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Skunoy platit dvazhdy.
Translation: "The greedy man pays twice."
It's a Russian proverb, and one that the linguistic entrepreneurs of Northwest Translations, Inc., are fond of quoting to prospective clients.
The gist of it is, if you're too stingy to pay for a professional job, you can get an amateur one for less, but you'll have to do it over again.
"Almost all our clients have been burned by non-professional translators," says Jeff Allen, who, with his wife, Enna, launched Northwest Translations about a year ago.
The couple--he's from Boise, she's Russian--serve mainly U.S. firms (including a number in Idaho) seeking to do business in the vast, emerging market of Russia.
Through extensive links with other professional translators and translation agencies, they also offer work in 38 languages, ranging alphabetically from Albanian to Ukrainian.
Needless to say, the Allens, who were married in Moscow (Russia) in August 1993, can't keep that many languages in their heads. No one can, says Jeff Allen, 25.
"The most one person can really know fluently is three," he said. And even for someone who is fluently bilingual, such as wife Enna, 23, translating business documents is no simple matter. They often include specialized or technical terminology that requires research--and understanding--before it can be converted accurately into the target language.
"Sometimes you have to go to a source and read it," he said. "A lot of times, you have to contact experts in the field."
It's no simple matter. For the Allens, the process often requires working nights and weekends, until a result is achieved that is...