Translating small applications: who and how much?

Question

I'm looking to translate several of my iPhone applications to other (human) languages. I've done all the right things in my code and inserted translation table lookups everywhere, so I'm technically prepared.

The problem is, of course, that I don't know even one foreign language well enough to translate my app, let alone the seven or eight I'd like to offer. Nor do I have experience with translators. That leaves me with a lot of questions, like:

1. Where do I find translators?

2. How much do they usually cost? (The application I'd be doing first is small—less than 700 words, not counting marketing material.)

3. How do I ensure they're turning in work that's correct and high-quality? (If I could read what they were giving me, I wouldn't need a translator.)

4. How do I handle the ongoing maintenance of those translations as I change and expand the app? How do I translate release notes? Is it common to have a translator on an ongoing basis for small, quick translations?

5. What important questions am I not asking?

Answer 1

I don't know about the nature of your applications, but a model I've seen widly used for shareware (and freeware) is to offer some of your (beta) users from foreign countries a free license (and maybe free life-long upgrades etc) in return for helping with the translation. Usually such a need for translators is announced on the app's web site.

As for the quality of the translation, you can't tell more than maybe "this string is too long, it breaks the UI" - but you should look for beta users in these languages to try out the translated app and report any error. Ideally, as your user base grows, so will (free) reports of incorrect wording...

Answer 2

Try services like Rent A Coder - there are a lot of people there doing translations, and the prices are very competitive.