Our capacity to work creatively and flexibly, to develop a tailor-made proposal and see it through from inception to public view is showcased in this project for the King Abdul Aziz Foundation in Riyadh. A first step in this project is arranging the translation of the English edition of the book into ten languages: Bahasa, Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Urdu. More than using specialist translators, we have engaged specialist subject and language advisors to work with the translators to review and refine the translations as needed. The next task is to arrange book production – typesetting, proof-reading, printing – and, finally, co-publication in the relevant regions.
Bourchier worked on all three language editions (English, French, Italian) of this book. We first edited the English text and had a page template made up to accommodate the photographs. Next we edited the French and Italian versions, and adapted the text to fit the template.
We translate from and into Arabic, Bahasa, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Urdu.
Our primary criteria in choosing a translator are relevant subject knowledge and native speaker status in the target language. We are mindful of the fact that the meaning and nuance of words in any one language can be variously understood by different cultures. Misunderstandings arise, susceptibilities are offended, sensitivities overlooked. To avoid such problems, we engage language reviewers to comment on and, where necessary, refine the original translation in close coordination with the translator.