Carlos R. Miranda, PhD, MITI
Translator
Services
Translation
Most of the material scheduled for translation is prepared in advance by reading the original documentation, locating additional resources, either printed or in electronic format, and getting ready to start the translation process. The result is a draft translation, which then is reviewed, evaluated and improved to arrive at a final version for delivery
Review
A critical aspect of this process is the use of reviewers/editors and a considerable amount of time spent on research. Two reviewers are involved in every project: the first reviewer is bilingual whose native language is English. The second reviewer is a professional Spanish editor who reviews the translation for grammar, consistency and accuracy.
Research
Research is an invisible part of the translation process but a very critical one. Many other translators prefer to use whatever term they think will fit the bill and move on.
There is a lot of the available information over the Internet, but it must be used judiciously. Many times, the text available as reference can not be trusted and is fraught with errors. Dr. Miranda has been known to find a definite answer no matter what the effort. Here are a few examples:
While translating an anthropology document for a university, Dr. Miranda ran into a critical term he suspected already existed in the Spanish literature on the subject. After some investigating, he located a Chilean born professor in the United Kingdom who was a specialist on the same topic. He was able to provide the specific term.
​
On another occasion, Dr. Miranda was translating a university transcript from a Colombian medical school. When he ran into some abbreviations that he could not decipher, he consulted with the client and even he could not explain their meaning. The solution? A call to the Registrar's office of the medical school in Bogotá to speak with someone who could provide a definite answer. Problem solved.
Typesetting
There are many intricacies associated with the manipulation of foreign languages in a variety of layout applications and in different operating environments. We know what those issues are and we know how to avoid any problems.
​
The typesetting process is handled just as you would handle it in the creation of an English language document. Once the translated text has been approved as final copy, our expertise in typesetting is put to work for you by creating either a bilingual document or a Spanish language document that mirrors your original English. A PDF is provided as a pre-press copy for your evaluation before final files are sent to you or your printer.