentiality agreement drawn up by our customer.
What is a machine translation or MT?
A machine translation is an automatic computer translation; however, the current situation with translation software is that the latter usually requires a great deal of post editing. There is a distinction between rule based and statistical translation programs. In recent years statistical MT programs, such as Google's, are emerging. A new development is a hybrid translation machine, a combination of a rule based and a statistical MT program. The trend is to train these translation machines for a specific domain, based on large translation memories.
