Specialist translation for research & R&D Scientific translation.
Scientific translation by subject specialists with a master’s degree or a PhD. Submit your papers, dissertations and patents ready for publication: specialist translation that gets the terminology right, with full confidentiality for unpublished research. Request a quote now.
Audited and certified four times overTranslation partner to companies with high standards
- Text types and fields: we translate publications, dissertations, patents and clinical reports in medicine, engineering and the natural sciences.
- Academic standards: native-speaker specialist translators with a master’s degree or a PhD keep the content exact and the terminology consistent.
- Cost and speed: from €0.05 per word (depending on language pair and field), standard in three to six working days, express in 24 hours for conference and journal deadlines.
The challenge with publications
Factual exactness ahead of a rough sense of the meaning
Scientific texts differ sharply from general translation. In research, what counts is factual and terminological precision. Terms have to follow the internationally recognised nomenclatures, from IUPAC in chemistry to the ICD-11 catalogue in medicine. Paraphrase is not an option.
A frequent reason for rejection in the peer review of an international journal is the quality of the language (“poor English”), not the research itself. tolingo rules that risk out. We staff your project with subject matter experts who follow the scientific discussion in your field and know the specific journal guidelines (Nature, The Lancet, IEEE and others).
When research is carried into another language, we watch every quotation and source reference closely. A faulty translation of an outside source can be judged as translation plagiarism by a university or a journal, with serious consequences for a scientific reputation.
Our editors in editing and proofreading also check the formal citation standards (APA 7th edition, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE) carefully.
Types of scientific text
From the conference abstract to the global patent
Medicine, engineering, the natural sciences or the humanities: we cover the whole span of the academic and industrial research cycle. As an ISO-certified translation agency we run every project through defined quality processes.
Abstracts, methodology, discussion and conclusions, adjusted in style and form to the guidelines of international peer-reviewed journals.
Legal and technical precision. One wrong word in a claim can narrow the scope of protection severely. Strict NDAs protect the IP.
Specialist translation and editing of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral theses for international publication. Citation standards checked.
Study protocols, informed consent forms (ICFs) and toxicology reports, translated to the standard for submission to the EMA or the FDA.
Abstracts and scientific posters for international conferences. Edited directly in InDesign (IDML) with no loss of layout.
EU applications (Horizon Europe), DFG proposals and BMBF project outlines, terminologically precise and persuasive in the target language.
How your scientific translation runs
From the upload to a version ready to publish
- Document analysis and SME assignment
We look at the field, the density of terminology and the target journal. On that basis we assign a specialist translator with the right academic background, a physicist with a doctorate for a Nature Physics paper for instance.
- Terminology synchronisation
Before translation we match your specific terminology against our termbase, so your terms are translated consistently across the whole document.
- Specialist translation in the source format
Translation happens directly in the native format (LaTeX, XML, InDesign). Formulae, code tags and layout are left untouched. Only the running text is extracted and translated.
- Academic revision (four-eyes principle)
A second, independent subject specialist checks the translation under ISO 17100 for factual correctness, terminological consistency and adherence to the journal guidelines.
- Quality assurance and delivery
A final check of the citation standards, a layout check and delivery in the format you want, with a certificate of accuracy for your submission. Standard delivery: three to six working days, depending on language pair and volume. For a tight deadline we offer express translation with delivery in 24 hours.
“I am delighted. What I like most is the very friendly, personal service and the high quality of the translation.”
Publication-ready translation, without the “poor English” rejection.
Secure academic subject expertise for your next paper, patent or proposal.
Free · No obligation · Reply in ~10 minutes (within business hours)Technical workflows
Translating native data formats (LaTeX and XML)
Scientific texts are rarely written in plain Word. To spare you copy-and-paste errors and tedious reformatting, our translation systems work directly in your source files. Unlike many agencies that only accept Word or PDF, we handle the common technical translation formats natively.
| Document format | Where it is used | How the tolingo workflow handles it |
|---|---|---|
| LaTeX / TeX | The standard in mathematics, physics, computer science and anywhere with complex formulae. | Our systems protect the code tags. Formulae, tables and BibTeX references stay untouched. Only the running text is extracted and translated. |
| XML / DITA / JATS | Structured research databases, open-access journals and technical manuals. | A native XML parse or a direct API connection. The hierarchy of the document and all its metadata stay intact. |
| InDesign (IDML) | Scientific posters for conferences, printed publications and annual reports. | Translation directly in the IDML file. We fit changes in text length (“text swell”) to the existing layout, with layout adaptation. |
| Word / PDF | The standard format for dissertations, expert reports and the humanities. | Formatting, footnotes, endnotes and bibliographies are carried over exactly. |
Quality assurance and standards
Certified processes for academic exactness
Scientific translation is not a commodity. It takes time, research and academic knowledge. Our quality assurance rests on certified processes.
| Standard | Scope | Why it matters for scientific translation |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 17100:2015 | International | Defines the four-eyes principle: every translation is revised by a second, independent specialist. Required for publication in Nature, Science, The Lancet and others. |
| ISO 18587:2017 | International | The quality standard for post-editing machine translation. Relevant for large literature screenings and internal research data. |
| ISO/IEC 27001 | International | Information security: protecting unpublished research data, patents and pre-prints from unauthorised access. Servers in Germany. |
| DIN EN 15038 | EU | The European predecessor of ISO 17100. Some universities and research funders (DFG, BMBF) still name it explicitly as a reference. |
| APA / Harvard / Vancouver | Field-specific | Citation standards that have to be preserved exactly in the target language, to avoid translation plagiarism. |
Transparent prices and delivery times
Planning certainty for research institutions
A high-quality human translation in a scientific field usually costs between €0.05 and €0.28 per word, depending on how rare the language pair is and how complex the field (nuclear physics against general sociology, say). Common pairs such as German to English start at €0.05/word.
Standard delivery is three to six working days, though it varies with volume and language pair. Is a conference deadline or a journal submission imminent? Our express translation delivers in 24 hours, complex specialist texts included. The express surcharge is shown transparently in the quote.
For working through large volumes of data (foreign-language research datasets, systematic reviews or literature screening) we offer post-editing (MTPE) under ISO 18587 as an alternative, which brings the cost down substantially at that volume. And where a segment already sits in your translation memory as a 100% match, it is discounted by 60% to 70%.
Ready to publish internationally?
Rely on terminological exactness and academic know-how for your next paper, patent or proposal.
Certified to ISO 17100 and ISO 27001 · Strict NDAsGlossary: scientific translation
Terminology & quality standards
- Subject matter expert (SME)
- A translator who, alongside linguistic training, has completed a degree in the relevant field, molecular biology, mechanical engineering or law for instance.
- Four-eyes principle (ISO 17100)
- The global quality standard for translation. Every translated publication is revised by a second, independent academic for factual and terminological correctness.
- Translation plagiarism
- Taking someone else’s ideas into another language without attribution. tolingo makes sure all formal citation rules (APA, Harvard, Vancouver) are preserved in the target language.
- Termbase
- A dictionary specific to an institution or a project that keeps terms, units of measure and chemical compounds translated consistently across the whole document.
- CAT tool (computer-assisted translation)
- Software that supports the translator, with a translation memory, terminology checking and quality assurance checks. Not the same thing as machine translation.
- Back-translation
- A validation step in which an independent linguist translates a finished document blind back into the source language. Standard practice for clinical trials and ethics committee submissions.