HOW TO TRANSLATE

FIRST

as i as know one very important aspect of translations is the choice of terminology. For this it is highly advisable to get yourself a good computer translation dictionary. When I first started translating I had an impressive library of translation dictionaries, but once I finally migrated to a computer dictionary, I marveled at the amount of time I used to spend leafing through endless pages looking up words. Not to mention that I often had to look for the same word seven times over before it sunk into my head. And not to mention that I'd often have to leaf through several dictionaries before finding the term I was happy with. The advantage of a computer based translation dictionary is that you can add terms to it. So if you do have a fancy library of dictionaries and occasionally need to refer to it, it is no problem to add your research to custom develop your dictionary. A single dictionary you can refer to, which instantly accesses your term for you by simply typing in (or copying) the word and pressing ENTER. MUCH faster. I have to admit that, when previously referring to my paper dictionaries only, I'd often rather guess than waste another minute leafing through endless pages, so you can expect your quality to improve as well.
Custom developing your dictionary also applies to any research you might perform on the internet. There are a lot of online dictionaries to be found, and we have added a lot of them (and hope to continue with this endeavor) to our translation resources pages.
When using your computer dictionary, you obviously want to develop proficiency in the old ALT TAB, which allows you to switch quickly between different software open on your computer. Or if you are translating from a source file on your computer (such as a .pdf file as opposed to from a printed document), you may already have two programs running for your translation needs, in which case using ALT TAB for a third program could get annoying and complicated. In this case I press Escape to minimise the dictionary after use, and the mouse to summon it back.

But even with your library of paper dictionaries, robust and customised computer dictionaries, and the world of on-line dictionaries, you may still run into times when you simply do not find a clear term. In such cases, or when I am trying to decide between several possible terms, you might try searching the term on google. The term with the most results (number of pages out there containing the word) would probably be a better choice, as it is obviously being used more frequently.
Or for very specific terminology, you might try surfing for the source term, in case one of the pages mentions the translation (useful when translating into English).

courtesy of http://001yourtranslationservice.com/translating/translation-tips/translation-tips.html