When it comes to languages, the paradox of the internet is that it transforms the global marketplace into a virtual Tower of Babel. Now that we are able to reach half-way around the globe with relative ease, we are faced with the problem of communicating effectively with newfound target markets.

Any serious organization that wants to extend its reach globally must come to grips with the challenge of localizing its products and services. In other words, effective communication requires the translation of online as well as hard copy information

Common myths and misconceptions about translation abound. Three of the most prevalent are:

1. That translation software (known as Machine Translation (MT) in the industry) can do the job well enough to be understood, if only to be used as a rough draft for communication purposes.

2. That a proficient native-speaker can be entrusted with the task of rendering a well articulated sentence-by-sentence translation.

3. That people who don't speak the target language can't be delegated the task of managing the translation process and thus the material must always be entrusted to a translator who speaks the target language.

Other misconceptions would include:

a) that any translator proficient in the target language can translate information on any topic;

b) that bi-directional translation skills are a given, in other words, if a translator is effective with Russian to English translation assignments, he/she will also be effective on English to Russian assignments;

c) professional accreditation is a guarantee of translation quality;

d) translation can be had "cheap" just by surfing the web to identify a foreign resource to which to outsource the job.  

In reality, the sound approach (i.e. appropriate translation assignment delegation process) is much the same as it is for any project management assignment. In a nutshell, the client's responsibility is to:

1. Identify the various components of the assignment: the actual translation - including language pair, type of document, delivery requirements; source-text editing requirements ; and, proofreading expectations;

2. Identify and secure the services of the individuals who possess the right skills to the assume responsibility for the various tasks;

3. Submit the document(s) to identified resource(s) to secure a price quote;

4. Provide guidelines and resources to all service providers before the work is undertaken; provide a formal "go-ahead" for the work; and,

5. Perform the appropriate quality control on the material submitted prior to publication/distribution.