FAQ
Here you can read more about WordPilots, and find answers to frequently asked questions about everything from language combinations and business partners to quality assurance and prices.
WordPilots was established in October 2010. The company is owned by Joan Kiehl, who holds a Master’s degree in English and a Bachelor degree in Spanish. Joan is also an authorised interpreter and translator in English.
WordPilots has a close-knit project management team, a large global pool of carefully selected co-pilots delivering language solutions in their mother tongue, as well as a skilled and highly qualified quality-assurance team.
The company is called WordPilots because we help our customers to navigate words and steer the right linguistic course. Together we land the right message on time!
In addition, we expect a lot of our co-pilots: All our co-pilots are trained linguists and language specialists, and have also clocked up many ‘flying hours’ of practical experience as translators. In addition, they always ensure that all the necessary quality checks have been performed before safely delivering texts to our customers. As a result, our customers are guaranteed reliable deliveries of texts of a high linguistic quality, whether destined for domestic or international markets!
Our logo is both a sharp pen and a paper dart!
Which is no coincidence, of course.
It signals that we are sharp navigators of the world of language and communication, and thus able to ensure that our customers’ projects touch down safely and on time – every time!
WordPilots collaborates with businesses of all sizes across many different industries and both in Denmark and abroad. Our biggest customers work in IT, manufacturing and advertising, and come to us for language solutions in areas such as documentation, software, technology, marketing and law. However, we have many strings to our bow, so please ask how we can help you.
WordPilots works within many different fields, but our core competences lie within IT, telecommunications, technology, tourism, marketing, law and biomedical engineering.
The days of translators working with a pen and paper and a dictionary or two are long gone!
Today, translators work in many different translation programs, with terminology databases and online dictionaries, while also using the Internet as a search tool.
Since all translation work takes place on computers, we need editable source files. Having editable files also allows us to quickly analyse the source texts using our translation tools before preparing quotations, and thus quickly find out how many words the texts contain, and how many sentences – if any – are repetitions.
Sometimes the price can be much lower than expected, as we obviously only expect full payment for a sentence the first time it is translated!
A translation job is priced according to the number of words, the language combination, the content and the complexity of the text. Therefore, the price varies from job to job.
In addition, it is possible to choose to have the translation proofed by someone other than the translator as an extra extra quality-assurance measure.
All translations are saved in customer-specific databases, which means that discounts can be offered to customers who have entered into a cooperation agreement if, in connection with a translation assignment, we can reuse text which has been translated in the past.
In other words, you will not have to pay the full price for the same sentence the second or third time that it is translated.
Our translators use a computer program which saves all sentences in pairs – the source segment and the target segment – in a database, which is referred to as a translation memory.
When the translator encounters a sentence in a text which has been translated before, the program automatically retrieves the translation from the translation memory, and the translator is able to decide whether it can be (re)used as it is or partially in the new context. This saves the translator time, as he or she doesn’t have to think about how to translate the same sentence several times, while also ensuring consistency with previously translated texts.
Last but not least, it saves you, the customer, money, as you do not have to pay the full price for words and sentences which have been translated previously.
Google Translate is an excellent tool for getting an overall idea of what a foreign text is all about, or what a single word means in, for example, Chinese.
However, it is a machine, and as such cannot take into account context, puns, double entendres and other figures of speech which can be crucial for whether or not a translated text works in the target language.
Even though all our translators are highly qualified, and have all been tested within their fields of specialisation and languages to make sure that they meet our quality requirements, we are all humans who can become blind to our own texts and overlook our own errors.
Therefore, it is often a very good idea to have someone other than the translator read the text through after it has been translated. At WordPilots, it is standard practice to proofread all our translations, which guarantees that the translation has been checked twice. However, you can decide against having a second proof if, for example, you are able to have the text proofread in-house.
It depends entirely on the language combination and the subject!
At WordPilots we go to great lengths to match each assignment with the most suitable translator profile – not just the translator with the greatest capacity.
This means that the person who translates your texts always works into his or her mother tongue, has a university degree within language/translation, and possesses extensive experience within the relevant subject area.
In the case of recurring assignments for a customer, we always put together a team of translators and a proofreader who handle the customer’s assignments.
Yes, we believe so!
But we also want to be honest and say that there are some languages that we have more experience with.
We are strong in the Scandinavian and European languages, but we also have vast experience with both Middle Eastern and Asian languages.
Should you find yourself in need of a translation into a completely different language, feel free to contact us. We will do out utmost to tailor a solution for you.
Complete the order form on this page, or email your enquiry to pm@wordpilots.dk. Or pick up the telephone and give us a call on +45 8660 0070 or +45 2644 9939, and our project management team will be ready to help!
Because we use a special translation program with an integrated analysis tool that analyses how many words there are in a text, as well as the number of matches with previous translations which are saved in the translation memory.
It all depends on the scope and content.
Basically, a translator can translate about 2,500 words a day, or approx. seven A4 pages. In addition, the delivery time may also depend on whether the right translator(s) have the capacity to take on the job.
WordPilots works with a large network of translators, which means that we can always find translators with the right profile to take on the job and deliver it as quickly as possible.