Frequently Asked Questions

The answer is very simple – you would go straight to a qualified mechanic for car repairs. You wouldn’t think twice to pay a doctor for medical advice. You would pay for an expensive meal at a Michelin starred restaurant if that is what you crave for. Your niece/neighbour/secretary may well know a bit of the target language, but that does not qualify her/him to translate complex professional texts. Translation is a craft that takes years to learn. Translators and interpreters are also professionals and experts in the subject matter with which they work, who studied and worked hard to be able to do what they do and they continue to dedicate their lives to learning about target language and culture. Translators and interpreters use specialized terminology and technologies peculiar to their particular fields, and most people outside of those specializations are not going to know the correct terminology. Neither should you allow your important documents and texts to be translated by someone simply because they speak both languages. Hire a professional translator instead.

We can produce up to seven translation units per day, but if you need your translation more quickly than that we will need to charge you extra. The surcharge varies between 50% and 100% depending on the complexity of the translation and deadline.

Since quality is our highest priority, we do not agree to deadlines and requirements we cannot meet. Such short deadlines with such a quantity of text bring quality into question because the work then needs to be divided among several translators, which can lead to inconsistency and poor choice of terminology. We develop close client relationship and we want to get to know your language, your style and your specialized terminology, i.e. become a part of your team. If you insist on translation under such conditions, you do so at your own risk, because with such short deadlines there is not enough time for revision/harmonization and fine-tuning of style and terminology.

Google Translate (or some other machine translation software) can be useful for texts that are simple and short, and if all you need is the general gist of a text, but it is currently not advanced enough to understand and reproduce subtle nuances of human language. This actually means that computers can translate words, but not meanings and ideas. Therefore, for business or professional purposes Google Translate is a bad idea. The results can range from incoherent and misleading to bizarre and, in some cases, outright offensive. The question is how will you know when this happens? Google Translate can return only literal word-for-word translations, without differentiating between personal names, place names and common nouns – it simply translates everything! Additionally, machine translation is not suitable for translations involving creativity, such as poetry, novels, short stories, advertisements and exhibition catalogues. If your communication is valuable and important to you, then you need accurate, context-sensitive translation, which is best achieved with a human translator/interpreter.

As with everything in life, quality comes at a price. It’s true: good translation isn’t cheap, but can you really afford not to use a professional service? Good and cheap do not go together – with translation you really do get what you paid for. Good translation requires time and it is not only about translating words, but also the meaning behind them and what they are trying to convey. Many words or expressions cannot just be copy/pasted into another language, so translator/interpreter needs to be fully familiar with the nuances of language s/he is translating from and into. Good translator/interpreter is someone who fully understands your message and is able to efficiently transmit it to people from another culture, speaking a different language and thinking differently. Besides understanding the context, translators must look up difficult or technical words and consider the use of each word. The text then has to be checked for errors and omissions. Cheap shortcuts always come at a price, and that is why the price of a quality translation/interpreting service is always higher – good translators/interpreters can guarantee the quality of their work. Just one bad translation can turn your customers against you and damage your reputation and business. Like everyone, your foreign customers/colleagues/partners/employers expect clear, useful information in a language they understand.

We provide both non-certified and certified translation services. Certified translations are done by court interpreters, translators appointed by a competent County Court or Commercial Court of the Republic of Croatia. In order to become an authorized court interpreter, the translator is required to fulfil the conditions established by the Ordinance on Permanent Court Interpreters (Official Gazette No. 88/08, 119/08).

Many governmental agencies, medical boards, employers, and academic institutions require a certified translation. If you have been asked for the “certified translation” of a document (a diploma, marriage license, divorce decree, birth certificate, ID card, etc.) you can simply send us the document, and we will provide a certified translation. The translation is certified with the translator’s stamp and signature, thereby guaranteeing the authenticity of the translation.

There are different methods of interpreting, depending on the type of event and the number of people involved. Simultaneous Interpreting is a specialized type of interpreting where a team of two interpreters works in a soundproof booth and interprets for the target audience with the help of audio equipment. Simultaneous interpreters interpret in real-time, at the same rate of speech to the speaker, with a very short lag time. The interpreter must be skilled at translating the sentence into the target language while listening to and comprehending the subsequent sentence at the same time. This method is usually used for conferences and events attended by a large number of people. Simultaneous interpreting requires interpretation equipment.

In consecutive interpreting, the speaker speaks first, then pauses to allow the consecutive interpreter to repeat what has been said in the target language. In most cases, the consecutive interpreter will also be taking notes in the target language while the main speaker is talking. Consecutive Interpreting does not happen in true real-time, as the speaker must be pause to give the interpreter time to speak. This method is used for small meetings, court proceedings, medical settings, etc. In consecutive interpreting there is no interpretation equipment required.

Chuchotage (whispered interpreting) is a form of simultaneous interpreting where the interpreter whispers what the speaker is saying to the client in the target language. It does not require special equipment, but it best suited for small-scale events, such as business negotiations, workshops, presentations and small meetings, when the interpreter only needs to interpret for two to three people. However, this can cause disruption for other participants as well as the speaker.

According to the standards of the profession, interpreters work in pairs and effectively swap over at convenient points throughout the meeting or conference. Interpreting demands so much concentration that one interpreter can be effective for periods of 20 – 30 minutes. Interpreters need to listen to the speaker carefully, understand what is it that s/he is trying to say and find the right words and way to say it in the target language – all within seconds. It’s a fast-paced job that requires a great deal of attention and energy, and it’s difficult for any interpreter, even the best ones in the industry, to maintain high-quality interpreting over extended periods of time. A good interpreter always wants to do their best regardless of the number of people listening to the interpretation, and expecting one person to handle the burden and stress of simultaneous interpreting for longer periods of time is unreasonable and could result in interpreting mistakes.

We deliver and charge any work that has been completed up to that point, without charging penalty fee.