FAQ

Just fill in the order form or send an email to info@lingo.kiev.ua. The more details you provide on your order, the more accurate will be our offer of the price and delivery time. You may also contact us at CONTACTS.

Take the number of estimate pages in the source text and multiply by the relevant rate. 1 estimate page contains 1860 characters, one space per word. You may use special text count software; however, the simplest method is to use MS Word statistics (Word Count on the Tools menu). If you are unsure about the estimate, send us the source document(s) by email to info@lingo.kiev.ua and our managers will get back to you shortly with the accurate cost estimate.

The price is set based on the amount of translation. The amount of translation may be measured in words or 1,000 words of the source text (such measurement unit is used, e.g., in US and UK) or number of characters in the translated text.

The number of characters is measured in sheets (2,000 characters), lines or pages of the translated text, e.g., Germany's DIN mandates that the amount of translation be measured in lines of 55 characters.

In Ukraine, we have been using a line (62 characters) or a page (1,860 characters = 30 lines x 62 characters) to measure the amount of translation for quite long. A character is a letter, a digit, a punctuation mark, interword space (one space per word). The said measurement unit for the amount of translation is specified in the following documents:

1) Model Time Norms for Translation and Processing of Scientific and Technical Literature and Documents, National Center for Labor Productivity, Ministry of Labor of Ukraine. Kramatorsk, 1997.

2) STTU APU-001-2000 Qualification and Certification of Translators/Interpreters. General Requirements. Kyiv, 2000.

3) STTU APU-002-2000 Translation and Interpreting Services. General Requirements and Rules. Kyiv, 2000

No. The available machine translation technologies are not intended for professional use and are simply unable to provide acceptable quality of translation. It is common knowledge that even the most advanced information technology is not sufficient to produce high quality and accurate translation.

You can match prices based on the approach specified in the Model Time Norms for Translation and Processing of Scientific and Technical Literature and Documents: use a page containing 1,860 characters, one space per word (a line contains 62 characters, one space per word). Please note that such approach is also specified in the standard of the Ukrainian Translators Association (STTU APU-002-2000 Translation and Interpreting Services. General Requirements and Rules. Kyiv, 2000).

Our Translation Agency provides translation of texts in 33 languages, including, but not limited to uncommon languages. For years of operation, we have gained experience of specialized texts' translation in 97 subject areas. Specialized translations are provided by translators with specific experience in a given area of knowledge (medicine, economy, law, technology etc.).

By all means, customers' references would provide an invaluable source of information on a translation agency. Even the list of customers served by a given translation agency would speak for itself. Still, selecting a dedicated translator for a particular task, make sure to ask questions. Assign your expert personnel to interview the translators in order to evaluate their proficiency on the subject.

Even better, a translator service provider would assign to the customer dedicated translators, whose qualifications are beyond doubt, such as membership of professional organizations.

In addition, you would get better results by providing the translator with supplementary information on the intended use and the end user(s) of the translation, and terminology guidelines. Organizing international events and commissioning interpreters, it is always a good idea to inform them beforehand on the event context, to provide the detailed program and documents on the subject area.

Yes. Editing is an integral part of our written translation production process. Editing/proofreading is provided by our full-time editor using, among others, licensed spell-checking software for 30 languages.

Editing/proofreading includes reviewing the translated text for errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar; providing consistent terminology and style.

In addition, we offer translations adapted based on specific features of the target audience.

Yes we do. We provide test translation of ½ estimate page free of charge.

Placing an order based solely on the price is rarely a good idea. Make sure that the specified amount includes translation of proper quality. A translation always includes joint work of manager, translator, editor, proofreader, and page maker. Underestimated prices most likely suggest translation cost reduction by cutting such expense items as, e.g., editing/proofreading. Naturally, this cannot but affect the resulting translation quality directly. Make sure also that the specified price suggests no further extra charges, say, for the subject area, courier delivery or shorter delivery time.

According to the international practices, the normal rate is 5 pages per day (this is the amount of translation to set the rate rather than a measure of translator's productivity as a translator is able to translate much more pages per day). As a rule, a translation agency is able to provide urgent translation even if the source text is rather large by engaging more translators that is not usually an option for a freelance translator. Our Translation Agency, for one, provides urgent translations based on "the same day" and "the next day" delivery terms.

Yes.

The most prominent guarantee is our good track record and ever expanding customer list. In addition, we offer our customers to make a translation service agreement, which governs translation quality requirements.

Most importantly, in order to provide high translation quality, Lingo Translation Agency has implemented and operates a quality system compliant with the requirements laid down in International Standard ISO 9001:2000 for translation and interpreting, editing and proofreading.

We have 3 offices in downtown Kyiv.

Recruiting talents, first and foremost, in the field of translation and interpreting is very important with a view to assuring quality of services provided to our customers.

Just as in any other area, the number of true professionals is limited; hence, we assure translation quality by putting professional training and continuous education first and increase in the number of offices and personnel second. We also emphasize expanding our staff (translators, managers) the existing offices rather than opening outlets to do nothing more than order taking.

Desktop publishing, design, document formatting, notarization, legalization, lease of special equipment for special events, guide interpreting, multimedia product development in the language required, copying...

Send an email to info@lingo.kiev.ua and we will answer you directly; moreover, we will be glad to place the relevant FAQ entry to this section!