Happy translation day!

Translation Day

September 30th is the date on which translators across the globe celebrate International Translation Day, and it is also the feast day of St. Jerome. Considered the patron saint of translators, St. Jerome is known for translating the Bible into Latin. Launched officially in 1991 by the International Federation of Translators, International Translation Day an opportunity for translators everywhere to promote their profession, show solidarity with their colleagues worldwide, and display pride in a profession that is increasingly taking center stage in this era of globalization.

It’s also a day to reflect on the many changes in the work of translators and interpreters over the last several decades. From handwritten translations that were typed up on manual typewriters and sent via courier or ordinary mail, to electronic documents created using a word processor with input via electronic keyboard or voice recognition program and emailed in a matter of seconds, the changes in the profession are enough to make a veteran’s head swim…not to mention the virtual dictionaries and other references, online communities, and instant consultation of colleagues across the globe that have made the work of translating both faster and easier.

And that’s good news, because the demand for translation and interpretation is growing faster than ever. Translators and interpreters are key factors in growing businesses globally and are also becoming increasingly important in nonprofit and social aid projects, including providing urgently needed translation and interpretation services during the refugee crisis taking place in the Middle East and Europe.

The work of translators and interpreters often goes unacknowledged by the wider world, and today is a great opportunity to draw attention to the growing importance of this time-honored profession across borders and across industries.

And don’t forget to give yourself a pat on the back; after all, YOU know just how hard you work!

Happy Translation Day!

 

Financial Risk Management for Translators

Translators generally work in the field because they enjoy translating and, at the same time, can earn a living at it. Translation – like many other liberal professions – is a purpose-driven activity that demands constant decision making on a daily basis, with the concomitant risk that a wrong decision can have a negative impact on the translator in terms of economics and reputation.

Freelance translators are especially vulnerable to financial risks because they are often one-person businesses in which one slow-paying or non-paying client can cause cash flow problems, wreaking tremendous havoc on their business and personal finances.

While there’s no way (other than asking for full payment in advance) to be 100% sure that a potential client will be a reliable payer or not, there are a number of steps you can take that will minimize your financial risk when considering a project from a client.

Translation Risk Management

1. Know the client. You want all the details you can find: full company name, address, telephone number, email and Tax ID. Emails from sites like Gmail, Yahoo, hotmail and so on are a warning flag: legitimate businesses have their own websites and their own email addresses. You can use Google Maps to get a look at their address, which should appear appropriate for a business. You’ll also want to check this information against the purchase order (more than that below).

2. Explore the client’s payment history. There are several sites that have information about translation agencies’ payment reliability. One of the most popular is ProZ’s Blue Board, which is available at www.proz.com/blueboard/. On the Blue Board, ProZ members rate the client from 1-5 and may leave a short comment about their experience with the agency. Another excellent option is Payment Practices at www.paymentpractices.net. The annual subscription fee is $19.99/€19.99, but you can check out the service with its seven-day free trial. Subscribers can check the PP database of more than 11,000 translation agencies for responses and comments, and use its PP Reliability Score and Translator Approval Scores, along with translator feedback, to decide whether to work for a particular client. Translation Ethics, at translationethics.blogspot.com.es publishes a blacklist of agencies, scammers, non-payers and low-payers. For a list of email addresses related to suspected scammers (payment issues are not addressed), see www.translator-scammers.com, which lists over 3,800 suspected scammers and warns translators about the latest trends in scamming. Finally, Black Sheep, at www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=4871593, has an active internet community that shares information on agencies with payment issues.

3. Look at the files provided for translation. Examine them thoroughly and identify the steps you will need to take in order to deliver a quality translation to your client on time. These steps include: making an accurate word count (again, to be checked against the PO), estimating any significant research to be done before the translation, format conversions (if required) and any page formatting to be taken care of after the translation itself is finished. If extensive pre- or post-translation work is needed, note this for inclusion in the quote.

4. Agree on a delivery time with your client. Remember, the translator is doing the actual work, and is the best person to estimate how long it will take to do the translation and any formatting to the professional standard required. Experienced translators know what volume they can produce on a given day, and they should not allow clients to push them into making an unrealistic time commitment, no matter how “urgent” the project is. Because translation has become a globalized industry, it is essential to specify the time zone…and to take it into account when calculating the time the translator will need to complete the project.

5. Agree on a rate for the project. Do not assume that the rate proposed by the agency is to be paid for all words; many agencies expect discounts on words or phrases that repeat within a document or set of documents, or are already in a translation memory supplied by the client to the translator. Rates vary widely across languages, times zones and geographical locations. Don’t forget to establish when and how the job is to be paid: upon delivery, or 30, 45 or 60 days after reception of the invoice via check, bank transfer, PayPal, etc. Some agencies will accept invoices only on the last day of the month and calculate payment from that date, so this should be clarified before accepting the project.

6. Get a purchase order BEFORE beginning work. This is highly advisable with all clients, but absolutely essential when working with a new client. A purchase order must include all the information listed in the preceding points – client’s full business name, address, telephone/fax number, tax ID and email, job description (ID number, file number, project name, etc.), documents to be translated, source and destination languages, services to be provided (translation, editing, formatting, transcription, etc.), delivery format and deadline (date and time, with time zone specified), rate agreed on – including any discounts for matches/fuzzies if using a CAT tool) – and exact payment terms.

A legitimate client will have no problem providing you with all of the above; after all, it’s in both the client’s and the translator’s interest to have the project’s responsibilities and obligations spelled out so that everyone knows his job and what is required.

Bad clients, scammers and non-payers will often give you the runaround when you ask for a PO, change the project conditions (rate or deadline) after you’ve begun translating, or offer to issue one after the project is delivered. There is no logical reason for a translator to accept this behavior, as it simply increases risk and reduces guarantees for the translator while doing the exact opposite for the client, who is seeking to protect himself at the translator’s expense.

Freelance translators need to work, but this need must not blind them to another, greater need: to be able to collect, as agreed on, the money earned.

Translating Adult Content

You may have never thought about it, but adult films, websites, magazines, literature, games, comics and packaging for toys and other products don’t translate themselves; someone translates them, and that’s where the adult content translation specialist comes in.

porno-translation

And adult content is a big and potentially profitable niche market to specialize in: according to Forbes, together with internet-related businesses such as websites and pay-per-view movies, traditional porn-related businesses like adult magazines, video sales and rentals and toys and products move billions – some say as much as $14 billion – a year.

Logically, there are translators willing and eager to provide services to such a large potential market; however, those that take that step often run into a problem common to many translators, but that is somewhat more challenging in this field than many others: the lack of terminology resources.

Until just a few years ago, translators had no reliable resource for erotic terminology, a serious issue when you consider that, like slang, erotic terms vary widely from one country to another, and even from one generation to another. What’s more, the lack of information on the correct term can lead to the use of barbarisms, or foreign terms, and the concomitant impoverishment of the source language.

This was the driving force behind the creation of ETEP (Estudios de Traducción en el Erotismo y la Pornografía) in 2011. The collective’s three goals are to get academia to take an interest in sex due to its great importance, broaden studies to include other cultural media (e.g., comics and videogames) and, finally, to get students interested in a market niche of millions of consumers with tremendous financial potential.

And this market is no longer limited to the typical low-budget porn shorts. There is a growing number of adult film directors – both male and female – for whom the plot, and even a message (sometimes ideological), are also important. Erika Lust, for example, casts her actors carefully, imposes high production standards and believes that pornography can be an educational tool as well as pleasurable. Lucie Blush defines herself as a feminist porn director who wants to respect actors, characters and audience, and Antonio Da Silva makes art porn films featuring poetry and narration.

Translating films that are meant to be more than simple eroticism is as demanding as translating literature, and it’s not something usually covered in standard translation studies programs. Translating other adult content has its challenges, too, which is why ETEP has designed a course on translating adult content literature that covers everything from types of adult literature, sex toys, creativity, humor, comics, fetishes, author’s rights, BDSM, the current market and research.

Is translating porn for you?

Would you put it on your résumé, if you did?

Let us know what you think!

Starting a career in translation

translator careerIn a world whose globalized market means that the positive or negative evolution of one nation’s economy can have effects – sometimes devastating – across the planet, there is one industry that has continued to grow both in complexity and extension due to a seemingly never-ending demand for information sharing: the translation industry. Recent studies from Common Sense Advisory reveal that the translation industry is estimated to be worth over $33.5 billion globally, with predictions by some that it could reach $39 billion by 2018. In the US, this means some additional 12,400 jobs – a 36% increase – by 2019. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also predicts a whopping 46% percent growth between 2012 and 2022, far greater than the average 11% growth for all careers.

Two factors are driving this exponential growth, and both seem to be long-term trends: businesses expanding to new markets abroad, and increased immigration

With this increasing demand for translators, it’s logical to ask how exactly does one become a translator.

Most translators arrive at their profession via two main paths: education or practical experience.

More and more universities are offering degrees or professional certificates in translation (or translation and interpreting), and there are also, of course, the traditional on-campus programs as well.

Another option, and one that is actually quite common, is to use the experience gained from working as a professional in another field – law, architecture and medicine are common – and apply it to translation work.

Speaking a second language, though, is not enough: Regardless of the path chosen, there are requirements that any translator must meet, and these include native-level language ability in the language you wish to translate into (professional translators generally translate into their native language only); an outstanding knowledge of the foreign language you are translating from, including cultural nuances; excellent writing skills (you must be able not only to understand the source text, but also replicate its style and register); analytical skills (to understand what you read); research skills (for terminology); and IT skills (technology plays an increasingly important role in today’s translation industry, and is key to an efficient business operation).

And there’s another personality trait that can make you a top-level translator: curiosity. Curiosity drives the translator to learn new skills, look up unfamiliar words, research unfamiliar subjects and, in general, to nose around the topic of the translation at hand until he not only understands the words in the translation, but the concept as well.

Most translators work as freelancers; in the US, earnings average about $45,000 a year. However, depending on the language combination (translating from French into Chinese, for example, commands a higher rate than translating from Spanish into English) and the industry (a local community center or a Fortune-500 company), salaries can run into six figures.

One downside to the industry is the fact that there are few official standards that place limits on who can call themselves a translator, and few official bodies that certify translators (the main body in the US is the American Translators Association). As a result, the industry has been flooded with amateurs who attempt to compete with professionals, which makes degrees and certifications invaluable tools when offering translation services.

The exponential growth of the translation industry has opened the door to language lovers who have the skills and knowledge – and are willing to expend the time and effort to develop them to their fullest potential – to create communication bridges worldwide, and translation professionals are always glad to welcome fellow professional translators into the world of multilingual communication.

Translation events – June 2015

translation-conferences5-7

ABRATES VI. Brazilian Association of Translators (ABRATES),
Sao Paulo, Brazil

4-5

2nd International Postgraduate Conference in Translation and Interpreting Studies at Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland

7-10

5th IATIS Conference. Belo Horizonte, Brazil

12-13

InterpretAmerica, 5th Anniversary InterpretAmerica Summit
Ride the Way: Finding Opportunity in Uncharted Waters
Monterey, CA, USA.

13

Northern California Translators Association (NCTA), Workshop: Getting Started as an Interpreter, San Francisco, CA, USA.

13-14

ProZ.com 2015 international conference Rotterdam, the Netherlands

18

Bridge for Out of Eden Walk: 21,000 Miles of Social Media in Translation. The International Multilingual User Group (IMUG).
Menlo Park, California, USA

Overcoming the Challenges of Agile Localization Globalization and Localization Association, webinar

18-19

Localization unconference, Munich, Germany

18-20

TAO-CAT-2015. Université Catholique de l’Ouest, Société française des traducteurs. Angers, France

19-20

Simposio Hispanoamericano de Traducción Especializada y Nuevas Tecnologías, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

20-21

IJET-26. Japan Association of Translators. York, UK

26-28

Translation Forum Russia. Business Bureau of the Association of Interpreters. Moscow, Russia

27-28

NZSTI 2015. New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters. Wellington, New Zealand

29-Jul 1

Game QA & Localization Europe,IQPC, Barcelona, Spain

 

 

Prioritizing your Translation Needs: Quality, Speed and Price

quality-translation

When you have a large – or even small – translation project at hand, there are three factors that you should take into consideration when choosing a translation agency, and they come from the classic quality/speed/cost project management triangle.

In an ideal business world, your goal would naturally be to achieve all three goals, and end up with a top-quality translation, delivered quickly at the lowest possible price. However, in the real world, achieving all three goals equally can pose significant challenges. Let’s see why.

One flaw in this paradigm is the assumption that these factors are of equal importance, but this is a fallacy. In the business world, poor quality is never an option for a company who wishes to keep its clients and grow its business. In this globalized business environment, your company’s written materials – especially its website – are its calling card. And how very important that card is: a 2011 study carried out by Briton Charles Duncombe, who manages online shops in various industries, found that spelling and grammar mistakes undermine the credibility of the company and the trust of the consumer, often in the first 10 seconds the web page is viewed. What’s more, spelling errors can have devastating effects on the SEO, as search engines will not find a keyword if it is misspelled. The total cost of business lost due to these kinds of errors is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

So, if we agree that quality must be the top priority, where does that leave speed and cost?

Actually, these two factors also affect quality, since a top-quality translation will require finding just the right translator who is available and able to deliver the translation on time. Urgency can negatively affect translation quality, as working under time constraints limits the translator’s ability to carry out effective research for accurate terminology and to polish the translation to perfection. Price, too, can have a major effect on the quality of the translation, as good translators rarely come cheap; they are highly skilled professionals whose skills are in constant demand and they have no need to work at a discount rate.

The bottom line is that if you’re looking for a quality translation, you’ll want a good translator who has been given enough time to deliver the translation you need for business success, because anything less can cost your business far more than the money you save when you prioritize cost over speed and quality. Translation errors can be excruciatingly costly both in terms of finances and reputation.

Times have changed, yet no matter how globalized business becomes, the old adage that “you get what you pay for” has never been truer or more important to your business’s success.

 

Keeping Your Translation Clients Happy

One of the most important keys to a successful career as a translator is keeping your client happy. To do this, it’s crucial to understand the difference between a “happy” client and a “steady” client. A steady client is no doubt happy with your work; this is a logical conclusion, otherwise he would not return with new job offers. A happy client, however, will think of you first when his company wins that large project. A happy client will value your attitude, reliability and accessibility and be happy to negotiate proper compensation for your work, knowing that there are no worries when he’s put the job in your hands. A happy client (if a project manager) may well recommend you to his colleagues, bringing you even more work.

Keeping your translation clients happy involves what is really a series of common-sense principles that will set you apart from (and above!) the rest, help you build a strong relationship with your client, and keep him happy so that he’ll keep coming back with those well-paid and interesting projects that keep translators happy, too.

translation customer and translator

Follow these tips to build the kind of relationship that will keep your client satisfied and your agenda full:

Be open and honest about your skills, experience and production. Clients need to know that you can handle the job. No one is an expert in everything; if it’s a field you don’t work in, just say so. Being honest builds trust, which is essential to keeping your client happy.

Keep the lines of communication open. This can be especially true with new customers with whom you haven’t yet established a relationship. If the delivery date is more than a few days away, consider giving a few updates as the days or weeks pass. This will let your client know that his project is important to you and that you are making good progress.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. As mentioned above, no one is an expert in every field, and sometimes the original text itself needs to be clarified. Admitting that you need more information is not a weakness; it is a sign of a true professional and will be welcomed by clients who put quality first.

Be available to your client. One advantage of freelancing is setting your own hours; the downside is that you need to be available to your customers in order to assess and accept potential projects, and this can cause conflict with your work-life balance. There’s no perfect solution, but one way to set some limits is to make your availability (however many hours a day or days a week that may be) clear and then be absolutely consistent about sticking to it. This is also an important consideration if you work with – or are targeting – clients in distant time zones.

Stick to your deadlines. Your client will be very happy to turn the job over to you knowing that it will be delivered on time or before. Again, knowing that you can be counted on to keep your word is key to keeping a long-term relationship.

Pay attention to the details. Little things count! Attention to fonts, spacing, layout…even something as seemingly minor as whether one space or two should follow a period gives that extra bit of polish that will tell the client you care enough to offer not just a brilliant translation, but to deliver it in a package that’s good to go.

Overdeliver. A little “added value” can go a long way. Everyone likes to have his expectations beaten, and surprising your client with an early delivery or letting the client know when you spot a potential error in the source text will show that you value his business and want to contribute to his success.

Request feedback. The best translators know that we never stop learning, and some of the best folks to learn from are our own peers. Ask your client for feedback, if appropriate for the project, and take the time to study it. No one likes to make the same mistake twice (especially with the same client), and letting the client know you’ve studied his feedback and learned something from it is a way to show your appreciation for his time and effort on your part.

Finally, bill on time. It’s certainly counterintuitive, but customers sometimes find that translators delay billing them. Your hard work would generate the desire to demand the compensation due, yet it seems that invoicing is one of those “kick the can down the road” kind of tasks that some translators would rather do “mañana” because they’ve just received another “urgent” project request. Not only can this cause cash flow problems for the translator, but it can for his client as well. Invoicing a June project in October can throw off your client’s bookkeeping, and this will most definitely not make him happy.

As a freelance translator, you can win and keep happy clients who will offer you interesting and well-paid projects by following the tips above.

Let us know what you think.

Translation events – March 2015

Translation events

2

ATA 56th Annual Conference. American Translators Association (ATA). Miami, FL, USA.

2-6

GDC, UBM Tech Game Network, San Francisco, California USA

7

NITA 2015 Annual General Meeting & Translation Theories Seminar. Nevada Interpreters and Translators Association (NITA). Las Vegas, NV, USA.

Spotlight on Literary Translation in Dallas Irving, TX, USA.

11

Maximizing ROI for Machine Translation, KantanMT, Milengo, webinar.

12

tcworld India, tekom, Bangalore, India

14

28th Annual CATI Conference. Working Globally, Networking Locally. Carolina Association of Translators & Interpreters (CATI). Raleigh, NC, USA.

17

tcworld China, tekom, Shanghai, China.

22

GALA 2015, Globalization and Localization Association (GALA), Sevilla, Spain.

23

think! Interpreting, Globalization and Localization Association, InterpretAmerica, Sevilla, Spain.

23-24

Sixth Annual Translation Conference, Translation and Interpreting Institute, Doha, Qatar.

26

An Evening with Translators without Borders, The International Multilingual User Group (IMUG), San Jose, California USA

27-28

Mid-America Chapter of ATA (MICATA). MICATA Symposium 2015.
Continuing Education: The Road to Success for T&I. Overland Park, KS, USA.

The Translation and Localization Conference, Localize.pl, TexteM, Wantwords, Big Talk School, Warsaw, Poland.

28-29

4th Monterey Forum Educating Translators, Interpreters and Localizers in an Evolving World. Monterey Institute of International Studies. Monterey, CA, USA.

3-31

Webinars Proz.

2-30

Cursos presenciales. Colegio de Traductores Públicos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.

 

 

 

Bad translations are not always a laughing matter

A professional translator is far more than someone who speaks a couple of languages; a professional translator not only has native-level skills in both languages; he or she will consider both the terminology and register of the message to be interpreted (the text), and also the target audience to which it is directed.

Errors in register, terminology and culture can result not only in a garbled or inaccurate message, but can cause PR and legal nightmares as well. A poorly translated contract or tender may lead to faulty business decisions with enormous financial and PR fallout. Cross-cultural translation blunders can confuse or even offend target audiences, especially in new markets, resulting in negative financial consequences and damage to a company’s reputation. And while some of the translation mistakes you see below are funny, it should not be forgotten that inaccurate translations of medical prescriptions and medical information have actually resulted in the injury and death of patients.

Bad Marketing Translations

 Translation errorsSource: Rudy.Keysteuber @ Flickr.

 

Bad TranslationSource: Heima001

 

Bad Restaurant TranslationSource: raquelseco

Funny translationSource: Acula 

Bad TranslationsSource: Quinn.anya @ Flickr

Taking a holiday from translating

Freelancing Vacations

Working as a freelance translator can mean long workdays and workweeks when business is good, and it’s often hard to turn down job offers in what can be a feast-or-famine business.

But – perhaps precisely because of the intense workload and its mental and physical toll – translators must take care to ensure they get the rest they deserve and which is so essential to maintaining the high-quality work that brings in new clients and keeps old ones satisfied.

While month-long holidays may not be realistic for most freelance translators, there are ways that they can get that well-deserved mental and physical break while keeping their clients happy.

Below are some things to keep in mind when planning your get-away.

Finances

The rates you charge for your work should take into account all the things that a salaried employee’s wages would ordinarily cover: living expenses, health care, retirement, time off work for illness and holidays, etc. By setting aside the amount allocated to vacation time every month, you won’t find yourself having to take on extra work before and/or after your holiday.

So, now that you can afford to take a few days off work, the next step is:

Communication

Most clients understand that translators are human beings who need a break now and then, so let them know well in advance (a couple of weeks, or even more if you’re working on a long-term project). This gives you time to work on two solutions to keeping your clients’ translation needs met: getting ahead on long-term projects, or finding someone you can either refer your client to as a temporary substitute or to whom you can send work that you will ultimately forward to your client. If you think the latter may be a good option, be sure to check with your client and get their approval for outsourcing. If the former option is feasible and you choose to do it, you’ll have to increase your production before your holiday, but you will have the satisfaction of keeping your client happy while bringing in some money ahead of time.

Accessibility

Even when you’ve made arrangements with your clients for getting translations while you’re on holiday, you’ll still probably want to check your email once or twice a day, just to keep an eye on things and make sure that any unexpected matters can be attended to before they become emergencies. Luckily, with Internet connections being practically ubiquitous, connecting with a smart phone or tablet and handling any issues takes just a moment, and can be done from nearly anywhere.

Enjoy

If you’ve made all the right arrangements, you should have no worries about taking full advantage of your hard-earned and well-deserved rest. Remember that a mental and physical break will recharge your energy and creativity, making you more productive than ever when you sit down and switch the computer back on.