UBICA Translation Center Beijing

History

  

Ubica Translation Center Beijing was founded in 2007 by a veteran translator with then 15 years of industry experience. Her passion for the profession and in-depth industry knowledge aligned perfectly with the needs of the market for dependable, specialized legal translation companies. 

At the time, thousands of language service providers crowded the city of Beijing, but few were capable of consistently delivering high-quality legal translations that international companies could rely on for their multi-million dollar deals. This isn’t surprising because, contrary to popular belief, translation is a skilled art that demands industry knowledge, language skills, creativity, and attention to detail. It is only when these elements come together that a person can craft and polish a translation that is as rigorous and brilliant as the original. 

An urgent translation job from an unexpected source led to the founding of Ubica, and ever since then, the company has been strengthening its position in that niche market where quality comes above all else – even profitability. We are heartened to see more and more businesses are beginning to recognize the value of high-quality translations, and fortunate in finding dedicated individuals who can actually deliver them. 

As cross-border exchanges and transactions become more frequent and sophisticated, we believe the demand for reliable translations will be greater than ever. While we are eager to tap into a wider market by expanding our operations and areas of expertise, we will do so at our own pace to maintain the same level of quality that our clients have come to expect and depend on.

Principles

We understand the importance of quality, confidentiality, and timeliness to professional translations. These three qualities are the pillars on which our company was founded and something we fastidiously uphold with any assignment we take on. 

Ubiquitas

Ubica, the name of our company, comes from the Latin word “ubiquitas,” meaning being present everywhere. 

Figuratively, we aspire to “help clients expand their businesses globally by bridging language and institutional divides.” 

Our company’s Chinese name, 优笔客 (YOU-bee-ke), is phonetically similar to “Ubica” and means “serving our clients with excellent writing.” 

Make Your Voice Heard™ 

As our motto “Make Your Voice Heard” suggests, translation is meant to help readers understand the messages conveyed by authors. Good translation removes the communication barrier between authors and readers by allowing them to exchange ideas freely using their native tongue. 

With our English to Chinese translations, we facilitate the reception and understanding of outside information and knowledge; through our Chinese to English translations, we enable domestic companies to communicate to foreign partners with greater accuracy and confidence. 

By our diligent efforts, we attempt to imbue our translation with the same qualities as air – transparent, yet able to preserve the fidelity of the message and carry it to the farthest reaches. 
At Ubica, we make your voice heard.

Our Team

  

We are a close-knit group of like-minded individuals who take pride in delivering quality products and accept nothing less.

Because we believe first-rate translation starts with first-rate translators, we are very selective about whom we recruit. Our translators received their BA, BS, and MA degrees from leading schools such as ESIT (Paris III), Cornell University, Peking University, Beijing Language and Culture University, and Nankai University, and are distinguished from their peers for the following reasons:

  • Solid academic background
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    • Our translators come from a diverse background, with degrees in law, economics, science, literature, etc.
    • Their education allows them to apply what they know and identify what they don’t know, which helps them fully grasp the content and meaning of the original text to produce the most faithful and accurate translation.
    • They excel at translating multi-disciplinary contents.
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  • Excellent language skills
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    • English to Chinese translators are all graduates of top universities in China. Strong Chinese language skills allow them to add a graceful touch to the translated text.
    • Chinese to English/French translators and editors either have English as their mother tongue or possess near-native proficiency and fluency.
    • Our translators are keen readers who can discern and often transfer the subtle nuances between different languages.
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  • A stable, driven translation team
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    • All of Ubica’s in-house translators have been working at the company since the day they joined; they treat each other like family and work well as a team.
    • They are eager to approach new topics, face new challenges, and expand their knowledge.
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  • Effective knowledge management
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    • A stable team is essential to knowledge retention and accumulation.
    • We utilize glossaries and specialized software to manage acquired knowledge.
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    • In addition to our translators, we also have a group of warm, motivated support staff who are integral to the quality of our services. They are on call 24/7 to help clients with their translation needs.

Our Methods

  

Terminological Research

We are often lauded for our accurate translation of industry-specific concepts and terms. This is not accidental but a result of our due diligence through a process we call terminological research.

This process helps us ascertain that terms of a given industry are translated as they are used by professionals of that industry, or in case such convention has not yet been established due to differences in legal and financial structures, that their translation is as close in meaning and scope to the original as possible.

While terminological research is neither our invention nor a proprietary practice, feedbacks from our clients suggest that almost no other translation company in China carries it out to the frequency and depth that we do. 

 

Consistency Review

For quality and consistency considerations, we always try to assign a single translator to a project. However, in the case of large assignments and tight deadlines, we sometimes have to distribute the work among multiple translators.

If such parallel method is used, we will always appoint a senior translator to delegate the work, draw up and maintain a uniform glossary, and review the complete final product line-by-line after all the parts are assembled. Because this final step is handled by a single person, it will take considerable time – often as long as the first draft took – and add substantial cost to our company, but we feel it is necessary for ensuring that the final product is consistent in term use, logic, and language style.

 

Figures and Punctuation Marks

While figures and punctuation marks do not need to be translated, they are as important as any text element in making a translated text dependable and polished.

In legal and financial documents, numerical mistakes (either due to mistyping or unit conversion) are often fatal and thus must not appear in any translation.

Consequently, we often assign one person to double-check these non-translational elements after translation and layout are completed. This helps eliminate numerical or punctuation errors and is a distinctively Ubica practice.

 

Confidentiality

  

We understand that legal and financial documents are highly confidential, so we regard confidentiality as one of our core commitments to our clients.

We abide by the confidentiality agreement we signed with our clients (copy of our default Confidentiality Agreement is available here), and take certain IT and precautionary measures, such as permission-based hard drive and file access and turning off software’s online functionalities, to prevent accidental information leak.

Because all our expertise is in-house, clients can enhance the security of their information further by specifying that their documents be handled by our in-house translators only, rather than a mix of in-house and retainer-based translators as may be required to deliver the translated text by the desired deadline.

 

Value

  

We will be first to admit that our services are not priced for everyone. This is unavoidable due to the quality of our translators and the thoroughness of our QC process. But if you need high-quality translations, you would be hard-pressed to find better value elsewhere.

Lawyers and industry professionals understand that a higher upfront cost will buy them a trouble-free translation that they can use with ease and confidence. This confers cost benefits to employers as their employees would spend minimum time and effort on proofreading and correcting mistakes.

High-quality translation also provides substantial potential value as it greatly reduces the occurrence of and risk exposure from translation errors and typographical errors.