STATS: English, Spanish and Portuguese on the Internet

English, Spanish and Portuguese comprise three of the top five languages on the Web. Let’s take a look at some statistics reflecting these languages’ influence on the Internet.

English

  • Number of native English-speaking users on the Web: 565.0 million (as of May 31, 2011)
    % of English-speaking Internet users with respect to total population of English speakers: 43.4%
  • User growth from 2000 to 2011: 301.4%
  • Percentage of total Internet users: 26.8% (Overall ranking among top 10 languages: #1)
  • % of websites available in English (as of December 31, 2011): 56.6%

Spanish

  • Number of native Spanish-speaking users on the Web: 165.0 million (as of May 31, 2011)
  • % of Spanish-speaking Internet users with respect to total population of Spanish speakers: 39.0%
  • User growth from 2000 to 2011: 807.4%
  • Percentage of total Internet users: 7.8% (Overall ranking among top 10 languages: #3)
  • % of websites available in Spanish (as of December 31, 2011): 4.6%

Portuguese

  • Number of native Portuguese-speaking users on the Web: 82.6 million (as of May 31, 2011)
  • % of Portuguese-speaking Internet users with respect to total population of Portuguese speakers: 32.5%
  • User growth from 2000 to 2011: 990.1%
  • Percentage of total Internet users: 3.9% (Overall ranking among top 10 languages: #5)
  • % of websites available in Portuguese (as of December 31, 2011): 2.0%

A quick analysis of the numbers points to the following facts that translation buyers should be aware of:

» Figures show that there’s still a great deal of room for growth among all three languages, in terms of the number of users and the amount of content available. Although English leads the charge as the “language of the Web,” not even half of all English speakers are on the ‘net, and Spanish and Portuguese lag even farther behind. As the economic outlook continues to improve in Latin America and Brazil, user growth among speakers of Spanish and Portuguese should be particularly strong.

» Despite an explosion in the number of Internet users among the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking populations over the last decade, access to content in those languages remains severely limited. Those businesses looking for a competitive edge will invest in translations of their web content into Spanish and/or Portuguese.

Statistical data courtesy of Internet World Stats and Wikipedia

More information on the English Language
More information on the Spanish Language
More information on the Portuguese Language

 

How to Handle Client Feedback about a Translation

As the great Latin proverb reminds us, To err is human. Inevitably, there will come a time when – in your capacity as a professional translator – you will make a mistake. On the flip side, clients may demand changes to your translation or, worse, ask for a literal translation of the text, in which case maintaining the integrity of the translation while keeping your client happy may pose a significant challenge. Learning how to deal with clients in a diplomatic fashion in either of these scenarios is an important skill for translators.

When a mix-up, error or disagreement occurs, consider applying the following three rules:

1) Own up to the error;

2) Tell the client you’re sorry;

3) Try to make things right.

Additional points for dealing with client feedback:

» Never respond to a client in anger or frustration. It’s easy to fire off a nasty email or phone call when you’re in the heat of the moment. Take a few hours to collect yourself (or wait until the following day) before addressing the problem.

» Ask the client to point out the specific problem areas in the translation. It’s difficult to improve upon your work if the client doesn’t offer examples of quality issues.

Keep in mind that clients (even non-native speakers) who are well-read on the translation’s topic will likely have intimate knowledge of the vocabulary used within a particular field; in this case, the client’s feedback about terminology may well prove to be valuable. However, when the client insists on changes that badly mangle the translation, politely and gracefully point out that you’re a professional linguist, trained to craft natural-sounding, readable text for native speakers of your language. In situations where the client’s changes are stylistic and do not affect the quality/correctness of the translation, it may be best to bow to his or her preferences.

» Don’t take business issues personally. Stay calm and professional, and try to place yourself in the client’s shoes.

» In some cases, when you simply can’t see eye to eye with your client, the best course of action may be to part ways. Not all clients are a good fit.

Ten Keys to Success as a Freelance Translator

The ultimate key to profitability for any freelance translator is to assemble a core group of steady clients who will keep you busy with quality projects. Follow these tips to find success.

1. Stick to deadlines

Clients need to know that they can rely on you to deliver a project on time. If you can’t meet the deadline for a project, don’t accept it.

2. Follow instructions

While you likely have your preferred way of doing things, if a client gives you specific instructions for a project, follow them. Clients will take notice and send more work your way.

3. Value your clients’ time

It’s important to clarify doubts about a project with the client; however, you should make an effort to keep emails or phone calls brief and on point. Respect your clients’ time as much as you respect your own.

4. Be easy to contact

If clients can’t contact you right away, they’ll simply get in touch with another translator. Place your full contact information in your email signature, and put an auto-responder on your email if you’ll be away from your desk.

5. Be friendly and accommodating

Go the extra mile for regular clients. Show your customers that you value their business.

6. Seek out constructive criticism

Request feedback about your translations from your regular clients to determine where changes to your work flow can be made.

7. Don’t take clients for granted

Freelance translators’ success lies firmly in the relationship with their regular customers. Consider a small gift for clients at the end of the year as a token of your appreciation.

8. Don’t quarrel

If a potential client offers you an extremely low rate for a translation, courteously decline the project. There’s no need for negative or insulting comments.

9. Refer colleagues

Don’t be afraid to recommend trustworthy colleagues who work in your language combination when you’re too busy to take on a project. You’ll get your client out of a jam, and colleagues will likely reciprocate when they find themselves in the same position.

10. Charge clients what you’re worth

Give clients a high level of service, and they’ll be willing to pay what you’re worth.

Tips for Organizing Translation Files

Busy translators quickly accumulate a wealth of files that must be kept organized. Storing your translation files in a haphazard manner not only leads to frustration but can also have a negative impact on productivity. Kick off the New Year right by applying these tips to get your computer’s hard drive in order (and keep it that way!).

1. Create a specific folder for your translation files.

2. Apply a consistent method when naming files and folders, categorizing projects by agency name, dates, and/or word count.

3. Restrict the length of file names.

4. Maintain separate files for ongoing and completed projects.

5. Group similar projects together.

6. Create shortcuts instead of copies for documents that pertain to different folders.

7. Explore the possibility of storing files in the cloud.

8. Clean up files and folders on a regular basis.

Researching Neutral Spanish Terms and Dialect-Specific Terms

When creating advertising campaigns, website content, or other materials geared toward a diverse Hispanic audience, companies are wise to consider the use of neutral Spanish (sometimes known as international Spanish). Translators and writers employing neutral Spanish seek to produce a text that is universally understood by Spanish speakers by avoiding regionalisms and colloquial language that hint at a particular dialect.

Multinational corporations with employees spread across the globe benefit from the use of neutral Spanish when translating manuals and corporate communications, as translation costs can be contained by producing one broadly understood text rather than translating into various dialects of Spanish. The same holds true forU.S.companies employing a significant number of Hispanic workers, who most likely hail from different parts of the Spanish-speaking world.

Conversely, it’s often desirable to target the text to a specific group of Spanish speakers. For example, if a company launches a product in Latin America, consumers will identify more closely with the product and the campaign if an effort is made to tailor the copy to reflect idioms and vocabulary employed in theAmericasrather than inSpain.

Challenges Inherent to Selecting Neutral Terms

While producing a text in neutral Spanish may sound simple, the fact is that identifying neutral terms is quite challenging. The Spanish language is rich with variants, and a true neutral Spanish does not exist in the real world (think Received Pronunciation in the U.K.or Standard American English in the U.S.). As such, translators may encounter difficulties when trying to determine the appropriate term to use when the target audience is a group as diverse as U.S. Hispanics or Spanish speakers worldwide. For instance, the word “car” can be translated as carro, auto, automóvil, or coche. Which term is the most neutral (i.e. widely understood)?

It’s important to learn as much as possible about the text’s target audience before beginning the translation. If possible, try to determine which region or country most of the Hispanics in your target audience come from (e.g.Spain, the Caribbean,South America). For example, if you’re translating a text to be used in the court system of the State ofCalifornia, that state’s Latino population consists largely of Mexicans or those of Mexican descent, so you may want to favor Mexican vocabulary if you’re undecided about the best term to use.

Search Tips for Neutral Spanish Terms

The key to translating a text to neutral Spanish is selecting the vocabulary that will be most widely understood by Spanish speakers, regardless of their background.

1. Consult several dictionaries to determine all possible translations of a term. Resources such as the DRAE and Jergas de Habla Hispana are particularly useful for identifying the countries or regions where a particular term is utilized.

2. Perform a search for the term you think is the most neutral in the Spanish language version of Google (click on the option at left that says “Buscar sólo páginas en español” to ensure that any stray English language results are removed).

3. Compare search results for different terms and see which one has more hits.

Selecting Terms to Target a Specific Group of Spanish Speakers

If most of your target population come from a particular country, then search for terms in the version of Google specific to that country. For example, in the case of Argentina, search at google.com.ar. Click here for a list of all the countries with specific Google sites.

Excluding Countries from Your Search

When translating for a particular country or region, you may want to remove certain results from your search. For example, if you’re targeting Latin America, you will want to search in the Spanish language version of Google without seeing results from Spain. To remove results from a specific country, type your search term and then site:-.xx, where xx represents the country’s domain extension (.es forSpain, .ar for Argentina, etc.).

How to Type Foreign Language Characters and Accents

For translators, those studying a foreign language, or anyone living in a bilingual environment, the need to type foreign language characters or accents frequently arises. This situation poses a problem for those utilizing English language keyboards, since accent keys and other characters unique to Spanish or Portuguese, for example, are non-existent. However, it’s simple to set up additional keyboard layouts in Microsoft Windows, which allows you to switch between an English keyboard and a foreign language keyboard with just one click as you’re typing, whether in a word processing program or in your browser. This method will work with most, but not all, Windows applications.

Directions for adding keyboards in Windows 7:

  • Click Start>Control Panel>Clock, Language and Region>Change keyboards or other input methods
  • In the new window, click on the Change keyboards button. This action opens a new window called Text Services and Input Languages.
  • Click on the Add button. Scroll down to the desired keyboard and double click on the name of the language. Double click on Keyboard and place a check next to the specific language option you want. Click OK within that window. Click Apply then OK in the Text Services and Input Languages window.

You’ll find that keyboard layouts are available for a number of languages; however, it’s important to note that these layouts do not always correspond to the classic QWERTY layout used on U.S. English keyboards. Some characters—punctuation marks in particular—will not match those printed on your keys.

Once you’ve installed the additional language keyboards, holding down Alt + shift will allow you to toggle between the various languages. You can also click on the language bar icon in the system tray to switch to a different language.

If you use a limited set of special characters or accents across a number of applications, it may be worthwhile to learn some Alt key codes while maintaining the default U.S. English keyboard settings. This method involves pressing the Alt key plus a numeric code (using the number pad with Num Lock on) corresponding to an accented letter or special character. The Alt key codes work in virtually all programs. Below are some examples of codes:

ALT + 0225 = á
ALT + 0233 = é
ALT + 0237 = í
ALT + 0243 = ó
ALT + 0250 = ú
ALT + 0241 = ñ

Latin American Spanish Keyboard Layout

European Spanish Keyboard Layout

Brazilian Portuguese Keyboard

How Translation Rates Are Set

While some translators or translation agencies may charge per line, per standard page of text, or even per hour, the most common method for determining translation rates is to calculate them on a per-word basis.

Translators work from the original or source text to create the translation, also known as the target text. Translators use the word count function of their word-processing software or translation tool to determine the number of words contained within the source text. Translators then generally charge x number of cents per source word, taking into account the subject matter and technical complexity of the text. When it’s not possible to determine the word count using software (for example, in the case of some PDF files or hard-copy documents such as faxes), translators or agencies will typically use the target word count instead.

Charging per source word instead of per target word offers an advantage in that the translator can provide a firm price estimate to the client in advance of the translation. Furthermore, in the case of translations from English to Spanish, rates based on the source word count will result in a lower cost for the client since, as a result of text expansion, the target text in Spanish will contain more words than the English source text.

If the client requests special formatting and/or desktop publishing services, these fees are generally charged separately from the translation itself.

Some clients inquire as to whether translators charge for seemingly insignificant words such as “the” and “a.” Yes, these words count too. It’s important to recognize that translators translate meaning, not individual words. Even small words like these necessitate a great deal of thought because they must be considered within the overall context of the phrase.

In the case of technical documents or other texts suited to translation with translation memory (TM) tools, an agency or translator that utilizes this software may be able to offer a discount for repeated segments of text within a document.

 

Should Translators Work for Free?

Everyone knows you can’t get something for nothing…or can you? These days, it seems that many big name Internet properties, particularly those involved in social media, are trying their darnedest to get users to contribute their knowledge and expertise with no promise of remuneration, a practice commonly referred to as crowdsourcing. But as a professional translator, should you offer your services for free? Are there situations where it’s worthwhile to work without expectation of payment?

Translators devote significant amounts of time and effort to research terms, compile glossaries, and craft the language of their translations, and most are adamant about being paid a fair wage for what they do. Many translation professionals see crowdsourcing and the like as exploitation, preferring to work on personal projects or other endeavors if they have extra time on their hands.

Although not alone in the hunt for unpaid volunteers, the social network LinkedIn really managed to ruffle a few feathers two years ago when it asked members who are professional translators if they’d be willing to translate the site “for fun” or in exchange for nothing more than a profile badge. This move generated a great deal of controversy, with members noting that such requests devalue the translation profession—a vocation that already struggles for recognition.

Others argue that if one is keen on working for free, it’s best to do so for a non-profit. Translating for a non-profit organization can help translation students or recently graduated translators gain experience and build their resumes, all while working for a good cause. Many seasoned translators volunteer their time or charge a reduced rate as a means of giving something back to the community.

There are, however, certain instances in which it may be beneficial for linguists to donate their time and skill to profit-making ventures. For newly minted translators looking to build a name for themselves and get their foot in the door, collaborating with large websites may prove worthwhile.

For example, in May 2010, TermWiki was launched. The site encourages users to contribute translations with the goal of “collecting every single term in every single language, to be made freely available to the world.” In addition, the site’s “My Glossary” feature allows users to build glossaries for sharing with friends and colleagues.

The advantage for translators looking to gain a bit of name recognition is that TermWiki links the users’ names, the companies they represent, and their professional details to each entry submitted to the site. The company promises exposure to participating users as their contributions rise to the top in the search engines.

For experienced translators with limited free time, these types of projects are not terribly sensible from a business standpoint. Whether one enjoys participating on a personal level is another matter altogether; however, it’s wise for professionals of any stripe to think twice before offering their services free of charge.

The Meaning of ‘Atorrante”‘

Argentine Spanish is strewn with words and colorful phrases from Lunfardo, a rich vocabulary born on the streets of Buenos Aires in the second half of the 19th century. Now considered a fixture of the Spanish language in Argentina (especially in and around Buenos Aires) and Uruguay, linguists cite the use of Lunfardo as a defining characteristic of the Rioplatense dialect. Add a dash of Argentine flavor to your Spanish vocabulary with the Transpanish blog’s ongoing feature highlighting some of the most frequently used terms in Lunfardo.

In Lunfardo, the word atorrante commonly refers to one who avoids work and other responsibilities or one who lacks honesty and respect, with concern only for his own personal gain. In addition, atorrante carries the following meanings:

  • When used to describe a man or a woman (atorranta in the case of a female) – scum, bum, tramp, layabout, crook, slacker, good-for-nothing, naughty, cheeky
  • When used to describe a woman – whore, slut, easy, promiscuous
  • When used to describe a child – prankster, mischievous, cheeky
  • When used to describe an animal – mutt

The origin of the word “atorrante” is uncertain; however, there are two widely held explanations as to its etymological roots.

(1) It’s said that in the early 20th century, vagabonds and indigents slept inside huge cement pipes being installed for an important public works project in the City of Buenos Aires. Allegedly, the French-made pipes were emblazoned with the name of the manufacturer A. Torrent, and the men spending the night in these pipes gained the moniker “atorrantes” as a result.

(2) At the turn of the 20th century, unemployed men who came looking for work at general stores were offered the job of roasting coffee beans (to roast/toast = torrar). The raggedy-looking folks given this task later came to be known as atorrantes.

Related words in Lunfardo:

atorrantear – to loiter; to go out and have fun, especially at night; to go out in search of someone to have sex with

atorrar– to sleep

The word “atorrante” appears in the lyrics of popular 70s tune “Cara de tramposo” by Argentine pop and tango singer Cacho Castaña.

Cara de tramposo

Cara de tramposo y ojos de atorrante
con el pelo largo y la lengua picante

Dejó la Argentina buscando horizontes
en un viejo barco fue de polizonte
en tierras lejanas buscando fortuna

 

Translation and Interpretation Challenges in the Field of Criminal Justice

Professionals specializing in court interpretation and translation provide an extremely important service during criminal justice proceedings. However, despite these professionals’ best efforts, controversy over the interpretation of testimony or translation of legal documents frequently arises in court cases.

Mark Cohen, a New York defense attorney with Spanish fluency, remarked that interpreters encounter occasional difficulties when interpreting for people who come from a different region of the Spanish-speaking world. For example, Mr. Cohen noted that when a South American interpreter assists a client from, for instance, the Spanish Caribbean, the interpreter might struggle with slang words or phrasing unique to that region. To avoid this problem, it is advisable to secure the services of a court interpreter who hails from the same region as the person requiring language assistance, whenever possible.

Defense attorney Arnold J. Levine noted that a question that crops up during jury selection is whether potential jurors can put aside their personal knowledge of a foreign language and accept the interpretation and/or translation presented by the language professionals involved in the case. Jurors who come to doubt the accuracy of a court interpreter’s performance can have disastrous effects on a trial – including the declaration of a mistrial.

Read more at the New York Times’ City Room Blog.