Your Needs Do you regularly require professional translation services into one language or do you need a one-time translation of one or more documents into several languages? If you regularly need translation services into only one or two languages (20,000 words or more per month), it may be worthwhile to hire your own professional translator to work in your company full-time. If, on other hand, you occasionally need translations into many languages, or if you have very large translation jobs to be completed in a short time, using a translation agency will take care of all necessary logistics. The agency will find appropriate translator for each language, or possible more than one translator if deadline is tight, assign proofreading tasks, and ensure that everything is completed on time and service quality is top-notch.

Cost The cheapest option to get your translation services done is seemingly doing it yourself or having an employee of your company do it. However, there are hidden costs, such as time spent and possibly inferior quality, that you should consider. A poor translation can cost you more in business than you would ever have spent on having work done right. Another option, which is also quite cost-effective, is hiring a freelance translator yourself and skipping middleman, i.e. translation agency. If you decide to go this route, make sure that you have knowledge and experience to pick a qualified translator and to judge quality of translation. The last option is giving job to a professional translation agency, which will take care of everything related to required translation services. This is most recommended option for most companies. It ensures that you get best possible quality, which is most important factor when deciding which way to go. Remember: You may pay a little more for this service upfront, but you will keep paying for a poor translation for as long as you use, publish, or distribute it. The cost in lost business due to poor quality translations dwarfs money spent on a good translation. When using a translation agency, you also won’t need to worry about paying translator internationally, as it is always a good idea to choose a translator in target country.

The decision is yours. You have several viable options, depending on your resources, needs, and cost. Always keep in mind though that most important factor when choosing any professional translation service provider is quality.

© Christian Erwig-Straughan

Largest Metropolitan Areas: Shanghai 14,150,000 Beijing 12,510,000 Tianjin 9,420,000 (1995 estimates)

Climate: Extremely diverse, tropical in south to sub-arctic in north.

Ethnic Groups: Han Chinese: 92%

Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities: 8%

Nature Resources: A wide range of minerals are to be found in China, among them coal, iron, copper, aluminum, mercury and others. The size of Chinese mineral reserves is rated third largest in world. China is also rich in oil and natural gas resources

Industries: Services sector contributes 32% to Chinese economy, industry contributes approximately 53% and balance, 15% in agriculture and forestry

Main Export Products: Machinery and equipment, clothing and toys

Main Export: 21% to United States,17% to Hong Kong and approximately 14% to Japan

Main Import: 18% from Japan, 12% from Taiwan, 10% from South Korea. 8% from United States

Main Trading Partner: United States, Japan and Taiwan

GDP - Per capita

Estimated at 5,000 dollars, low compared to developed countries

Monthly Wage:

800 - 2,500 Yuan(between 30 - 97 dollars) as of April 2004. Average monthly salary in financial sector as well as in business with foreign investments is very much higher.

Rosie From Learn Chinese Language Online (http://www.learn-chinese-language-online.com)