Tag Archives: document translating service

Can I Translate a Document Myself?

There are a myriad of reasons you might need a document translated fast. If you find yourself in this position and are able to translate into both languages, you may be wondering if you can translate the document on your own. In some cases, you can but for many government reasons, you may not be able to.

At Flamingo Interpreting, we provide interpreters, translators, proofreaders and editors to eliminate errors and speed up the process but what if it’s still quicker for you to translate at home?

What if I’m writing a book?

If you’re writing a book and you want to translate it yourself, you can absolutely do that. Every publisher will have their own translating services or contractors it relies on for these services but in the event you want to do it yourself, you can pitch the idea. In this case, it’s perfectly acceptable to translate yourself. What is most important is that you feel it reflects the story of the original material. If you run into issues or just want to check for general clarity, you can always work with one of our experienced translation editors to proofread and edit the document for you.

What about translating for my wedding?

What if you have specific inside jokes only your friends and family know about you that you’d like to include in your wedding but you’re not super strong in the language? You can submit all of the materials with translations you’ve made yourself to one of our editors who can assist you in getting it just right while still getting your message across

We also provide interpreters for weddings in multiple languages. We’ve worked with members of various religions to ensure we’re following the best practices for ceremonies like these.

What about passport processing?

For passports and many other legal documents, the government will insist on your use of an outside translator. This is for many reasons but we can often work with you to reduce the overall costs. It’s also much quicker to hav them done by an outside entity in case you experience delays.

By using an outside translation service like Flamingo with onsite certifiers and notaries, we can provide you assurance that your documents will be accepted and processed in a timely manner. This is especially important to hire a translator for a death certificate for a passport.

Our translators are familiar with the process and can translate around other cases they’ve seen in the past to reduce your chances of receiving a detail. in addition to this, we. can certify the translations to ensure they’re accepted; something that every government agency will require during the process.

Emergency Translations

Let us know if you need a rush for an emergency, we can work with you to ensure your project is done on time, even if that means within 12 hours. We’ve turned passport documents around in as little as one hour.

To have your next document translated, send in your request here.

For emergencies or rush projects, email Grey@flamingointerpreting.com

Become a Certified American Sign Language Interpreter

In order to become a certified American Sign Language interpreter in New York, you’ll need to study the language, the art of interpreting, learn the culture and sit for the certification test. You can do that in 5 steps.

Get an Education

While many folks will insist that a two year program is enough, you’ll need a bachelors if you want to get certified under RID’s current requirements. Four year programs are available through schools like Rochester’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) and Gaulladet University in Washington D.C. You can find more on the pricing of these programs here.

Study the Art of Interpreting

You’ll find that a solid program will teach you skills like processing, transliteration, deconstruction and more. With a few years of dedication and hard work, you’ll be able to break down even the most mumbled of messages to produce a clear and effective interpretation.

Learn the Culture

You’ll need to spend time in the Deaf community. You can find Deaf events online and make friends through your program. Within the process, you’ll find a beautiful culture rich with language, artwork and mores unknown to the wider hearing world. While Deaf culture can be incredibly layered and vast, it can also been complex to understand. It’s for this reason we always recommend spending as much time giving back to the community as possible. As we are guests, we always want to maintain a warm and inviting reputation within and without.

Sit for the Test

The newest NIC exam is available through CASLI. You’ll need to pay the fees for the exam which you can read about here, before scheduling the first portion which is the knowledge. Part one of the test is most often referred to within the American Sign Language interpreting industry at the written, followed by the performance exam six months later. While these two exams can be expensive, you’ll see that certified interpreters are able to earn a higher wage along with more respect in the community by many of their colleagues.

A Good Sign Language Interpreting Agency & all the rest.

The difference between a good sign language interpreting agency and all the other ones aren’t always clear.

The search for American Sign Language interpreting or spoken language interpreting services shouldn’t be a difficult one. Yet, plenty of companies currently in business market their translating services as quality enough to hold up in a court room. The reality is, those services are cheap, they’re often well reviewed by their own staff and simply don’t have the quality customer service clients require.

Of course if you’re not a member of the interpreting industry you’re probably not familiar with much of the nuance involved in sourcing high quality and professional services. At Flamingo Interpreting, we like to support our clients in finding services even if they choose another more cost effective provider. While we’ve seen many clients return over the years, we’re never thrilled to hear they’ve had a sub-par experience elsewhere. If you’re looking for the right agency and just not sure what to look for, check out our five top categories to pay attention to. 

Communication

Are they proactive in meeting your needs? While it’s common to submit a request with information, it’s more common they follow up with asks for more information including the names of the service users. You don’t have to provide any of this information of course but a good agency will keep an open line of communication with you to ensure that when something does come up, it doesn’t fall through the cracks. 

As an example, we typically get a full idea of what the request specifically will retire before touching base the client when the interpreters is confirmed to exchange contact information. This way, if something comes up specific to the interpretation – you can ensure the party that will be involved is answering the questions. We provide the referral and let you communicate how you see fit. Once confirmed we check in again the day before services are scheduled to double check any changes. 

Prep work

You should expect a great agency to ask you for materials the interpreter can use to prepare their interpretation. If you’re booking a board meeting, they should ask for the agenda. A PTA meeting may call for questions surrounding the topics and relevant notes. A job interview would be best served with the interpreter meeting the interviewer or candidate ahead of time. Most agencies will ask you to always book a couple books out for best results but truly, prep work is king. 

While interpreters are incredible at what they do, they do best in supported environments where all the tools they may need are a their disposal. Often, the best tool in their arsenal is the ability to prepare and embody an interpretation that is clear and effective. 

How do they talk about their interpreters? 

Do they have a personal relationship? 

As an interpreter run company, we only work with colleagues. We’re certainly not the norm. More often than not, the people operating the business are not interpreters. Many coordinators are former interpreters without an active tie to the community. In our world, we focus on fit and comfortability. We work with top quality interpreters, so really we could send anybody but we don’t. We’re not in business to send interpreters to jobs that don’t make sense.

We’re in business to change the industry and help our clients see that when you have the right fit and not just a warm body with an interpreting degree, real magic happens. You can tell this by the way we talk about our people. We’ll ask you questions and give you context for who you’ll be working with in such an intimate capacity. They’re not just another contractor, they’re a colleague with a specific skill set and we’ll help you see how beneficial it can be in your board room. 

What do they specialize in?

Agencies love to service requests for any niche possible. That’s impossible without a massive pool. While generalists do exist, I don’t want a generalist in a speciality they’re not tenured in. To illustrate, imagine having a family physician performing your neurosurgery. You’d absolutely ask for a specialist who has studied the specific arena. Even a neurosurgeon would tell you that within their surgical spectrum there are multiple specialties. We do the same thing with interpreting. While a small insignificant meeting for you may feel like anyone could do it, we care that your best impression is always made with us.

A great agency will be honest and tell you “we don’t do that” and hopefully offer a referral. We work with a handful of partnering agencies we trust and often will refer clients to them for areas we simply don’t work in. We’ve found those clients to be far more successful and retuning to us at a later time because we’ve built a reputation of sending interpreters they can trust. 

Who are they? 

Agencies are made up of people, but their websites are often just icons of the world or a corporate building’s shimmering facade. Find an agency that has people you can talk to and get to know. Those people should be in your corner with every new request and support you long term, a website can’t really do that. When you don’t see any human presence behind the website or social media you’re seeing, it’s a major red flag that they don’t connect with their people, their contracting interpreters or their clients.