Sworn Translation in Gaziantep

The paperwork load of an export hub

Gaziantep is one of Türkiye’s handful of industrial and export centres, and that pushes demand for translation here well above the other provinces in the region, in volume and in variety alike. The thousands of businesses producing carpets, food, machinery, plastics and packaging turn out not only goods but a set of documents that travels with the goods. Behind a single container stand the commercial invoice, the packing list, the papers proving origin, the analysis reports, the declarations of conformity and the contract signed with the buyer. To that is added a constant stream of trade fair correspondence, discussions with distributors and requests for technical files. Work from Gaziantep therefore usually arrives not as a single document but as a whole file, and under heavy time pressure.

Origin and movement certificates: the most critical heading

The subject exporters ask about most is origin and movement certificates. Because the country a product is treated as originating in has a direct bearing on the customs duty payable in the buyer’s country, the information on these documents has to match the invoice, the packing list and the contract exactly. A product described broadly in one document and narrowly in another, or a company name abbreviated in one place, can lead to the file being suspended at customs on the other side. Translating these documents is not a matter of invention but of consistency: whatever the description in the source is, the same one is carried over in the same form, and the same rendering is used in every document in the file.

The question of tone in trade fair and buyer correspondence

A good part of a Gaziantep producer’s business is done at trade fairs and in the correspondence that follows them. Here a different kind of work comes into play from the translation of official documents: catalogue copy, product descriptions, letters of offer and follow-up correspondence. With these, a word-for-word translation often backfires; what the buyer reads has to be pitched in a tone that suits their own commercial tradition. A letter written to a buyer in a Gulf country cannot be the same as one written to a chain in Europe. At the same time no exaggeration whatever can be allowed in the product specifications, because a letter of offer may later be appended to a contract.

The points we check as a matter of course in export files:

• The company name, address and tax number are written in one single form across all documents.
• Product descriptions are kept exactly the same across the invoice, the certificate and the contract.
• Abbreviations for delivery and payment terms are not interpreted; they are left as they stand in the source.
• Quantity, unit and currency values are not converted under any circumstances.

Arabic, English and Kurdish: the languages of the market

Arabic comes first in Gaziantep by a wide margin, and the reason is trade itself: Middle Eastern and Gulf markets have long been decisive in the province’s exports, and the buyers, the customs authorities and the distribution channels there work in Arabic. Added to this is the administrative paperwork produced by the Arabic-speaking population settled in the region: school enrolments, civil registry matters, employment contracts. English comes in as the default language when working with buyers in Europe and beyond, with international standards texts and with technical files. Kurdish, for its part, is requested in everyday communication in the region and in some commercial correspondence. You can see our per-page rates on the languages page, and the forms of approval that apply country by country on the countries page.

Delivery that keeps pace with shipping

In exporting, translation is almost always squeezed into a timetable. That is why, for files from Gaziantep, we have made it standard practice to issue the electronically signed copy the same day and to send the wet-signed original on behind it by courier. You upload the document online, the price and the delivery date appear at once, and the sworn signature and, where required, notarisation are completed at our office in Ankara Kızılay. We have no branch in Gaziantep; the service is built on remote acceptance and courier delivery. For firms that work with us regularly we keep the renderings of terms and company titles and use the same ones for later shipments. You can send your first file through the quote form.

This page is intended for guidance; courier times can vary with distance and with the carrier’s schedule. Because practice can change, take the requirement in force at the time of your application as your guide.