Translation and Quality Assurance are One and the Same at ICS-translate

What Is LQA in Translation?

LQA stands for linguistic quality assurance or sometimes language quality assurance. The term refers to the system a language service provider or translation agency puts in place to catch errors and inconsistencies in a text. Here are some examples of the issues a good LQA system could flag in a translation:

• Incorrect or inconsistent use of a client or industry’s specific terminology
• Spelling mistakes or inappropriate stylisation of a brand
• Poor file naming etiquette
• Content from the source text (the original) missing from the target text
• Missing punctuation or double spaces
• Formatting errors

LQA Is About More Than Proofreading

Brands and businesses in every sector need to produce content at some level and will therefore be aware of the importance of proofreading to catch errors of varying size and implication. Where translation is involved, there are extra considerations, which is why linguistic quality assurance is a key service.

A hybrid approach combining experienced eyes and skilled software users is how we pinpoint not just inconsistencies within the final text but anything that doesn’t quite match or capture the intent of the original.

Active Translation Quality Assurance

While it’s important to run final checks for guaranteed accuracy and consistency, true efficiency can only be gained by checking throughout. At ICS-translate we use CAT tools that check as we translate, preventing potentially wider issues in the first instance as well as capturing them before the texts go live.

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