Translation Validation Tips When You Don’t Have a Professional Validator

When professional translation validation isn’t an option

Creating online training for a global audience requires accurate, contextually appropriate, and culturally relevant validation. But what if your organization doesn’t have access to professional translators or a formal linguistic validation process in place?

Good news: You don’t have to skip this important part of the translation process. There are practical, low-cost ways to sense-check translated content, whether that’s using online translation tools or seeking help from bilingual employees. Though scrappy, these quality assurance checks will help you improve the cultural and contextual accuracy of your global online courses.

In this post, we dive deeper into validation solutions for when you don’t have access to a professional validator and need a backup plan.

What is language validation?

Language validation, also known as linguistic validation, is a crucial part of the translation process in which a person fluent in the target language confirms that translated content is technically accurate and captures the cultural nuances of your original training content. Without this step, you may risk employees misunderstanding the translated version in their native language.

Without proper language validation, your training program could include inaccuracies that confuse learners and erode their trust. For example, a football analogy in translated content can confuse learners, since American football is a completely different sport from football…well, everywhere else.

Poor translations can also cause bigger problems. For example, imagine your sales training course uses the common American idiom, “You ROCK!” Americans interpret that as a supportive encouragement, but a direct translation will sound more like calling the sales leader an inanimate, hard collection of minerals one might throw at an enemy. Sure, the translation is technically correct, but it doesn’t make sense. Validators who speak the target native language catch these simple errors and correct them before the final version creates a lot of confusion.

How to choose the right validation method for your document

Different assets require different levels of validation. You may worry that a professional translator is your only option, but the truth is, it depends.

To help you pick the best validation method for your assets, we put together a handy framework that covers validation approaches for low-, mid-, and high-risk documents.

Low-risk documents

Low-risk documents are informational or supplemental materials where minor translation errors won’t impact learner performance, create compliance issues, or lead to legal problems.

Examples include:

• Internal training announcements
• Course welcome pages
• Module introductions

Translation validation tips for low-risk documents

Here are some easy translation validation tips and options to help you translate low-risk documents.

1. Use free online translation tools for forward translation

Use Google Translate, DeepL Translator, or Reverso for a quick, free validation check. Translate your low-risk training content into the target language and scan the output to surface obvious issues like missing information and incorrect terminology. Google Translate is especially useful to validate simple text, like headings, short instructions, and summaries, where the impact of errors is low. Still, the output might contain grammatical errors and awkward literal translations.

2. Use a second tool for backward translation

Reverse translation, also known as back translation, is a quality assurance method where a translated text is retranslated into the original language to ensure the back translation holds up to the original.

Translate a section of your training into the target language. Articulate customers can use Localization for this first pass and expect a highly accurate first draft. Then, use a second online translation tool to translate it back into the original language. Compare the two versions to spot meaning shifts, missing details, or overly literal phrasing.

This approach works best for summaries, introductions, and labels. But mid and high-risk documents require a more robust approach.

Mid-risk documents

Mid-risk documents are assets that guide actions or influence behavior. This means translation errors could impact learner performance, but are not as likely to cause legal or safety issues.

Examples include:

• Procedural guidelines
• Internal playbooks or messaging frameworks
• Quizzes or assessments that reinforce procedural knowledge

Even if you don’t have an expert, you’ll benefit from submitting these to a competent reviewer to ensure clarity, tone, and cultural appropriateness.

Translation validation tips for mid-risk documents

Reverse translation tricks aren’t enough for mid-risk documents like procedural guidelines, internal playbooks, and messaging frameworks, where the impact of error is higher. So, you’ll need to bring in a competent, though not necessarily expert, validator.

Here are a few validator options when skipping the review process won’t suffice.

1. Consult fluent speakers in the target languages

A colleague fluent in the source and target languages can help validate mid-risk documents because they understand the organization’s intent and the target language’s cultural nuances.

For example, an employee based in Canada who speaks fluent Brazilian Portuguese can review step-by-step guidelines for accuracy, tone, inconsistent terminology, and awkward literal translations.

However, being U.S.-based, they may miss locally preferred expressions or subtler cultural nuances.

2. Have a local employee review content

An employee who speaks the target language and lives in the target country (e.g., a Brazilian Portuguese native speaker who lives in Brazil) can flag language that sounds awkward, overly formal, or unnatural to local employees. Because they’re immersed in the linguistic and cultural norms of the target country, they may miss subtle differences from the original language.

3. Ask a trusted community source

A friend or family member who speaks the target language can provide feedback on mid-risk documents, specifically confusing or complex language, awkward phrasing, and whether instructions are clear from an outsider’s perspective.

However, they lack the organization-specific knowledge needed to ensure content aligns with the business’s needs and training intent. They may also fail to pick up on nuances of the target language and cultural references.

High-risk documents

High-risk documents are materials where translation errors could create serious problems, including legal, safety, compliance, or financial risks.

Examples include:

• Compliance courses
• Workplace safety or regulatory training modules
• Legal documents

These documents require professional translators or validators to ensure accuracy, maintain regulatory compliance, and protect learners and businesses from risk.

High-risk documents: When to use a professional validator

Consider using a professional translator or validator when handling high-risk content like compliance course content, legal documents, and workplace safety modules.

Technically inaccurate or culturally misaligned translations of these content types can lead to legal, safety, and compliance issues that put your organization and employees at risk.

For example, say the original version of the organization’s mandatory data privacy and security training course forbids employees from sharing customers’ personal information outside of the company without written consent. But the Japanese translation erroneously allows this.

Employees sharing sensitive data could pose security risks to customers, and the company could also face severe backlash and costly regulatory fines.

A professional translator helps prevent these problems by ensuring mandatory instructions, policies, and safety procedures are translated correctly and that content aligns with local regulations like the GDPR for EU and UK-based employees.

Pros and cons of linguistic validation methods

Now that you have a list of validation options, let’s compare them by considering the pros and cons of each.

Free online translation tools

Pros:

• Best for low-risk content (e.g., course introductions, announcements, optional resources)
• Free and fast

Cons

• Lacks context and cultural nuance
• Grammatical or phrasing issues

Reverse translation

Pros

• Best for low-risk content
• Helps surface meaning drift and missing information

Cons

• Time-consuming
• Requires using multiple translation tools
• Lacks context and cultural nuance

Native-speaking colleague

Pros

• Best for mid-risk content (e.g., procedural guidelines, internal playbooks, messaging frameworks)
• Fluent in source language and target language
• Deep understanding of organization tone and terminology
• Can review accuracy, tone, terminology, and awkward phrasing

Cons

• May miss local phrasing or cultural nuance

Local employee

Pros

• Best for mid-risk content
• Deep understanding of local language and workplace norms
• Can validate tone, clarity, and natural/local usage

Cons

• May miss subtle misalignment with original source language

Trusted community source

Pros

• Best for mid-risk content
• Can validate confusing or complex language and awkward phrasing

Cons

• Lacks organizational knowledge and training context
• May miss professional or industry-specific nuance
• May miss target language nuance

Professional translator or validator

Pros

• Best for high-risk content (e.g., compliance courses, legal documents, workplace safety modules)
• High accuracy and cultural alignment
• Ensures consistency across programs

Cons

• Higher cost
• Longer turnaround time

When choosing a translation validation method, think about your content’s risk level first. Then factor in which free or low-cost resources you have available that will deliver the quality you need to avoid major translation errors.

What to look for in a quality translation

A quality translation isn’t just technically accurate. It also captures the original meaning of the source content, aligns with organizational goals, and fits the workplace training context.

Here are five things to look for when verifying translation quality:

• Preservation of original meaning: Make sure the translated course or content captures the intended meaning of the source material, including tone, context, style, and cultural references.
• Adherence to rules for grammar and mechanics: Check that the grammar, spelling, and sentence structure are correct and consistent in the target language.
• Alignment with company brand and training goals: Translation quality also depends on how well the content aligns with your organization’s brand voice, audience, and training goals.
• Workplace training and e-learning relevance: The translated content should use language, examples, and references that align with e-learning and workplace training.
• Consistent terminology usage: Quality translation ensures specific words and phrases are the same in every language to prevent confusion. This is easier when you have a custom translation glossary, as is the case with Articulate Localization, a localization solution embedded in Articulate’s course authoring platform.

With a top-notch translation, you save hours on rewrites, boost learner confidence, and ensure a better learning experience for your global workforce.

Validate training with the right resources

Just because you don’t have access to a professional validator or linguist doesn’t mean your goal of translating course content is unattainable. Quite the opposite, actually.

With the right resources, you can ensure your training course or program delivers essential information to learners in a way that makes sense to them linguistically and culturally.

Knowing which resources to use when makes the process even easier. While generic tools work for low-risk content like module introductions, medium and high-risk documents require more robust options, especially when compliance and safety are concerned.

So weigh your options carefully. And should you reach the point of needing a professional validator, check out our blog post on how to find the right one.