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I get it. When choosing a new supplier it’s normal to have lots of questions. Here are some I get asked a lot.
If you still have questions or would like to work with me then fill in the form below or send me an email!
Here’s more information about how I usually work.
If you’d like to know more or have a specific question then please get in touch!
I translate written texts
One thing that’s really helpful to know is that I only work with written texts and I do not simultaneously translate ‘with my voice’. Translators translate written texts, while interpreters translate as they speak.
If you’re looking for someone to simultaneously translate a conference or TV show then you’ll need an interpreter. As a translator, I work exclusively with written texts.
I work online
Translators typically work remotely – this was the case even before the pandemic! I work remotely online and communicate via email, but that doesn’t stop us from getting to know each other over a video call. If you happen to be in Tuscany, we could even catch up in person over a coffee.
Here’s a taste of my typical workflow:
– You send me the files you want to translate or revise. If you don’t have them, you can send me some example files so I can get an idea of your content.
– I let you know if I can take on your project and send you a quote (if you need just a translation) or my rates (if you’d like to work together on a continuous basis).
– During the onboarding process you can tell me which format you’d like to receive your translation in – for example, would you like plain text or a specific format? Do the images need to be translated?
– If you accept my quote and payment terms then I’ll ask you to sign an engagement letter to agree on the deadline or staggered deliveries.
– I get to work.
– Throughout the project, I’ll contact you as necessary to clarify questions about your content. I’ll also let you know if there are any errors in your original text.
– You’ll receive the translation in the agreed format by the deadline.
– You’ll then have some time to go through it and ask me any questions if you are unclear about any of my terminology choices.
– If you’re formatting the text yourself, then we can also agree on a budget for a final read-through of the formatted text. This check is to ensure that no errors have been introduced during the publication phase.
– If you need a glossary based on this text for future use, we can also include this in the quote.
– If you need to make small changes to the final text, no problem. But if you’d like to make substantial changes to the text at a later date, then I’ll send you a new quote to cover the changes.
Don’t be. I’m almost always at my desk during office hours and try to reply to emails within half an hour. If I don’t reply to you within that timeframe then I might be in a meeting, a training course or call with another client. You can expect to hear from me as soon as possible, at the very least by the end of business that day, to confirm I’ve received your email.
No, I don’t use machine translation or AI to translate. These tools only perform well when trained with large numbers of consistent, well-translated texts. To achieve this while protecting the confidentiality of your texts, I’d need to buy a high-quality automatic translation engine. This is only affordable for huge companies and is a decision they must take independently.
I can revise machine translations (MTPE – Machine Translation Post-Editing) produced by high-quality, well-trained engines. I can only do this once I’ve examined the text you’d like me to revise, because I often find that machine translations require extensive corrections. This isn’t always the case, but a poor machine translation often ends up costing the same as a translation ‘from scratch’. And the end result is rarely as good.
I get it – many people who don’t work in the language industry find this strange. But this is the professional standard for translators. Even the biggest associations stress that a professional translation should generally be carried out by a native speaker of the target language. This is the only way to guarantee that the text captures all the nuance of the original and is perfect in every way.
But don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need to translate a text into English. I can recommend some excellent native English translators!
I am VAT-registered and my office is registered in Italy.
I accept payment via bank transfer. If you’re in Italy you can also pay with your debit or credit card. I don’t accept payment via cheque or PayPal.
I usually propose my own collaboration contract, but I’m happy to use your contract if you prefer. Whichever you choose, I can only start work once this is signed.
I usually request a deposit before I start the project and a final payment at the end, or staggered payment. We can discuss alternatives if you’d like to work together on a continuous basis.
Don’t worry about the content of your files:
– I only use cloud services such as WeTransfer to send or receive files if absolutely necessary.
– I only use fully GDPR-compliant services.
– I save my files on my local drive and don’t use cloud tools unless you ask me to.
– I don’t paste your texts into machine translation or AI engines, whether online or offline.
Do you need to work with an Italian scientific translator? Tell me about your project and I’ll get back to you very soon.
Please let me know what your text is about, what file format it’s in, its word count and when you need it by. I’ll then get back to you and let you know if I can help.
If you’d like me to take a look at your file then you can email me at: contact@saratirabassi.com.
© Sara Tirabassi | Design & Sviluppo Demia.org 2025