It makes me feel quite humble.
It isn’t uncommon for clients to ask us to ‘perform a miracle’. We don’t like to simply turn down that request, particularly when asked by a regular client. But how do we then deal with this requirement whilst keeping everyone sane?
We were recently asked to translate a highly confidential 24-page financial/legal document, from Dutch into Italian. Generally speaking, including the subsequent proofreading, our legal translators would require 5 to 6 working days for this assignment. We were given just 4 days by the client, which included a (sunny!) weekend. The documents were needed for a court hearing. Because of the subject matter and the financial and legal terminology that was used, plus the confidential nature of the information, the use of, for example, AI-type technology as a tool in the translation process was an absolute no go.
There was no question about it. This had to be a human translation and our translator had to be prepared to work for 4 very long working days, which included the weekend. Next year, Vertaalbureau DG translations will celebrate its 40th anniversary. We have a relatively large number of translators with whom we have worked since our company was founded in 1985. And that says a lot – such a long working relationship is often based on satisfactory and solid teamwork.
To bring our translator on board with the project, we first discussed the requirements by telephone and, after talking about the content of the translation assignment, he committed himself in full to the project. We received the translation on schedule, ready for proofreading. Given the time pressure, you might expect a few mistakes to have slipped into the text, or perhaps errors resulting from the prolonged concentration required, but nothing of the sort, it was a top-quality translation.
Documents of this type that are used in court, are important for the progress of the proceedings. An army of legal experts and those involved directly in the case depend in part on these documents and, of course, on the translations. That is a huge responsibility.
The fact that our translator was willing to take on the assignment and translate the documents in a highly professional manner was testimony to the relationship that we have with one another. We have an established team of legal translators for English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Dutch, to name just a handful of the languages. These translators can count on us in the same way that we can count on them. There are no power struggles in our relationship, as can be the case, for example, in client versus supplier, or employer versus employee relationships.
No, our relationships are based on mutual respect, appreciation and personal interest. And that is something special, something that we are very proud of. Of course, these services are remunerated appropriately, but that’s purely rational. The thing that really touches me is that, for many years, we’ve been working with people who can and want to do this work professionally – people who enjoy the work and put their hearts into it. It actually makes me feel quite humble, having the opportunity to enjoy a great working relationship with such fantastic people.
Hector
Damn Good since 1985
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