Standards, Certification and Translation Services

1. Standards, Certification and Translation Services Presentation, March 2004 Munich, Prague, Vienna, Edith Vanghelof camels@camels.at www.camels.at

2. The Translation Market in Austria Small • 70% are one-person businesses • Largest ones have around 15 employees • No market entry barriers, anyone can register for a business license and offer translation services

3. The Translation Market in Austria Professional Organizations • Membership in Chamber of Commerce obligatory if provider has a business. Business license required if service is provided on a commercial basis, i.e., freelancers are exempt if they perform the services themselves (no subcontracting) • Association of university graduates • Association of literary translators

4. What is a Standard? Standard: • A standard is a document that has been defined in consensus and has been acknowledged by a recognized body. It defines rules, guidelines or criteria that apply generally to an activity or the outcome of an activity that can be repeated.

5. What is a Standard? Standards are based on the generally accepted findings of scientific research, technology and experience and are conceived to promote the best interests of society in general. (DIN EN ISO 45014, May 1990)

6. What is Quality? • Quality is not an absolute value but varies by • context • purpose • Quality refers to product quality, service quality and process quality

7. What is Certification? Certification: • Certification is a process or the outcome of a process which confirms that a company or person complies with the requirements of a standard.

8. Benefits for the Translation Service Provider • The certification process is an opportunity to analyze, standardize and make your work processes more efficient • Introduce quality management: quality assurance and quality control procedures

9. Overview of Relevant Standards in Europe

10. Overview of Relevant Standards in Europe • 1977: ISO 2384 “Documentation – Presentation of translations” • ISO ISO 9000: 2000 (now: 9001:2000) • 1995: UNI 10574 “Definition of services and activities of translation and interpreting enterprises” • 1998: DIN 2345 “Translation Contracts” • 1999: ÖNORM D 1200 and D 1201 • 2002: ISO 12616 “Translation-oriented terminography”

11. 1977: ISO 2384 “Documentation – Presentation of translations” • Sets out rules to ensure that translations are presented in a standard form which will simplify their use by different categories of user. Applies to the translation of all documents, whether the translation is complete, partial or abridged. Four types of translation are discussed.

12. ISO 9000:2000 • Set of international standards for international quality assurance systems • Defines procedures, but does not provide a measure of actual quality control • Originally created for military procurement in the 1950s • General, abstract system • Certification is mandatory

13. GermanyDIN 2345 DIN 2345: Germany in 1998 • Focus on translation process and how the service is to be provided • Organizational aspects: quotes, contracts, delivery forms, hardware, software, subcontracting, confidential treatment of documents, etc. • Content aspects: type of text, target audience, agreements on terminology, support to be provided by client

14. ItalyUNI 10574:1996 “Definition of service and activities of translation and interpreting enterprises” Content: • Scope and field of application • Normative references • Terms and definitions • Service requirements • Minimum physical structure of enterprise supplier • Indications for the enterprise

15. 2002: ISO 12616 “Translation-oriented terminography • Brand new • To help translators work more efficiently • Deals with the recording and presentation of terminological data

16. Europe Union CEN (Comité Européen de Normalisation) European Committee for Standardization • Work in progress on a standard for translation services • Task Force established CEN/BTTF 138 • Work should be completed by 2005

17. Austria ÖNORM D 1200:2000 “Translation and interpretation services. Translation services. Requirements for the service and the provision of the service” ÖNORM D 1201:2000 “Translation and interpretation services. Translation services. Translation contracts”

18. The Austrian StandardÖNORM D 1200:2000

19. The Austrian StandardÖNORM D 1200:2000 • Contents • Scope • Definitions • Service requirements • Provision of the service

20. Basic qualifications • Translating competence: Translating competence includes the ability to professionally translate texts. It also comprises the ability to correctly assess problems of text comprehension and text production as well as the ability to render the target text in accordance with service specifications and to explain the reasons for choices made.

21. Basic qualifications • Linguistic and textual competence in the source language(s) and the target language(s): Linguistic and textual competence includes the ability to understand and use the source language and target languages as appropriate to specific situations. Textual competence requires knowledge of text type conventions for as wide a range of standard-language and specialised texts as possible and includes the ability to apply this knowledge in the production of texts.

22. Basic qualifications • Research competence, information acquisition and processing: Research competence includes the ability to efficiently acquire the additional linguistic and specialised knowledge necessary to understand the source text and to produce the target text. It also comprises the ability to acquire implied knowledge, to assess one’s own knowledge in a self-critical way, to eliminate any existing knowledge gaps and to integrate new information with existing knowledge.

23. Basic qualifications • Research competence also requires experience in the use of research tools and the ability to develop suitable strategies for the efficient utilisation of the information sources available.

24. Basic qualifications • Cultural competence: Cultural competence includes the ability to make use of information about the knowledge base, behavioural standards and value systems that characterise the source and target cultures.

25. Basic qualifications • Technical competence: Technical competence comprises the abilities and skills required for professional preparation and production of translations. A minimum requirement shall be the ability to use word processing programs and terminology collections.

26. Further training The service provider shall perfect his/her knowledge • with regard to the basic qualifications in accordance with 4.1.1, • with regard to his/her fields of specialisation and specialised languages, and • on issues relating to the profession.

27. Certification according to ÖNORM D 1200

28. Certification according to ÖNORM D 1200 • Reference projects for at least three years prior to application. • Applications may be submitted by any person or legal entity.

29. Checklist • Application • Documentation • Audit • Re-audit after three years

30. The Audit • Documentation procedures • Security and confidentiality • Random audit of the documentation of two assignments

31. Auditors b) The principal occupation of an expert auditor shall be that of an active professional translator; c) An expert auditor shall have at least five years of management experience as an owner or in a managing position of a service provider in the field of translation.

32. Auditors • The Certification Body of ON shall have the right to select the expert auditors. The Certification Body shall keep a list of all auditors admitted by ON.

33. The European Translation StandardWork in Progress

34. The European Translation Standard History January 2002: CEN, short for Comité Européen de Normalisation (European Committee for Standardization) met and adopted a proposal put forth by the European Union of Associations of Translation Companies (EUATC) as a new project "CEN N 1098 'Quality systems - Translation companies - Particular requirements for the application of EN ISO 9001'

35. The European Translation Standard The original EUATC proposal discussed at the meeting called for a standard applicable only to translation agencies and companies, and after a long debate it was rejected.

36. The Task Force CEN/BTTF 138 "Translation Services” • December 2002 – The Task Force CEN/BTTF 138 "Translation Services” was established to develop a standard applicable to all providers of translation services regardless of whether they are organized as a company or work as freelance translators.

37. The European Translation Standard • AEONOR (Spanish standards organization was elected Secretariat of the Task Force) • Assignment of project leaders: Germany, Austria, Finland, Spain and UK

38. CEN/BTTF 138 "Translation Services” Project Leaders: • Terms and definitions, Project leader: Germany • Basic requirements, Project leader: Austria • Client-service provider relationship, Project leader: Finland • Procedures in translation services, Project leader: Spain • Added value services, Project leader: UK

39. CEN/BTTF 138 "Translation Services” Business Plan Scope • Standardization of the requirements for the provision of translation services. • procedures in translation services • human resources and their qualifications • project management • technical resources • quality management/assurance

40. CEN/BTTF 138 “Translation Services” 4 Basic requirements (Austria) 4.1 Infrastructure - human resources - technical resources 4.2 Quality management (quality of the service not of the translation itself) 4.3 Project management

41. CEN/BTTF 138 "Translation Services” 5 Client-service provider relationship(Finland) • Rights and duties of provider and client • Determination of project-related requirements • Contractual framework

42. CEN/BTTF 138 "Translation Services” 6 Procedures in translation services (Spain) • 6.1 Preparation 6.1.1. Administrative work 6.1.2. Technical work 6.1.3. Linguistic work 6.1.4 Terminology and research

43. CEN/BTTF 138 "Translation Services” Terms and Definitions “5.3.1 Project Management • Assigning checkers, revisers and reviewers. Assigning any other specialists involved in any added-value services for the project.”

44. CEN/BTTF 138 "Translation Services” Terms and Definitions • Checker • Reviser • Reviewer

45. CEN/BTTF 138 "Translation Services” Terms and Definitions Reviser • The reviser shall be a person other than the translator and have the appropriate competence in the source and target languages. The reviser shall examine the translation for its suitability for purpose. This shall include, as required by the project, comparison of the source and target texts for terminology consistency, register and style.

46. CEN/BTTF 138 "Translation Services” Terms and Definitions Reviewer • The reviewer shall have domain competence, shall carry out a monolingual review to assess the suitability of the final translation for the agreed purpose (e.g. by assessing it for register and to ensure that it respects the conventions of the domain in question).

47. CEN/BTTF 138 "Translation Services” Informative Annexes • Project registration details – log • Technical pre-translation processing • Source text analysis • Style guide • List of added value services

48. Documents and Websites • Website of the European European Committee for Standardization): www.cenorm.be • Certification Guideline for ON D1200. Write to peter.jonas@onorm.at • Order the Austrian standards ON D1200 and ON D1201 at peter.jonas@onorm.at • Information brochure on the ON D1200 and ON D1201 standards published by the Austrian Standards Institute (www.on-norm.at) (in German only); Write to peter.jonas@onorm.at.

49. Edith Vanghelof camels@camels.at