Note: This blog post was originally written in Japanese for our Japanese website. We used our machine translation platforms to translate it and post-edit the content in English. The original Japanese post can be found here.
When a company has translation needs and must outsource to a translation agency, it is necessary to consider potential vendors. Here, we introduce the two types of translation agencies.
The two types are: a translation company that operates globally and can handle multiple language pairs, which is called a multi-language vendor (MLV), and the other is a translation company specializing in a specific language pair, which is called a single-language vendor (SLV).
Either type has its pros and cons, so it is best to choose according to the situation in which translation is required. However, it is better to consider your options from a long-term perspective, anticipating future translation needs.
Strengths and weaknesses of multi-language vendors (MLVs)
In the translation and localization world, many abbreviations related to machine translation are used. Here are some of them.
Strengths of MLVs
One-stop service:
Since MLVs can handle multiple languages, clients can complete multilingual projects through a single point of contact. This leads to increased efficiency and cost reduction in project management on the client side.
Large scale:
MLVs have teams and infrastructure to manage global projects and can quickly respond to projects that require simultaneous multilingual translation.
Consistency:
By having one company handle all languages, it is possible to maintain consistency in style, expression, and tone. (However, this requires that style guides, glossaries, etc., are sufficiently established.)
Weaknesses of MLVs
Specialization:
They may not have the same level of expertise for all language pairs, and in certain language pairs, their translations may not be as high quality as those provided by SLVs.
Cost:
Providing a wide range of services requires infrastructure and teams, which can result in higher prices.
Flexibility:
Because MLVs are often large organizations, it can be more difficult for them to flexibly respond to the individual needs of clients compared to SLVs.
Strengths and weaknesses of single-language vendors (SLVs)
Strengths of SLVs
Specialization:
SLVs specialize in specific language pairs, so they have an extremely high level of expertise in those pairs and can be expected to provide high-quality translations.
Flexibility:
Because they are often smaller and more agile than MLVs, SLVs can respond to client needs more flexibly and quickly.
Cost efficiency:
Because they focus on specific language pairs, SLVs can often eliminate unnecessary costs and offer services at competitive prices.
Weaknesses of SLVs
Limited language scope:
Because it specializes in a single language pair, it often cannot accommodate projects that require multiple languages. Therefore, clients may need to contract multiple SLVs simultaneously.
Project management burden:
In projects involving multiple languages, clients must manage each SLV individually, which can increase the project management burden. However, if a client has a translation team capable of managing translation partners, this is not a concern.
Other perspectives
Support for machine translation
If translation is required on a continuous basis, you might also consider partially handling it in-house due to cost and delivery deadlines. When handling translation internally, it is often done in addition to regular work, so from the standpoint of efficiency, it is also a good option to make use of machine translation.
Support for machine translation-related services
Recently, there have been more translation agencies offering machine translation tools. Since translation agencies are experts in translation and are well-versed in translation work, they understand the strengths and weaknesses of machine translation. In addition, these agencies also undertake post-editing* and maybe even customization of machine translation engines, so if you run into issues with machine translation quality, you can seek their advice. Most machine translation tools currently on the market are tools that basically support multilingual translation, regardless of whether they are provided by MLVs or SLVs (the same applies when the machine translation tools are provided by companies other than translation agencies).
*Post-editing is a process where the initial translation is conducted by machine translation, and a human (translator) revises the output to bring it closer to the quality of human translation. For more about post-editing, see this post.
Summary
We discussed the strengths and weaknesses of both MLVs and SLVs, as well as their approaches to machine translation. When selecting a translation vendor, it is important to comprehensively consider factors such as the scale of the project, range of languages, desired quality, and budget.
MLVs are suitable for multilingual support and large-scale projects, while SLVs are effective when specialized expertise and flexible responses are required for specific language pairs. By selecting the appropriate vendor according to each condition, you can achieve both success and efficiency in your translation project.
Furthermore, whichever you choose, selecting a vendor that is experienced in handling machine translation will further enhance the efficiency of your translation work. In other words, by combining machine translation and human translation, you can save both cost and time while maintaining quality, making it easier to meet a variety of translation needs.
Kawamura International's translation services
Kawamura International is a translation agency founded and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, with local offices in Hong Kong and the US.
As an ISO 17100-certified (international standard for translation services) translation company, we deliver high-quality translations not only for English and Japanese projects but also for multilingual translation projects in cooperation with our partner agencies whose quality has been recognized by global corporations. This means that our customers can enjoy SLV translation quality and flexibility while receiving MLV-like one-stop service and consistency.
We also have extensive experience in supporting the implementation of machine translation and post-editing work. If you are unsure about how to approach your translation project or are looking for a translation vendor that can flexibly collaborate with you, Kawamura International is here to help. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions.
