A guide to understanding translation costs

Posted On December 1, 2014By TranspanishIn Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers, Translations/ No Comments

In today’s globalized world, accessing translation services can be as easy as googling “translations” and taking your pick from the myriad of options appearing on your screen. You’ll find translation agencies and freelance translators all ready to undertake your translation project…for a price.

Some lower-end agencies charge a flat-rate per-word fee for a particular language. In some cases, you can even go to a website, enter the source and target languages and the number of words to be translated and be given an automatic quote. No consideration is given to the many underlying factors that determine whether a translation project is done to a professional standard or not…for these service providers, translating your document is simply a matter of languages and number of words. These agencies usually have lists of translators and mass-mail project offers to them, with no consideration given to expertise or experience. Quality is secondary to their goal of getting the job done as quickly as possible at the lowest price, period.

But in the business world, your website or printed documentation may be all that you have to give that great “first impression” that will grow your business. In the business world, a professional appearance and top-quality products can make or break a company. The best translation agencies understand that, and are ready to partner with you to show your clients – current or potential – how great your company is.

And it all starts with your words…translated into the language of your current and potential clients.

Translation fees

But just how are translation costs determined?

There are a number of factors that top-quality translation agencies (and translators) take into account when offering a quote for a translation project. The most important include:

Language pair. Logically, translations between common languages (such as English and Spanish, for example) cost less than translations between less-common languages (e.g., Swedish, Gaelic, Croatian) or between unusual language combinations (e.g., Spanish to Finnish) simply as a result of the law of supply and demand. If the target language is a specific language variant (Chilean Spanish, for example), your translation may cost more than if you request a general language variant (e.g., Latin American Spanish).

Agency or freelancer? A translation from a top-quality agency will generally cost more than a freelancer’s translation due to issues like business overhead, etc. However, choosing to go with an agency may be the right option for you if you need your text translated into a number of languages (for example, in the case of on-line businesses with a global target audience), as freelancers generally offer services in one or two languages only. Also, translation agencies have quality control processes that usually include at least one proofreading by another translator or a professional editor.

Subject matter and level of complexity. Here the rule is quite simple: the more difficult the subject matter is, the higher the translation rate. Top-quality translation agencies have a roster of translators who are highly experienced in specific fields; they may have received training in the topic in question, worked professionally in the field or have translated a large number of similar texts in the past. Rates for texts that are complex, highly specialized, technical or otherwise demanding are higher in order to compensate the increased level of expertise of the translator carrying out the project.

Turnaround times. Perhaps you’re in a rush and need your translation “yesterday”…or maybe you’re not and you’re happy with having it ready for you next week. Deadlines are another determining factor in translation pricing. Top-quality translation agencies have quality control processes that usually include at least one proofreading by another translator or a professional editor and – like anything else that is done well – this takes time. If you have a highly technical document, if the language combination is unusual, if your text requires DTP services, getting your document through the entire translation/quality control process becomes more complex, as does assembling the team that is going to carry out the project. Longer deadlines give agencies and translators more leeway in finding the most competent, yet cost-effective, providers of the services you need, and that means a lower cost for you.

Volume. The economy of scale does apply to translations. Handling one large translation project consumes less time and fewer resources than the same number of words spread among several projects. This means that the costs in human and material resources are lower for the agency or translator, and should mean a savings for you, too. This is also true for regular clients; once the agency or translator gets to know your particular needs (style, terminology, etc.), you may be able to negotiate a lower rate.

Document format. Simple formats (MSWord or plain text) take less preparation and handling than complex formats (documents converted from .pdf files, or documents with DTP characteristics such as brochures) as the latter cost more because it takes more time to process them.

Extra services. In today’s fast-paced world, it often makes sense to turn an entire project over to one service provider, and translating your document or website is no different. Top-quality agencies often offer one-stop shop complementary services so that you don’t have to seek out a DTP specialist or web page designer to get your project up and running. Of course, these services entail extra charges, but the savings in time, effort and stress may more than compensate the cost. When the team working on your project speaks the languages involved, you can rest assured that your web page or document will contain no language-based errors.

When you consider entrusting the translation of your document to a translation agency or freelance translator, remember that the text to be translated will be part of your company’s image and that it is far easier to create a good brand image than it is to fix a poor one. Put your company’s image into the hands of experienced professionals who will provide the expertise and outstanding quality you need to show your business in the very best light.

Translation events in December

Posted On November 24, 2014By TranspanishIn Tips for Translators, Translations/ No Comments

2-3

Courses offered in December. Colegio de Traductores Públicos de Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Interverbum. Advanced Terminology and Knowledge Management with TermWeb. Webinar.

SDL Trados Studio 2014 for Project Managers – Beginners session.

8-10

Game QA & Localization 2014, IQPC, San Francisco, California, USA.

9-10

CLiC-it, Computational Linguistics Laboratory, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.

3rd Lawyer Linguist virtual event. Proz. Online event.

12-13

Going East: New and Alternative Traditions in Translation, Center for Translation Studies, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Conferencia regional de ProZ.com en Barcelona, España.

15-16

On Translated Meaning, University of Geneva Faculty of Translation and Interpreting, New Zealand Centre for Literary Translation, Geneva, Switzerland.

Introduction to SDL Studio GroupShare 2014 (in Russian) | Обзор SDL Studio GroupShare 2014.

Croqueta, azotea and coco: Some lunfardo words for head

Posted On November 21, 2014By TranspanishIn Languages, Lunfardo, Spanish Language, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/ 1 Comment

Lunfardo is a rich and often slyly humorous dialect, and nowhere is its imaginative use of language more evident than with the plethora of words it has for “head” (cabeza in standard Spanish).

As can be expected, many of these terms are related to its shape:

coco – coconut

mate – the hollowed-out gourd used for drinking yerba mate

calabaza – pumpkin

melón– melon

cucusa/cucuza – from the Italian cucuzza (pumpkin)

croqueta – croquette

marote – from the French marotte (dummy head used to display wigs or hats)

bocho/bocha – the wooden ball used to play the game of bocce.

Others relate to the head’s position on the body:

azotea – roof terrace

cúpula – cupula or dome

chiminea – chimney

bóveda – dome

terraza – terrace

altiyo – variant spelling of altillo, attic or upper cupboard

capiya – variant spelling of capilla, cowl or hood

coroniya – variant spelling of coronilla, crown or bald patch on the head

Some make reference to the head as the seat of wisdom:

sabiola/sabiondo – from sabio (wise)

And some to its function or action:

sesera – from sesos (brain)

caspera – from caspa (dandruff)

sombrerera – hat holder

rompepeines – comb-breaker

Or to its appearance:

aceitosa – from aceitoso (oily, as in the hair oil formerly used by men before the advent of hair gels)

Other terms refer to it as some kind of mechanical or electronic calculation device:

computadora – computer

carburadora – carburator

I.B.M. – brand of computer

registradora – cash register

Finally, we have the word “testamento”, a play on the words testa (head) and testamento (will and testament)

These words are also found in a number of expressions:

Hacerse el bocho: to have sexual fantasies about someone

Tener gente en la azotea: to be crazy

Estar de la cucuza: to be crazy

No te hagas la croqueta: don’t overthink it

Ser un bocho: to be smart, to be a “brain”

Translation events in November

Posted On October 29, 2014By TranspanishIn Tips for Translators, Translations/ No Comments

3-5

38th Internationalization & Unicode Conference (IUC38), Object Management Group, Santa Clara, California, USA.

3-4

Trommons 2014, LRC, CenTraS, London, UK.

4-6

China Workshop on Machine Translation, University of Macau, Macau, China.

5-8

ATA 55th Annual Conference. Chicago, IL, USA.

Help & Localization Conference, Write2Users, Helsingør, Denmark.

Translating Texts, Cultures and Values, Write2Users, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

5-7

Languages & The Media, ICWE GmbH, Berlin, Germany.

Portsmouth Translation Conference, University of Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK.

Seminario regional de ProZ.com en Córdoba, Argentina. El perfil del traductor independiente.

11-13

tcworld 2014 – tekom, tekom, Stuttgart, Germany.

12-15

ALTA 2014, American Literary Translators Association, Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA.

13-14

Swedish Language Technology Conference, Uppsala University -Dept of Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala, Sweden.

think! India, Globalization and Localization Association, Bangalore, India.

24th JTF Translation Festival, Japan Translation Federation , Tokyo, Japan.

27-28

Translating and the Computer 36, Asling, London, UK.

27-28

Nordic Translation Industry Forum, Anne-Marie Colliander Lind, Cecilia Enbäck, Helsingør, Denmark.

1-31

Courses offered in November. Colegio de Traductores Públicos de Buenos Aires, Argentina.

New Words in the DRAE

Posted On October 26, 2014By TranspanishIn Spanish Language, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/ No Comments

The new 23rd edition of the Dictionary of Spanish Language of the Royal Spanish Academy (DRAE) has just been published; nearly 5,000 of its 93,111 entries are newly included words, while 1,350 previously accepted words have been eliminated from this latest edition.

The new words reflect the invaluable contribution of American Spanish to the language and to its multiculturalism (coincidentally, multiculturalidad is one of the new words) – with some 19,000 of the entries being Americanisms used in at least three Latin American countries – as well as the importance of new technologies and cultural trends and their impact on the language.

But these new terms reflect not only the growing importance of technology in society, but also the broad dissemination they receive via this technology throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

The following new Spanish words derived from English should be easy for most English speakers to recognize:

feminicidio
hacker
tuit
wifi
affaire
chats
blogueros
espanglish
tableta
backstage
coach
establishment
quad
spa
zíper
dron
externalizar
intranet
medicalizar
multiculturalidad
serendipia
margarita

Some may be slightly more difficult to figure out:

teletrabajo
monoparental
identikit
lonchera
birra
precuela
secuela
bíper

While the meanings of others – especially those based on social phenomena –may not be obvious at all:

botellón
amigovio
alfombrilla
papichulo
mileurista
gorrilla
chupi
nube
pantallazo

Finally, let us not forget to bid farewell to the 1,350 words no longer officially part of the Spanish language. These words were chosen for elimination from the DRAE for having fallen into disuse since the fifteen century (alidona, bajotraer, sagrativamente) or having appeared in a single text (often due to a misprint or spelling misinterpretation (boleador, calántica), a phenomenon known as “lexical ghosts”.

Pronouncing the Spanish B and V: No more confusion!

Posted On October 2, 2014By TranspanishIn Languages, Spanish Language, Tips for Translators/ 1 2 Comments

Among the challenges facing Spanish language learners is that of learning to pronounce words with letters whose pronunciations in Spanish differ from those in English. Some of these differences are well-known, and many learners begin their first lessons already aware that the Spanish “j” sounds somewhat like the English “h” and that the pronunciation of the “ll” in many dialects is similar to that of the English “y”. Nevertheless, one of the differences often either ignored or poorly understood is the difference between the Spanish “v” and “b” and the English “v” and “b”.

This lack of knowledge or confusion is easily understood: it dates back as far as the Middle Ages, when Spanish scholar Antonio de Nebrija (who believed that grammar was the foundation of all science) applied the Latin pronunciation of these letters (he, like many of his contemporary scholars, believed Latin to be superior to all other languages) to Spanish and published these as rules in his seminal work Gramática de la lengua castellana published in 1492. Nebrija believed that “we must pronounce as we write, an write as we pronounce.” Though this differentiation in the pronunciation of the two letters was rejected by the Real Academia Española in its 1726 edition of the Diccionario de autoridades and its 1741 edition of Ortografía, however, its 1754 version of this latter book recommended pronouncing the “b” as a bilabial stop and the “v” as a bilabial occlusive and this recommendation remained unchanged until the version published in 1911. At the same time, the Academy encouraged differentiating the pronunciation of the two letters in schools in order to make spelling easier. Even today, many elementary school teachers – and some teachers at higher levels – distinguish between the two letters for the same reason. As a result, many native Spanish speakers adamantly defend the differentiation of the two letters.

Nevertheless, this Latinizing differentiation is artificial and does not represent the actual pronunciation of Castilian at any period of time. In fact, Tomás Navarro Tomás, a Spanish writer and linguist writing in the early 20th century, stated that this feature probably existed in Hispanic Latin (which developed in the 3rd to 1st centuries BC), as there are written accounts of Hispanic Latin speakers in Rome being mocked for their inability to distinguish between the Latin words “vivere” and “bibere”. In other words, even the substrate of modern Spanish lacked the distinction between the two letters. There do exist some geographical areas where speakers distinguish between the two; this is the result of the influence of contiguous languages (for example, Catalonian) or local languages (this is especially prevalent in some parts of Mexico) where this phonemic distinction exists or existed.

Another root of the confusion about the pronunciation of the “b” and the “v” is the fact that these two letters actually do represent two distinctly different sounds: the [b] (a voiced bilabial stop) and the [β] (a voiced bilabial fricative). This latter sound is often interpreted by English speakers (and speakers of other languages where the b and v represent different sounds) as [v], a voiced labiodental fricative. This sound does not – nor has it ever – occurred naturally in the Spanish language.

What then is the rule for pronouncing these two letters correctly in Spanish?

The rule is actually quite simple and depends on both the position of the letter and the letter or sound that precedes it:

Both “b” and “v” are pronounced as [b] whenever they occur at the beginning of a vocalization of words such as, for example, a sentence: “Bueno” ([bweno]) or “Voy” [boi] or after a bilabial sound (such as [m]): “embestir” ([embestir]) or “invertir” ([imbertir] – the [n] becomes [m] due to the bilabial nature of the [b]).

In all other positions, these two letters represent the voiced bilabial fricative sound represented by [β]. This means that both “tubo” and “tuvo” are pronounced exactly alike: [tuβo].

Following are some examples of how the rule works:

bebe [beβe]

él bebe [el βeβe]

vive [biβe]

él vive [el βiβe]

ambas [ambas]

alba [alβa]

We’re interested in knowing what your experiences with the pronunciation of “b” and “v” have been. Do you pronounce them differently? Tell us about what you were taught in school or how people in your community pronounce them.

Translation events in October

Posted On September 29, 2014By TranspanishIn Tips for Translators/ No Comments

Authoring Content for Machine Translation and the Enterprise Content Drift. The Content Wrangler, Content Rules, webinar

2-4

IV International Conference Translating Voices, Translating Regions, Centre for Intercultural Mediation. Durham University, Durham City, UK.

2-5

Translation and Transmission Conference. Tsadra Foundation, Keystone. Colorado, USA.

think! Latin America, Globalization and Localization Association. Lima, Peru.

Agile Localization in Life Sciences and Healthcare, The Content Wrangler, The Rockley Group, Logos Group, webinar

3-5

MedTranslate 2014, GxP Language Services. Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Michigan Translators/Interpreters Network (MiTiN). 5th MiTiN Conference
Novi. MI, USA.

Oregon Society of Translators and Interpreters (OSTI). 1st Annual OSTI Conference. Albany, OR, USA.

5-7

ELIA Networking Days Tuscany, ELIA (European Language Industry Association). Tuscany, Italy.

6-7

Localization Project Management Certification, The Localization Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA.

Loc Kit Software Localization Conference, All Correct Localization. Moscow, Russia.

10-11

California Federation of Interpreters (CFI). 12th Annual Continuing Education Program. Focusing on Our Future Los Angeles. CA, USA.

Best Practices: Lessons from an Industry Recruiter Point of View, The Localization Institute, webinar.

14-16

SLSP 2014, Research Group on Mathematical Linguistics, GETALP. Grenoble, France.

Taking Your Content Strategy Global, Content Rules, Content Strategy/Content Marketing Pros Meetup, San Francisco, California, USA.

17-18

KATS International Conference, Korean Association of Translation Studies, Ewha Research Institute for Translation Studies. Seoul, Korea.

22-24

Information Development World, The Content Wrangler, Content Rules. San Jose, California, USA.

22-26

AMTA 2014, Association for Machine Translation in the Americas. Vancouver, BC, Canada.

23-24

Translation Technology Terminology Conference. Iolar, Bled, Slovenia.

23-25

6th Asian Translation Traditions Conference, Asian Translation Traditions Conference Series, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Philippines.

27-28

TAUS User Conference, TAUS, Vancouver, Canada

Global Communications Conference, The GEO Group, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

29-31

Localization World Vancouver. Localization World Ltd. Vancouver, Canada.

29-Nov 1

Conference of Interpreter Trainers 2014 Biennial Conference Our Roots: The Essence of Our Future. Portland, OR, USA.

30-Nov 1

TRANSLATA II, University of Innsbruck. Innsbruck, Austria.

METM14, Mediterranean Editors and Translators, Madrid, Spain.

1-31

Courses offered in October. Colegio de Traductores Públicos de Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Bid on a translation job — and win it!

Posted On September 19, 2014By TranspanishIn Tips for Translators/ 1 Comment

Translators often ask themselves why they receive so few positive responses to their quotes for projects. The fact is that the translation industry is highly competitive and there may be dozens or even hundreds of bids for a single translation job.

What should translators do to get their quote past the screening stage and, ultimately, to win the job?

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Things you SHOULD do:

Read the project description attentively: do you meet the job poster’s specifications? If you do not, don’t waste your time or the poster’s.
Write a brief and to-the-point cover letter. Bear in mind that it will get only a few seconds’ attention during the first screening. Sum up the important information in the first paragraph: your language pair(s), native language, qualifications/experience, output per day/week, rates, payment terms, and your webpage or online professional profile. If you feel there is more important information that the poster should know, include it AFTER the initial summary paragraph.
Personalize your response: tailor your cover letter to the poster’s requirements. If you know the project manager’s name, use it. Make sure you spell it right and use the proper title (Mr. Ms., etc.); if you are not sure of the person’s gender because the name is foreign, take the time to find out. If the language you are writing in has “familiar” and “formal” forms, use the formal address.
If the poster emphasizes a particular issue (e.g., location, experience, availability, software, and so on) be sure to address it in the body of your cover letter, preferably very near the top.
Follow the instructions in the job posting to the letter. If candidates are asked to mention the job number, language, rates or anything else in the subject line of the email, be sure to give exactly the information requested.
When you are ready to deliver your quote, make sure you’ve included everything the poster has requested: your proposed rate (or rate range), CV, certificates and/or samples of your work, if requested. Sample translations should not violate confidentiality: consider using your translations of public government documents, model contracts, a paragraph from a document you have already translated (redacting any identifying information first, of course) or even a short text that you have chosen yourself to highlight your skills. If your translation of a book has been published online, don’t hesitate to include the link.
Send it to the person specified by the deadline given, and send it to the address specified, whether it is the agency’s email address or the response service of the platform the job was posted on.
Spell check, and then spell check again every time you make a change. There must be NO spelling errors!

But it’s not enough to tick all the boxes of the “SHOULDS”; just as important to winning that project are a few things that you SHOULD NOT do.

Apply for projects for which you are not qualified, whether it’s a matter of the field of expertise, software used, rates, or any other specification in the job posting. Not only will you waste your time (which is your prerogative), you will also waste the project manager’s time, and you will not get the job. Worse yet, you may end up being flagged as a time-waster and future bids for projects you ARE qualified for may be discarded before they are even read.
Ignore the poster’s instructions about subject line information. Instead, include it somewhere in the body of your cover letter (see number 3, below).
Write a cover letter that reads like a novel. Job posters may received hundreds of cover letters; if they can’t find the information they need at a glance because it’s buried somewhere deep in your 15-paragraph cover letter, you can be sure that it will end up in the virtual version of the circular file. If you make it past the first screening, the client can always contact your for more detailed information, if required.
Ignore the poster’s request for your experience, qualifications, rates or availability. Refer him to your webpage or online professional profile.
Send your information to the HR department of the job poster’s company instead of the poster himself.
Send your CV with a colored background or in a colored font. These may cause readability problems.
Send a one-size-fits-all cover letter and CV to multiple potential clients regardless of the particular project you are quoting on and copy it to undisclosed recipients in a mass mailing.
Misrepresent your abilities and experience. Not only is this the road to professional ruin for the translator, it can be disastrous for your client once you have been entrusted with a project.
Fail to do that final check to make sure you have met all requirements regarding the subject line, request for specific information and/or documentation on qualifications, rates and experience, cover letter information, CV format and samples…and fail to do one final spell-check and proofreading before you send it off.

There are many factors at play when a project manager entrusts a project to a translator; just because you did not win this project does not mean that you will never hear from the poster again. Should the poster contact you to let you know you were not chosen, thank him politely for letting you know. Consider this an opportunity to offer yourself for future projects and ask him to keep your information on file for anything suitable that might come up. You may hear from him sooner than you think!

International e-commerce: When marketing in English only isn’t enough

Posted On September 11, 2014By TranspanishIn Spanish Translation, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers, Translations/ No Comments

Today, the world can be your global marketplace, thanks to e-commerce, the buying and/or selling of goods and services over the internet or via other electronic services. The proliferation of B2B (business-to-business) and C2C (consumer-to-consumer) web portals and other marketing platforms has made it possible for companies and individuals across the world to shop for, compare and choose exactly the products they are looking for, and has motivated businesses ranging from small, home-based mom-and-pop operations to some of the world’s largest multinationals to market their products to target audiences across the planet.

Yet reaching your potential customers and then getting them to actually buy your product is far more nuanced than you might at first imagine, and language plays a highly significant role in the customer’s decision to choose your product.

This highly important issue – which is often overlooked, underestimated (or, sadly, even ignored) by companies engaging in e-commerce – was highlighted in a recent survey (Can’t Read, Won’t Buy: How Translation Affects Global E-Commerce) conducted by independent research firm Common Sense Advisory (CSA Research).

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This survey included more than 3,000 global consumers in 10 countries where the official languages do not include English: Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, Spain, and Turkey. These countries were chosen because either they have big economies, large populations or they speak a language used in several countries). The survey was conducted in an official language of each country, but respondents were also asked to rate their own ability to read English. It looked at consumers’ online languages preferences and how these impacted their purchasing decisions. Factors such as nationality, English-language proficiency, global brand recognition, and the ability to conduct transactions in local currencies were taken into account. A market research specialist firm handled the survey and data collection, while CSA’s statistician reviewed the raw data and ran a series of calculations and correlations to determine the results.

The results showing the importance of marketing in the local language were clear:

consumers spend more time on sites in their own language
consumers are more likely to buy at sites in their own language
people prefer products with information in their own language
most consumers prefer products in their own language
most buyers will pay more for products in their own language
language becomes more of an issue when buyers need help
all nationalities agree on wanting customer care in local languages
language affects behavior throughout the customer experience.

Only in a few cases (for example, consumer comfort buying in other languages varies by nationality, lower prices matter more than local language in some countries, and buyers more proficient in English feel more at ease buying in English) did the results seem to favor English-language only marketing, although these characteristics tended to be restricted to certain countries or those who felt themselves to be proficient in English.

Other findings from the survey include the fact that 30% of the respondents never make purchases from English-language sites, and another 29% do so only rarely. Half would prefer that at least the navigation elements and some of the content appear in their language, while 17% of these feel strongly that this should be the case. Conventional industry wisdom says that potential customers flee mixed-language websites, and this survey has definitively shown this to be simply untrue.

The survey’s results are certainly surprising to the many global marketers – both consumers and companies – that have generally been operating on the assumption that potential customers with basic English skills are successfully targeted with either the original English-language e-commerce portal, or with an English translation of the portal’s original language content.

Based on this unexpected outcome, Common Sense Advisory points out that website localization (which results in culturally appropriate translations tailored to the target audience) is indispensable to any company or individual wishing to sell more of its products to its potential global customers and, indeed, must be part of the strategy to provide a positive user experience and engage potential customers in a brand dialog.