Translation Services in Turkey

At the same time, efforts to harmonize with the European Union continue and make efforts to become an information society. These two situations are of great importance for our country. Translation or formerly, interpreter activities are encountered in many fields by individuals and organizations. These services are needed by all those involved in official, social and cultural fields, from state relations to foreign trade representatives, from the needs of businessmen to athletes or artists. Translation persons or organizations provide oral or written communication between different languages ​​and cultures at every stage of international relations. In this respect, translation services have become a branch of profession that requires specialization and professionalism in itself depending on the application fields.

In our increasingly globalized world, borders seem to have disappeared and relations between countries are developing more intensively.

The expressions of translators and interpreters have been used in our language since ancient times. Although it may seem the same, these two concepts are actually different. Interpreters are people who translate a written text into another language. An interpreter is the person who translates any text or speech as it is written or spoken. The term men translator an used today generally includes both concepts.

Today, where technological innovations are experienced so fast, our country is transferring more technology and making more efforts to open up and import activities. For this reason, more quality translation is needed. On the other hand, these developments bring new concepts and new terms and continuous improvement in technical and legal fields is provided. While translation services are provided by translators in private and public institutions' own staff, translation agencies, translation firms and freelance translators are also being provided.

In the first time in our country, the Department of Translation and Interpreting was opened in Boğaziçi University in 1993. The following year, the Department of Translation and Interpreting was opened at Hacettepe University in Ankara and later at various universities. In these departments, predominantly English, French, German, Russian, Chinese and Arabic languages ​​are taught.

The people who will do the translation profession must have high academic and verbal skills, have the power of reading comprehension and memory, have interest not only in foreign language knowledge but also the cultures where the language is spoken and be patient and willing to work on the written texts for a long time.

In general, the main tasks of translators are:

• To translate the written texts, scientific articles, literary works, newspapers and magazines, economic, political, legal, technical and other types of writings in the language to be translated into another language without disturbing the accuracy of the expression and the integrity of meaning.
• To convey a speech in a foreign language to the audience in another language without disrupting the accuracy of the expression and the integrity of the meaning of the speaker.
• To check the accuracy of translations.
• To follow closely the developments in their own language and in the languages ​​it provides translation services.

The legal legislation applied in our country regarding the translation activities is as follows:

• Turkish Penal Code
• Law of Civil Procedure
• Law on Notary Public
• Notarial Law Regulation

According to the Turkish Penal Code, imprisonment shall be imposed if translators appointed by judicial authorities or judicial authorities make false translations. According to the Code of Civil Procedure, the translator is heard if the witness does not speak Turkish. In this case, if it is found out that the translator has deliberately misrepresented the case, a refund of the proceedings may be requested.

According to the Notary Law, in which cases the translators cannot participate in the notary public. For example, translators cannot provide interpreting services if they themselves are related, even if they are divorced, if they are the spouses of one of the persons concerned or if they have certain kinship relations with the person concerned. In the Notary Law Regulation, there are regulations regarding the records and oaths of translators to be used in notary public services.

Translation Agencies in Turkey and Their Services

Translators generally work as translators in their own offices. Certain conditions are required for translations to be able to do this job. For example, they need to complete all the necessary equipment, become a member of a professional organization suitable for interpreting, register the bureau with the Tax Office, get a self-employment earning book and have it notarized, and obtain a business license and work permit from the municipality. If the company is to be established, they must fulfill the requirements in accordance with the company establishment procedure.

Translators registered in a translator office may serve as sworn translators in more than one notary public. Sworn translators should only be involved in the translation of private or official documents. The work of translators without a voucher is not approved by the notary public and is deemed invalid.

Translation agencies generally provide the following services:

• Written translation services (commercial translation, academic translation, legal translation, technical translation, medical translation, control translation, cross translation, translation certified by the translation agency, notarized translation)
• Interpreting services (consecutive interpretation, simultaneous translation, bilateral translation)

In recent years, the translation of files (film, video, presentation, graphics and other formats) using multimedia software has been rapidly increasing. Such translation services include preparing subtitles for series and films, PowerPoint presentations, voice over works, advertising and promotional files.

In addition, the translation services of the web sites to the desired languages ​​have become increasingly common in recent years.

Current Status of Translators in Turkey

Today, the number of registered translation agencies in our country is around 1000. However, this number is estimated to be around 6500 with unregistered online bureaus. The number of translators is thought to be around 50 thousand. The number of interpreters is around 1000. In this sector, the demand for translation is increasing, especially in Russian and Chinese, Kazakh, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, Slovak and Ukrainian. The size of this sector is estimated to be around 200 million dollars. In general, the translation sector has grown threefold over the last 10 years. The size of this sector in the world is around 9 billion dollars.

Today, there is no room for the profession of translation. Translation offices register with the Chamber of Commerce at the opening of the office. The existing legal regulations do not include a direct regulation for the translation profession, the working conditions, fees, standards, rights and organization of the translation profession and the regulation.

Despite this, our country has the following associations are active in this regard: Turkey Translators Association of Translation Association, the Association of Translation Companies, Association of Playwrights and Interpreters, Turkey Conference Interpreters Association of Translators Professional Association of Literary Translators Association of the.

What is TS EN 15038 Standard?

The first published standard to improve and improve service quality from translation activities is the ISO 2006 standard published in 15038 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This standard, which was updated in 2009, was later replaced by the ISO 2015 standard, also published by the International Standards Organization in 17100.

The ISO 15038 standard was published by the Turkish Standards Institute in 2009 with the title TS EN 15038 Translation services - Service requirements. This standard has been prepared entirely for translation offices and these offices have installed systems that comply with this standard immediately.

The standard provides guidance to translation agencies on key concepts in human resources, proficiency in linguistics, project management, customer relations, competence of technical resources and quality management. In other words, this standard includes the basic elements necessary for customers to measure the service level of translation agencies and to decide on the quality of translation.

Today, the enterprises that produce in various sectors are evaluated according to the measurements made by neutral and independent organizations and documented with reference to the relevant standards. TS EN 15038 standard is very important for translation offices.

EN 15028 certificate has been requested by translation agencies in Turkey as well as all over the world. This document is of great importance both for the offices that provide these services and for customers who receive this service.

TS EN 15038 Translation Services Management System consists of three main parts:

• general rules
• Relations between customer and translation service organizations
• Methods in translation services

General rules section includes human resources, technical resources, quality management system and project management.

What is ISO 17100 Translation Services Management System?

The ISO 17100 standard was prepared by the International Standards Organization in 2015 based on the EN 15038 standard. In the same year, this standard was published by the Turkish Standards Institute under the title of TS EN ISO 17100 Translation services - Requirements for translation services.

This standard describes the essential processes, resources and other requirements for the provision of quality translation services that meet applicable requirements. The ISO 17100 standard is intended to prove that translation service providers provide a service that meets the requirements of this standard.

In order to provide a quality translation service, these organizations must develop their resources and business processes in accordance with this standard. In this context, organizations meet the expectations of the customer on the one hand, the conditions of the translation services system on the one hand, the relevant industrial rules on the one hand, the good practice guidelines and the legal regulations.

In addition, the main feature of the ISO 17100 standard is that it does not include interpreting services.

The basic structure of the ISO 17100 standard is as follows:

• Scope
• Terms and definitions
• Resources
• Preparatory processes and activities
• Production processes
• Post-production processes

The standard also includes the following annexes for information purposes:

• ISO 17100 translation process
• Contracts and project features
• Project registration and reporting
• Pre-production tasks
• Translation technology
• List of value-added services
• Sample workflow

In the resources article of the standard, the following principles are stated:

• Regarding human resources
• Professional competence of translators
• Professional competence of corrections
• Professional competence of auditors
• Professional competence of translation project managers
• Regarding technical and technological resources
• Tools for maintaining translation projects and for safe storage, archiving and similar data
• Communication tools
• Translation tools

The professional competencies of translators also include:

• Translation proficiency
• Language and text proficiency in source and target language
• Competence in research, information acquisition and processing
• Cultural competence
• Technical competence
• Field adequacy

The main criteria for translation studies are as follows:

• Proper terminology
• The right meaning
• Correct grammar and spelling
• Lexical harmony
• Compliance with translation guidelines
• Compliance with standards
• Format
• Target audience and the function of the target text

The main difference between the EN 15038 standard and the ISO 17100 standard is that the new standard is more comprehensive and contains a lot of detail. The ISO 17100 standard requires a clear definition of the translation process. In this case, customers who demand translation services have more duties and responsibilities. For the customers, the translation work is carried out according to a certain standard, which means that the translation between the customers and the organizations providing translation services is in accordance with the contract. The ISO 17100 standard provides clarity in this respect:

• Preparation, analysis and determinations
• Competence, processes and documents
• Feedback, control and improvement processes

ISO 17100 Translation Services Management System is a process standard and forms the basis of the agreement between the parties. Therefore, both parties have to pay more attention to the planning of translation projects.

ISO 17100 Translation Services Management System Certificate

The quality of a translation study means that the translation has been done without error and has not lost its meaning in the original text and has been preserved as it is. In this way, translation agencies establish ISO 17100 standard and obtain ISO 17100 Translation Services Management System Certificate in order to prove to customers that the translation they perform is perfect.

Until recently, the absence of a standard for translation work was felt in excess in this sector. The ISO 2006 standard, which was first published in 2009 and updated in 15038, followed by the ISO 2015 standard, which was developed based on this standard and published in 17100, has completed a very important deficiency in this field.

Previously, people and organizations wishing to have translations were concerned about many issues. For example,

• Are the translation studies perfect?
• Has the original text lost its meaning?
• Are translators competent in that language?
• Do translation agencies provide quality services?

Today, translation offices providing services in line with the principles of ISO 17100 Translation Services Management System have proven their international trust in this field.

The advantages of having an ISO 17100 certificate for translation agencies that set up this system and operate in accordance with the standard requirements are as follows:

• The biggest contribution of the system is the trust of the customers who receive translation services.
• The translation organization proves to its customers that it has the necessary conditions for service and personnel competence.
• Customers believe that the translation organization is being monitored and controlled.
• The translation office is always one step ahead of its competitors. The translation office is gaining competitive advantage and increasing its reputation and recognition.
• By having this certificate, the quality of service is also proven. In this context, workflows are streamlined in the work environment, application instructions are prepared, competence and performance evaluation systems of translators are established and all of these increase the quality of the service produced.
• Today, ISO 17100 certification has been a sought-after document in European Union tender specifications. In this respect, translation offices are privileged as suppliers.

The fact that the information, technology and communication sectors are developing at a dizzying pace and new developments in the economic conditions are causing the companies operating in the service sector to struggle to exist and struggle to win under these conditions. Under these circumstances, translation offices are now inevitable to receive ISO 17100 Translation Services Management System certification.

As a result, the ISO 17100 certificate proves that the translation office is in compliance with the required standards and customer requirements. This certificate is issued after the audits to be carried out by the certification bodies. Independent and impartial organizations conduct audits both on the basis of the prepared documentation and on-site audits. During these inspections, it is determined that the most appropriate translator is employed in the translation office and that the translation is controlled by another person who is as competent as the translator.

Comparison of EN 15038 Standard and ISO 17100 Standard

EN 15038 standard and ISO 17100 standard have many things in common. In fact, the conditions required for obtaining the Translation Services Management System certificate in the ISO 17100 standard have been carried only within the framework of ISO standards. Therefore, the basis of the EN 15038 standard is protected and the principles and ISO 17100 certification agencies who want to obtain certification, easily adapt to this new standard. Organizations that have previously implemented the EN 15038 standard do not need to make major changes. The new standard requires that translation agencies only review their systems and make the necessary adjustments according to the new standard.

In the ISO 17100 standard, as in the previous EN 15038 standard, translators pay attention to certain qualification requirements and are required to have diplomas and similar required documents. On the other hand, it is also compulsory to make the correction by another employee other than the translators.

As for the features that distinguish the ISO 17100 standard from the EN 15038 standard, there are many features that differentiate these two documents, although they have a lot in common. The most striking feature of the new standard is that the translation office will develop a separate process to receive and evaluate customer feedback. In addition, the new standard focuses more fully on all other processes. In fact, it is desirable that the activities before and after the translation works start to take place in the processes. When documenting the processes according to the standard, it is required to include various examples and graphs as well as written explanations.

In fact, the ISO 17100 standard focuses on the quality of translators, proofreaders and end readers. In translation offices with ISO 17100 certification, translators, proofreaders and final readers must have sufficient knowledge and experience to be able to make better quality translations and apply more successful methods of solving problems. This point has caused controversy among translation agencies. However, this criterion is an inevitable criterion in order to mention a quality translation study.

The ISO 17100 standard is important for software development and the use of computer-aided translation tools. The aim is to provide a high level of quality.

In addition, according to ISO 17100 standards, translators of a country without a translation training in the education system are required to obtain certificates from the official organizations of the country in order to prove their translation skills.

The ISO 17100 standard also includes new regulations for the knowledge, skills and language skills that project managers should have.

Problems of Employees in Translation Sector

The biggest problem of the employees in the translation sector is the lack of a chambers. For this reason, notarized translations are generally accepted for official documents and translators gain professional gain through notaries. If a Chamber of Translators is established, the translation offices that are members of the Chamber will no longer have to have a notary approval, it will be sufficient to become a member of this Chamber and the approval of the chamber will be started. This will naturally prevent customers from paying a notary fee.

The second major problem of the translators in the sector is the lack of a legal regulation determining the standards and qualification requirements of this profession. Graduates of related departments of universities can establish a translation office or work in one of the existing translation offices without any conditions. However, it is necessary to determine whether these people are proficient in the language in which they will translate by legal arrangements. This naturally affects the quality of translations negatively.

Another problem of the sector is that notary-dependent work creates some difficulties. When the current Notary Law was adopted in 1972, the translation sector was virtually nonexistent. People who speak a foreign language provided this service by working in the notary public's staff. For this reason, in the current law, the definition of translator is made considering the notary translators. Today, notary publics no longer have paid translators. However, although all translation services are provided by translation agencies, it cannot be said that the translation profession is institutionalized sufficiently since the principles of this law are applied. Therefore, the obligation to work dependent on notaries should be abolished.

In terms of European countries, in order to be able to translate in the UK, a translation exam is conducted at the Institute of Linguistics, where the translation ability is measured. In Germany, translation services are provided in accordance with the legal regulations issued by each state.

In order to become a profession in our country, the translation activity must be passed as soon as possible by the law of translation, the establishment of a chamber of translators, the establishment of occupational standards and the proficiency exams which determine the competence of the persons who will perform this work.

ISO 17100 Translation Services Management System What are the Basic Principles?

ISO 17100 standard can fill the legal gap in our country for today. For this purpose, all translation agencies must establish this system in their enterprises and operate in accordance with the requirements of this standard.

The basic principles of the ISO 17100 standard can be explained as follows:

• The basic principle of the system is to arouse trust in customers. The main factor in the establishment of this trust is that an independent certification body certifies that the requirements of this standard have been fulfilled in the translation office.
• The second basic principle of the system is to make a difference in the organization providing translation services. In this way, translation agencies obtain a great competitive advantage.
• The third country of the system is to raise the quality standard in the enterprise. Translation Services Management System brings quality with it. Quality service is provided by defining business processes, preparing application instructions, clarifying the working conditions and determining the criteria for employees.
• The fourth principle of the system is that it gives translation offices privileges as suppliers. ISO 17100 certificate is required in many tender specifications and business contracts, especially in European Union countries.
• Finally, the fifth basic two of the system is to determine the professional qualification requirements that translators and auditors should have. Because these people need to understand the source language, skillfully use the target language, have the competence of translation and recognize the culture of both languages.

Based on the practical practices of the present day, it is sought that the persons who will provide translation services have advanced translation skills and have at least five years of experience in the field of translation.

However, it is worth noting that the ISO 17100 standard features and principles described here are for individuals and organizations providing translation services only. Oral translation studies are outside this system. In the meantime, the International Conference Interpreters Association requires the following standards according to the shape of the cabin:

• For fixed cabins: ISO 2603: 1998 Simultaneous interpretation - Permanent cabins - Requirements
• For portable cabins: TS EN ISO 4043 Simultaneous translation - Mobile cabins - Requirements
• For electrical cabins: CEI 60914 Conference systems - Electrical and sound requirements

As a result, the ISO 17100 Translation Services Management System standard not only provides translation services providers, but also leads editors, final readers and project managers to improve themselves and work more diligently.