What Should I Look for in a Sample Translation?

As mentioned in my tips here, an important part of finding the right translator is to first ask for a sample translation of 1,000-2,000 words. You'll want to verify their skill level, of course, but you'll also want to get a sense of how they work and whether you'll enjoy working with them. After all, book translation is not usually a quick process!

Note that you'll have to pay for the sample translation because the translator is giving you their time, but some translators, like myself, will offer a sample at a reduced rate as well as deduct that amount from the full translation if you decide to proceed with translating the full book.

Skill Level

Unfortunately, I have to say this upfront: unless English is your native language, you cannot rely on your own English skills to do a full evaluation. Your English may be excellent, which will certainly help, but even then you will probably only be able to tell if the translation is bad or acceptable. You most likely won't be able to tell if it's just acceptable or truly excellent.

Even I, as a professional Italian-to-English translator, would not attempt to evaluate translations from English to Italian. I would be able to distinguish between bad and acceptable translations, but not between varying degrees of good to excellent. For that, I would ask an Italian professional.

I know this may be frustrating to hear because how are you supposed to choose the best translator for your book? But don't despair! There are still several things you can do to evaluate the sample translation. When you combine these tips with my other tips for finding the right translator, you'll be in a strong position!

1. Pick one of your most complex or beautiful passages for the sample translation. Ideally, the passage will either have some subtle nuances, cultural references, some wordplays or a joke, or express a particularly deep and poignant concept. Basically, you want to find the passage that is the least straightforward and that you think is the least likely to be able to be translated literally.

2. When you get the sample translation, put your sample passage into ChatGPT, DeepL, and/or Google Translate, and compare. Does it come out identical or nearly identical to what the translator provided you?

To be fair, if you provide the translator with a simple and straightforward passage, there will likely be many similarities between their translation and automated tools. This is why it's important to choose a difficult passage.

3. Have a native English speaker read it and tell you how it sounds. Ideally, this English speaker would also know Italian so they can also tell you if the translation is true to the original. But if not, you can at least have them check for naturalness and fluency. If you're interested, this is a service I offer as well as part of my "Is It Too Good to Be True?" Challenge.

Other Factors

While your goal is of course to get the best possible translation, do not overlook the importance of how your translator works and communicates. Do they ask questions or make comments about the translation? A good translator will almost always have questions because there's often an ambiguity in Italian that needs to be made more explicit in English. This is particularly true if you've given the translator a challenging passage, as I suggested above.

There are usually many word and phrase choices to deal with these issues, but some choices are clearly better than others. A good translator will consult with you on significant questions, rather than making unilateral decisions because they know that a good translation is a team effort! 

A translator's questions and comments will often reveal their level of commitment to your book. You'll begin to understand whether she is detail-oriented or not. In some cases, you may find that the translator seems like a good person and a good translator, but maybe she's just not for you. That's okay! You'll be working with your translator for several weeks or even months, so it's important to keep trying until you find the right match.

Be aware that many people claim to be "translators" simply because they speak 2 languages. How a translator communicates and interacts with you will also be an indication of their level of professionalism. And of course, be sure to combine your evaluation of the sample translation with my overall tips.

See the next article: What Red Flags Should I Watch Out for When Evaluating Translators?