English to German Translators

We are assuming that because a language is composed of words, grammar, and punctuation, that a software acting as English to German translators, for example, should know syntax.

All bilingual people know however, that it is impossible. We have tried it. As English to German translator, I can't begin to tell you how often I had to witness the meaning of a word being used wrong, causing considerable embarrassment and even a hostile reaction. Machine language translation does not understand hyperbole, jokes, sarcastic connotations, and even though there are existing software programs understanding intensity, and emphasis, they do not translate the words into another language very well or even adequately. Just imagine asking a computer to see an item you have designed for marketing in the Internet.

Take a look at the results after being translated into another language by a computer program. Can you even imagine what might happen to your costly and time intensive copy-writing?

How great it would be to have software which would actually do this! Unfortunately, it's a lot more difficult than we can imagine, and no one has been able come even close. Computers don't understand what is meant by what is being said.

Language is how people express themselves, the fluctuation of the meanings and the underlying insinuations of polite conversations.

Language is indeed an art. We can say things without "really" saying what we would like to say, but can't because we would be impolite. We have all been in situations who called for "linguistic finesse", or just great care.

As if it weren't difficult enough, imagine you are in a business where finding exactly the right meaning of a word is priceless would you leave it up to a computer to build your business?

Computer translation is okay when you are traveling and you want to ask for directions.

As long as people from different parts of the world have been communicating, there has been a need for translators. As globalization has brought us into greater contact with each other, the need for translators has grown and so have the various misconceptions and myths about translation.

Translators must know more than just the vocabulary and grammar of a language. Translation is much more than writing, so the understanding of translation theory a necessity. One needs to understand the problems and issues that are inherent in translating languages.

For example, an English to German translator would need to know when it is important that the cultural elements of the original text from an English-speaking country needed to be transferred to the translated version and when they should not be. Different approaches need to be taken when translating technical texts and legal documents, as opposed to philosophical writings and fiction.

One could imagine that translating a romance novel would require a different 'touch' than an internet-marketing-sales letter and opt-in page.

Translators are often specialized in a particular subject area. They should have an intimate knowledge of that field. Medical translators, for example, develop a large vocabulary of medical as well as biological terms and have an understanding of human anatomy and medical procedures. A translator for the Internet Marketing genre would need to have extensive knowledge in copy-writing.

A translator who doesn't understand what the meaning is of what he or she is translating is doomed to produce a very poor translation.

German born and raised, I publish off-line businesses on-line. The need for accurate quality translations arose and I now offer a team of Translators for most languages world-wide, including video and audio production, and it all started with just one poorly translated joke. http://EnglishToGermanTranslators.org

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Choosing the Right Professional Translators

Whenever you need to communicate something to people from a different country, you most probably have to tell them in their language. If that is not your mother tongue, you need the help of translators. Translation services is provided by both translating agencies and independent translators. There are thousands of professional translators around the world that provide translation services in different languages. As there are many of them, you have to find the right translator for your needs.

If you want to communicate something to the people in foreign land, your translator should retain the intended meaning. For this he should also use the right vocabulary and style. This is very important because each and every language is very different. Experienced and professional translators know how to communicate something in the right way so that it reaches the target audience in a correct manner. You have to consider several factors before choosing the one for you to translate your documents.

It is always a good idea to choose a professional translator instead of an independent translator. Because, professional translators are usually employed by a translating agency where qualification and expertise are important and the translators do produce quality translated content with highest accuracy. Agencies can usually provide you with the quality and accuracy that no independent translator can. Those who are hired by agencies generally have more experience so that they have superior vocabulary and necessary translating skills. Agencies typically have separate departments for translating, editing, proof reading and QA to assure their clients that they document they give is flawless.

The second most important factor to consider when choosing the translator is cost. Though cost isn't going to be an issue for some of the companies, small and medium sized companies are certainly going to face the problem, especially when you are going to translate lots of documents. When choosing the translator, select the one that charges you moderately. You can't be sure an expensive agency is going to provide the best services or the cheapest company can provide the best value for money. Choose the company that charges according to industry standards.

When choosing the professional translators, always do your background-research about the company. You can find many reviews about the company on the net or you can also check with their present and past customers about their services. This will save you lots of time and effort. Make all efforts to find that the translation agency can meet your needs well before choosing them translating your documents.

Official Translate is a leading Document Translation Services provider with thousands of professional translators around the world to translate your documents in over 140 languages. For further details, please visit www.officialtranslate.com.

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Types of Electronic Translators

Electronic translator - a device designed to translate individual words or phrases from one language in other language. Some models have a possibility to voice a translated word or phrase (speak a phrase into your handheld and it will translate and speak it back in the foreign language of your choice. Depending on the model can be used Electronic voice or the voice of a professional announcer). Each electronic translator has its own vocabulary (number of words)and almost every model comes with a Phrasebook, divided by topics and includes the most frequently used phrases and expressions.

Many translators have additional technical capabilities that help in learning the language, such as: transcription, educational programs in the form of electronic textbooks on grammar, spell-checker function, learning games, TOEFL exams, etc. Also, it is necessary to pay attention to other options available in translators, such as the global time, convertors of weights and measures, sizes of clothes and shoes, alarm clock, calculator, metric conversion, notebook, which will be very useful during a journey or a working trip to different countries and continents.

E-translators and dictionaries shall be conventionally divided into several types:

The first type: Electronic phrasebooks designed for people who do not know foreign language at all or with very little knowledge. In this type of device, we cannot independently input words and do a translation, only pre-installed, by the manufacturer, words and phrases can be used. There is also a convenient option as the "phrase designer"- it is simply indispensable for those who do not speak the foreign language, but in need to explain something during abroad trip, in a shop or in hospital, for example.

The second type: Travel Electronic translator-phrasebook. These models have several languages and a rather small vocabulary for each language. For easy communication during your travel, such models are equipped with a phrasebook, which include the most frequently used phrases and expressions, divided by topic. Almost all of them are miniature size and weight for ease placement, even in a small pocket of the shirt.

The third type: Digital translators, they are have quite a big vocabulary and a wide range of additional functions, such as: the possibility of adding new words, understanding of irregular verbs, transcription, articles for the understanding of the use of words or phrases in context, and others.

The fourth type: Electronic translators with training programs, which allows you not only translate words and phrases, but also to study theoretical and grammatical material, using the built-in electronic textbook.

The fifth type: Electronic translators with additional professional dictionaries. These models contain not only the common spoken language, but also additional dictionaries about finances, medicine, computer and others. Models of this type would be especially interesting for people who using foreign language professionally, like businessmen, entrepreneurs, employees working in foreign companies, students of the language institutes, etc. It is impossible not to mention the possibility of this type of translators to assist in business communication, and the availability of the most frequently used phrases and expressions for Commercial correspondence.

The sixth type: Scanning translators - for translation of texts, articles and books by scanning the words from the text (only printed). Such translators simply irreplaceable, where there is no way to bring a large paper dictionary, but it is necessary to translate a foreign text. They usually do the translation in one direction - from one foreign language to another. What also must be noted that the translator keeps in memory the last 70 words scanned, which allows re-scroll through the unfamiliar words that have been scanned, thus repeating and studying them.

And now we can say that electronic translators are very important to all those who in one way or another connected with foreign languages, or just planning to take up their study. Depending on the level of training and the desire to obtain these or other functions, everyone can pick up a translator which ideally suited for you. It is also worth to mention that the electronic translator will be original and useful gift to your children, relatives, colleges and friends!

Check our widest range of electronic translators and detailed info about each model.

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A Translators Catechism - The New Model Translator

Written for the encouragement and instruction of all who have taken up the profession of translation, especially the common translator.

In 1644, Oliver Cromwell wrote the "Souldiers Catcechisme" for the New Model Army, a new military organization (and the first modern professional army) that, through conviction and consistent regulation, was finally able to sweep the King's men from the field and restore the rights of the Parliament in the English Civil War.

Now the profession of translation faces its own version of the King's men. Powerful institutions in search of something for nothing are eager to follow the path of Facebook in obtaining their translations for free. They have mobilized the enthusiasm of bilingual speakers for their products, enabling technologies that allow multiglots to provide their labor for nothing, or for a bit of virtual ribbon next to their virtual name. There's been some debate about what to call this phenomenon, whether it be "community translation," "crowd-sourced," or "swarm translation." I prefer "hobby translators." That it tells in their work is a different story, and a different post.

And that's just great. Really. I don't mean to question the motives of those who sell their services for nothing, since I know it is of high and noble purpose (in contrast to my own ink-stained-wretch-put-my-kid-thru-college attitude). And I don't question the motives of the large entities that corral these would-be translators, since the desire for profit is one I am intimately acquainted with. Much of the stuff translated by hobby translators would not be translated by professionals at all, nor as fast, nor as inexpensively. Such is the way of the translation world.

What is left to professional translators after the machines and hobbyists are done is the heavy lifting âEURo the unglamorous work that no one wants to do, the work that's too hard for the machines, the work that must be of the highest quality, which neither hobbyist nor machine can provide. I assure you that the volume of work provided by professional translation is a drop in a bucket compared to the translations enabled by machines and crowd-sourcing technologies, even as these new translation forms lead the translation charge and create more business for the pros.

But is professional translation worth paying for? Much of the so-called professional translation work done today is inferior to the work of the hobbyists because of the way in which our professional clings to the old way of doing things. Hobby translation has been empowered by the application of large-scale translation systems that effectively mobilize the passions of their participants. The professional translator must contribute greater conviction and discipline with new professionalism: New Model Translator.

This is what we've done here at 1-800-Translate, without all the drum-beating, I should add. It's just that I did a paper on the English Civil War back in HS and really got into the language they used back then. So, I beg your indulgence, gentle reader, and remain your obedient servant.

Forsooth, regulations to be promulgated for the New Model Translator.

I'm the CEO of 1-800-Translate, a translation and localization firm offering a full suite of multilingual communications services to leading international businesses, growing our business one client (or more) at a time. Find and explore more of my content by visiting my blog, Translation Guy.

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Legal Translators and Lawyers Work Hand-in-hand

"A poor (legal) translation can be just as dangerous as bad legal advice". This is a quote from an article written in the Independent back in 1996. Legal translation is a very specialised type of translation service. Good legal translators know almost as much about law as lawyers do and yet they are paid less than a quarter of what lawyers earn for their professional services. The translation is not just about translating the language but it's about conveying the meaning of foreign law, which is just that - foreign, complete with a new set of rules and regulations.

Most of us already need a translator to tell us what a legal document written in our mother tongue means, so imagine what advanced language skills are needed for legal translations.  The formation of the European Union and increased globalisation of trade and industry has created a far bigger niche market for legal translating services. By the same token, it's no longer enough for lawyers to know the law of their own country; they also need to have some idea of international laws.

Although legal translations are cheaper than lawyers, the bill can skyrocket if lawyers don't choose the documents that are most important for the case to go through translation. The Independent mentioned a case where a legal translator was asked to translate 600 pages in two weeks. The quotation the lawyer received ran into the tens of thousands, so she resubmitted only the critically important documents.

Legal translators also have to work very quickly in certain circumstances. Sometimes a lawyer will need to read a document urgently for an upcoming case and they need the translation done 'like yesterday'. While professional legal translators can work quickly, they can't perform miracles and lawyers need translations to be done well. A sloppy translation done too quickly could result in the lawyer losing the case.

Legal translation services are more in demand than ever before, as City firms are unable to keep up with translations needed for foreign deals and negotiations. It's been shown that certain City firms are unable to deal with the need for translations of French legal documents, let alone for legal documents from further afield. The globalisation of trade has brought about a new partnership; legal translators and lawyers will need each other for their continued survival in the modern world.

Frances wrote this article for Romo Translations
Legal Translation Services

Romo Translations offers trustworthy legal translating services in any languages.

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Pocket Electronic Translators As Our Assistants

Pocket electronic translator - electronic device, capable to translate of words and phrases, which input using a keyboard, touch screen, and even speech, as well can be used as a notebook and has other useful features. Today, millions of people worldwide use the Language Teacher, translator, teacher of foreign languages and office manager in one device. The electronic translator is essential for translation and studying of foreign language, also for business, and while visiting other countries. Electronic translator is able to actually solve the language problems of people for who overcome of the "language barriers" is a vital necessity.

Using such a translator, in fact is very convenient: for example you enter unfamiliar word, say English word, and its, say, Spanish equivalent appears on the screen at once, and vice versa. Translators are available for many languages of the world, we have 48, including voice translators for 35 languages! The most advanced models are real mini-computers - they are able to translate not only single words but the full texts, and also have many useful capabilities, such as: a digital recorder and organizer, possibility working with E-mail and faxes.

Scanning electronic translator - simply irreplaceable thing for people studying foreign languages, will save a lot of time in the translation of foreign texts. To translate, you need just scan an unfamiliar word using a translator's scanner and word will appear on its screen with the translation options. If necessary, you can also enter a word, using the buttons on the case of a translator.

People are buying electronic translators for educational purposes and for work. With an electronic translator, you will never find yourself in trouble situation, if translation of unfamiliar foreign word or even text is urgently required. You can safely forget the thick paper dictionaries - in memory of electronic translators may be placed up to 1 million words in several languages. Some translator models even provide self-adding of the meanings of unfamiliar words! In addition, it can contain lists of irregular verbs, idioms, etc., which will also greatly assist you when studying a foreign language. Many buyers are attracted by additional features: a notebook, an electronic organizer, calculator, digital recorder, etc. - all these in one extremely compact body and at very reasonable price.

Selecting an electronic translator

When choosing electronic translator for yourself, think what you want to get from it. What features do you need? Do you plan to use it as an organizer, a digital recorder or to work with E-Mail and faxes? Do you need to gain access to the Internet? How many words in the translator's memory do you need? What languages should it support? Which version of information input more suitable: with the help of a small keyboard or touch screen or just voice? So taking into consideration all your needs and corresponding prices, you should choose your electronic translator. And remember what opportunities you will get together with a pocket electronic translator!

Pocket electronic translators:

- help you get started correctly speak a foreign language

- enable you to instantly translate from one language to another

- speak with you on all the rules of phonetics, foreign language

- you teach grammar through living, easily memorable examples

- taught a popular colloquial expressions, idioms and slang

- enrich your speech, suggesting synonyms of known words

- help develop the correct pronunciation, intonation and stress

- enable you to store the necessary information and to arrange time

- give you wide communication possibilities

- easily fit in your pocket or jacket handbags

http://www.translator.eu.pn

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3 Professionalisms That All Professional Translators And Interpreters Must Have

As more businesses are going global due to advanced technology, professional translation service is getting more important if you are selling your products or services overseas. If you are doing business overseas, you will need professional translation services so as to submit business plans and documents to your local managements. As different countries have different accounting and documentation procedures, this is where business translation plays an important role.

Nowadays, professional translators and interpreters are needed to transfer information between companies. The translator's work is not limited to only converting one language to another. To attract more businesses, the translator must present something that is nice, original and competitive in price. Other than fighting cut-throat prices with other competitors, a translator should use his or her professionalism to convince the client to give his business to him. Some professionalism conditions a translator must have are as followed:

1. Be ethical. I think this is the most important code of conduct that a translator must have. Translators often come across confidential information such as business plan, marketing strategy or a new invention. They should never use this information to harm the client. By being honest and loyal, translators can build trust with their clients and thus help establish their careers and future. The translators should never accept translation work beyond their capacity. By over promise and under-deliver, it will only ruin their careers in the translation industry.

2. Be efficient in language translation. To be able to convey the message correctly and efficiently, translators need to master the source and target languages. A good professional translator will be able to translate the business documents to its native language or equivalent. They will also need to be familiar with the topic or field being translated so as to translate more accurately.

3. Always willing to learn. Translators need to have the capacity and always ready to adapt to any changes in the fast-moving technological world. They should also be well-versed with modern communication tools such as instant messenger and computers. The last thing that professional translators should think about is to stop learning.

To survive in the fierce translation business, professional translators and agencies need to be more professional than in other profession. As consumers can now use Internet to locate any translation agencies in any countries easily, professionalism in the translation industry is not a choice anymore. It has become a necessity in order to survive in this fierce market.

For translation services, visit ACTC below now:

Click Here --> Japanese and Chinese Translation at http://www.ACTC.com.sg

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Translation Company Directories For the Translators Community

Translation directories are virtual "places" where language pros can assemble and feel part of a community. Enrollment to these sites is easy and free of charge: you just have to log in and then you will have access to many new contacts with several translation companies, to job offers and to free advertisement. You can also join discussion forums concerning many topics: technical, business, financial and legal translation, interpreting and translation company in countries all over the world.

Professional interpretors and translators are always looking for new possible jobs and today the World Wide Web offers them valuable opportunities and tools in order to create new contacts. Luckily there are some websites known as translation directories where language pros can find themselves in company of helpful colleagues and where they can share their work experience with people all over the world.

Linguists are often connected 24/7 due their work. Therefore they do very well know the Internet and they soon touch base with the wide international community of translators who are members of these particular translation companies directories. Registration to these websites is easy and free of charge: you just have to log in and then you have access to new contacts from several translation companies, to job offers and to free advertisement. You can also join discussion forums concerning many topics: financial,legal technical and business translation, interpreting and translation companies in France, Germany, England, Italy and many other countries all over the world, opinions about CAT tools (Computer Aided Translation), advice about work and payments from customers. A translator can read the point of view of other colleagues from different countries or interesting articles concerning the world of translation services and this is surely useful for his or her job. Besides if he or she has problems translating a term or phrase, in those directories he or she can find help. Financial business, corporate or bond equity research, marketing can be challenging disciplines to translate, but the support of confreres can be really useful.

The most important characteristic concerning these directories is their jobs offer. Directories are above all contact channels between translation companies or agencies and professional linguists through a kind of board where open bids are displayed according to languages, deadlines and rates. Google, Apple, Microsoft, Ebay, Lionbridge, L-3 Communications, Xerox, SDL are some of the companies that use these directories in order to find language professionals who have the chance to start a long time cooperation with them. This is convenient for both parties as those firms can find qualified translators, and linguists can collaborate with such brands in website and multimedia translations for instance or in financial and legal proofreading, market research, voice-over and subtitling. Freelancers can also apply directly to translation companies through the database of a directory sending them their resume, references and samples of work. Proz and Translatorscafe are some of the most popular directories but there are many more websites concerning translation services and companies that have a lot of members and visitors from every corner of the world.

Translation directories are virtual "places" where language professionals can meet and feel part of a community. The same people in charge of these websites are translators or interpreters who decided to offer their colleagues such remarkable service and therefore are really noteworthy. Another important characteristic of those directories is that they can be visited at any time from everywhere online not only with computers, but also by using cellular phones or other WAP-enabled mobile devices, and this makes translators feel they are never alone.

About the Author:
Armando Riquier as a freelance translator and writer has been working with Tectrad over the last decade. Tectrad is a professional translation company specializing in translations of business and corporate matters, particularly in Italian but for other languages too.

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Translation Companies: Getting The Best Out Of Your Translators

Globalization has necessitated translation from and to most languages of the world. A complex process, owning to differences in grammar and construction rules in world languages, translation entails a careful selection of translator and reviewer services.

Since you can't evaluate the quality of a translated document, you can make sure that:

1. The document you are giving for translation is of the best quality possible.

2. The service you are hiring meets your quality requirements.

Before handing off:

1. Run the spell check and grammar check: A basic but a completely necessary step. Remember, if your document is error free, there will be fewer translation errors to deal with!

2. Keep a copy of the document with you: This might seem like a silly suggestion but a surprisingly large number of people forget to do so!

3. In your document: Keep the sentences short and simple and avoid using abbreviations (Say 'can not' instead of can't).

Choosing the translator:

1. Cheap is not best. Your neighbor's kid who took French paper last year might be able to flaunt his French connection but translation is a professional calling. Paying less might turn out to be very expensive for you.

2. Choose a service provider who has many years of experience in translating into language you are seeking.

3. The translator should be a native speaker of the language and must be conversant with the culture and language of the language he/she is attempting to translate from.

4. The translator should also be able to understand the finer nuances of the language he/she is translating from.

5. Choose a translation company that offers to take the complete project - from translation to editing, proofreading and even desktop publishing.

After handing over...

Handing over the document doesn't ensure good translation. Your inputs will be required even after handing over. Time invested here will reap benefits in terms of error free documents of great quality.

1. Make sure you have a detailed discussion about your project with the service provider to explain your requirements and to understand his/her concerns.

2. Be available to answer concerns and queries whenever the translator requires you.

Some more things...

1. Never force the translator to do a rushed job. Plan your project well and build in time for reviews and translations properly.

2. Select a good reviewer with the help of your translator.

3. Don't submit a half finished document. Translating corrections and additions can be expensive and may introduce errors.

4. Never try to piece together bits of translated material yourself.

Ensuring the quality of translated material is as much your responsibility as that of your translator. You can ensure quality by also insisting proofreading and making sure that the numbers, dates and figures are correct.

You also need to share supporting documents like references and glossaries with your translator to enable him/her to do a better job. Most of all, you must set realistic turn around time for your translators.

Never get lost in translation again! Visit our site for quality translation companies [http://www.translationserviceguide.com] and language software!

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Are Professional Translators Worth the Cost

So the time has finally come and you've decided that you want to take your business to the next level and provide your product in Spanish. However, you don't really know the first step in starting the process. However, you do realize that you need to find someone that speaks the language so that you can start them translating your product information and marketing material into Spanish.

You don't really know what kind of requirements you are looking for in a translator so you just start searching online for someone that translates Spanish and English. You find someone that has good credentials, has a lot of experience in your industry and has good feedback from previous clients. You decide that person would be a good fit for your project, but before you hire him/her you look at what the translator charges. After you see what they charge, you decide that it's too much for what you want to pay.

You wait a couple of days trying to decide what to do and then remember that one of your nephews spent some time in South America in the Peace Corps and speaks a little Spanish. Maybe you could get him to translate your project?

Good idea?

No, way; no way; and NO WAY!

Thinking you can save costs and trust your business projects to someone who is not a professional translator is ridiculous. Professional translators are worth every penny you will spend on them to translate your projects.

If you choose to go with someone you know who isn't trained professionally as a translator, not only will you get an unprofessional result, you will most likely have to end up retranslating the work, which will more than double the cost of having had a professional translation done in the first place. Also, a professional translator is used to working with deadlines and will work to ensure that you get your translation when you need it. Someone who doesn't translate professionally will be a lot less likely to understand the importance of getting your project back to you when you need it.

In addition, if you decide to ship your product out with an inferior translation done by a non-professional translator, your reputation will suffer and, like the commercial says, you won't get a second chance to make a first impression.

So in the end, while it may seem expensive to hire a professional translator for your project, in the end it will save you both time and money and your business will be better off for it.

Clint Tustison is a translator interested in helping other translators improve their businesses. His website, Spanish-translation-help.com is filled with information helpful to translators regarding the translation industry, and his free monthly newsletter, Translator Techniques, has tips and techniques for translators.

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3 Most Common Wrong Opinions about Translators

#1 There is such profession as "translator"

Translators are those who ... yes, translate. Books for kids and contracts, poetry and program interfaces, politicians' speeches and love stories, scientific articles, sermons, Web content, as well as much, much more completely different texts. That is why there is no such thing as "just translator" anymore -- almost all translators work in their own niches, translating types of texts they are familiar with in the fields they have at least basic knowledge.

Such an approach helps translators ensure the highest quality and save time, both clients' and their own. That is why a translator, who works with texts on IT or medicine, will refuse to take, say, an article on theoretical physics or a book of nursery rhymes (let's presume he has such an option).

#2 The only thing a good translator needs is to know some foreign language well.

Knowing a language won't automatically make anybody a good translator -- just like being able to write won't make any person a good writer.

Nobody says that knowing a foreign language is not important. It is. But there are other things which we usually take for granted. Just one example: it is extremely important for a translator to know his NATIVE language well. Puzzled? You probably assumed that if some language is somebody's mother tongue, he knows it well. What about people who, to put it mildly, have poor vocabulary and lack speaking or writing skills? People who can't express their thoughts well enough in their native language will make mediocre translators.

Any professional translator is expected to be a good writer. If he isn't... you probably have seen texts and guessed at once that they had been translated -- because of their "wooden style". Difficult-to-read manuals, Web pages, where visitors don't stay long, books turned into something boring and tiresome -- they probably were OK before such a "translation".

#3 ALL good interpreters and translators can do each other's work WELL.

Unlike translators, interpreters deal with oral speech. In fact, translating and interpreting require completely different skills. Of course, there are people who can combine all these qualities and do both jobs equally well, but don't expect brilliance in both translating and interpreting from all of them.

An interpreter should be able to make decisions quickly, often in extreme conditions. Sharp mind, excellent memory, resourcefulness, and stamina -- that's what any interpreter needs every day. No dictionaries at hand. No time to think how to express the thought in the best possible way. Only memory to rely for. The only aid available is maybe a couple of quick notes -- to remember some particularly long utterance.

Simultaneous interpreters' work in even more severe: they are "processing" the constant flow of speech. During a work session a simultaneous interpreter, hearing some word-combination or sentence through headphones in one language has to give it out in the other at once -- while listening and memorizing other sentences piling up. A couple of seconds' delay is unaffordable luxury. To forget something means to fail. Nobody can work like this for a long time, so simultaneous interpreters as a rule work in pairs, for about 20 minutes each.

For a translator making quick decisions is not so important. A shy bookworm with a stage fright can, in spite of all that, make an excellent translator, but he will never be a good interpreter. So what? Not every interpreter can become a good translator, either. Accuracy, exactness, huge vocabulary -- that's what a translator needs much more than resilience and quickness. Plus the sense of style, which an interpreter may lack.

Translators are usually more time-rich, and they can afford -- and, in fact, must -- bring the translated text to perfection. Tight schedule doesn't justify poor work: inaccuracy, sloppy sentences, useless repetitions, not to mention mistakes and typos.

Here are only three points of view about translators, which are most common, but incorrect. There are more; some of them are completely wrong, others are just questionable. It's impossible to describe them all in one article, that is why the article is...

to be continued...

Alexandra Gamanenko is a senior translator and editor of the Literary Translation Department, which is a part of a Web design studio. It offers localization and translation of websites into Russian and Ukrainian, as well as lots of other useful services.

Learn more -- visit the website http://www.clever-crayon.com

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Translators - Value Added by Translation Professionals

When you send a text for translation, you expect translators to convert the text from one language (source language) to the other (target language). It seems a fairly straightforward task, if not a simple one. However, this seemingly straightforward task demands various skills that translators employ, thus adding value to a new product created in a foreign language. This added value is typically not evident and therefore underestimated by users of translation services.

So let us take a closer look at some value-added services provided by translation professionals:

Quality control of source materials
Authors of source texts are prone to mistakes at times. In their texts, they may fail to notice awkward changes of style and register, as well as allusion to culture-bound expressions and cliches alien to the target audience. Not infrequently, authors (for example, staff members of international organizations) write in non-native languages, thus coming up with sloppy use of the language or nonstandard expressions.

No one will read the source text more carefully than the translator. She or he will identify these weak points and will contact the author for clarification and verification. Good translators ask questions in the translation process, which is a good practice since it allows improving the original and producing a clear translation product geared towards the target audience.

Doing a proof of a typeset copy of the translation is another value-added service provided by translation professionals. Translators review the typeset copy for last-minute additions made by the client, as well as for grammar and syntax, line breaks, spacing, numeration, font type and size, incorrectly processed colors, cut-off text, etc.
Provision of functional communication
The translator's task is not only to break through linguistic barriers, but also to ensure that a translated text achieves the same purpose and function as the source text is intended to achieve in a concrete communicative situation. To put it simply, the translated text must work well for the target audience.

Linguistic expertise is not the only asset the translator must have to achieve this goal. Intercultural expertise and cultural awareness are additional valuable assets that the translator uses to map the information provided in the source text with requirements of the target audience, thus ensuring effective communication in a multilingual and multicultural setting.

Based on translation specifications provided by the client, the translator analyzes the source text, researches additional terminology, coins neologisms as new concepts emerge, and uses her or his intuition and insight to create a new text adapted for the target readership.Value added by translators, though often not measured and not immediately apparent, helps translation clients to save time and money as translators can identify and correct serious mistakes in the source text, support the client's decision-making process, help to reach the foreign language audience, etc. And this work improves the client's return on investment.

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Irina Lychak has a degree in teaching English as a foreign language, has translated for the National Bank of Ukraine and The World Bank, and has been a freelance translator of English into Russian and Ukrainian for many years. From Irina's website, learn more about translators ( http://www.language-translation-help.com/language-translator.html ), their services and rates, and steps the translation buyer should make to get the translation that works.

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Is It Ever Appropriate to Use Non-Native Language Translators?

"Quality is the most important thing."

"A translation must not sound like a translation - it should sound like an original text."

"We only ever allow translators to work into their native language."

It's time to dig around some translation industry clichés. For many buyers of translation, the quotations at the top of the page will be very familiar - and in many ways the statements are absolutely right. You would be unhappy to receive a translation that was low quality, that sounded like a translation (and not an original), and had been written by a non-native speaker.

Yes and no.

Yes, you would be unhappy if high quality, polished translations by native speakers was what you required.

But the assumption that high quality, polished native speaker translations is the only requirement is false, and a buyer of translation should be even more unhappy to have been sold an inappropriate service, especially when the service they were sold would have been considerably more expensive than the service that they actually required. Mis-selling is restricted to the world of door-to-door insurance salesmen.

So the question is: when would we use non-native language translators? There are five overlapping factors that will point towards some answers: price, quality, speed, content, and purpose

The "umbrella" reason for using non-natives is purpose. What is the translation actually for?

If a translation is purely "for information" (for internal use only, just to know what something means), then it doesn't really matter how beautiful the translated language is. The key to such translations is accurate rendition of meaning - and this can (usually) be done absolutely as well by a translator working into a language that is not their mother tongue. In fact (and this now brings in the content reason), the most accurate understanding of any source text is likely to be achieved by a native speaker of the source text. So for a highly technical source document, when the translation is only required "for information" maybe we should after all consider using source language native speakers.

Translations "for information" might be assumed to be chunky texts, maybe a manual, or a tender document that needs to be understood to prepare a response. A classic cause for non-native "for information" translations is in the field of market research. Imagine you have respondents in 20 different languages to a questionnaire. Many of the answers on the questionnaire will be fixed choice responses but perhaps you have some open-ended questions as well: questions to which the respondent could write anything up to several hundred words. You need to know what they are saying, but only so you can incorporate the responses into the overall data for analysis. So you just want to know what has been said, and you don't even care if the translations have the odd spelling mistake or typo. It simply doesn't matter (in fact the answers of the respondents will probably have spelling mistakes anyway). You may not even want a record of exactly what they wrote - just for the answers to have been categorised to allow for analysis, with the linguists coding the answers against a code frame, created either by you or by the specialist market research translation company. It absolutely makes sense to consider breaking the "rules" about translators only working into their native language. Here you don't care if the translations sound like translations. Natives of the source language will almost always be cheaper than English native speakers, just as good for the purpose, and the accuracy and consistency could be higher, especially if the linguist is coding directly.

Price of course can play a big factor. As mentioned above a non-native English speaker will almost always be cheaper than a native English speaker, and dramatically so if the source language is from a region with very low costs e.g. China, India, Eastern Europe.

Supply and demand links into the price, quality, and speed reasons for using non-native translators. This is particularly relevant for translations into English from anything other than the major world languages.

Let's suppose we need to translate a technical manual from Vietnamese into English, and we want to stick to the rule of only using translators working into their native language. How many native English people learn Vietnamese to professional fluency AND decide to be a professional translator AND happen to be available when we need them AND have relevant sector expertise? Not many, if any, will be the most common answer. And if there is somebody suitable you can be sure they won't be cheap.

One solution is "translation by committee". We find a native Vietnamese translator who can provide his best effort at an English translation. An English native (no Vietnamese skills necessary) proofreads and cleans the English text whilst in constant contact with the Vietnamese translator. The result is an accurate, English native quality translation dome at the speed we need it and at a price that reflects the supply of Vietnamese translators who have good English skills rather than a price that reflects the almost non-existent supply of native English Vietnamese translators.

Lingo24 Translation Agency London

Jack Waley-Cohen is the Operations Director of Lingo24 Translation Services UK.

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Communicate In Foreign Languages, Learn About Interpreters, Translators And Translation Software

While the terms "interpreter" and "translator" are generally used interchangeably, they are actually two distinct professions. While some professionals are able to both interpret and translate, most do only one or the other because each requires a different skill set to perform.

Simply stated, interpreting of language is done orally, while translation of language is done in writing. If you are going to be having a conversation with someone who speaks another language, then you need the services of an interpreter. If you want to have a written document converted into another language, then you need the services of a translator or software.

Interpreters are skilled at converting the spoken word from one language into another. Therefore, an interpreter must be fluent in multiple languages; both their primary language and a secondary language. The interpreter must pay close attention to what is said by the speaker and at the same time understand cultural differences enough to understand what the speaker meant to say as well. The interpreter then relays what was said by the speaker to the listener in the second language.

Many interpreters work in business, healthcare, social service, and courtroom settings. Interpreters work in any setting where people are gathered that speak two different languages and need to communicate with each other. Some interpreters even work via the telephone. While it is always easier to interpret in person, this is not always practical, so telephone interpreters are in high demand.

In contrast to interpreters, human translators are skilled at converting written text from one language into another. Translators work on documents which can vary in size from a simple e-mail message to an entire book. Generally a translator will read the material they will be translating and then sit and translate it into the secondary language. Human translators must have excellent writing and editing skills because their end-result documents should always be as perfect as possible.

Translation involves a lot more than simply replacing a word in one language with a word from another language. Translators must understand what was written and manipulate sentences and ideas to ensure that the resulting document conveys the same information as the source document did. Translators are also tasked with understanding cultural differences and references and making sure the new document is understood by the readers.

With the technological advances of our time, translation can now be accomplished through software translation applications. Today's software translation is both quick and fairly accurate. In fact, many human translators are now using a software translator program first to obtain a rough draft and then edit the resulting text to fix anything which did not convert into the second language correctly.

Generally, most interpreters and translators are self-employed and work part-time. However, many also work as foreign language teachers as well to allow them to keep their language skills fresh and to have a more steady income. Compensation for interpretation and translation work is based both on the setting and the language being translated.

With today's global economy the needs for interpretation and translation are growing by leaps and bounds. And, as technology advances software translation is getting more and more accurate and is becoming a viable alternative to using human translation services. However, human translators will always be required to check for accuracy of translations which cannot be ever likely become fully automated due to the nuances and cultural aspects of languages.

Interpreting software, the future? Technology keeps changing and probably in the near future translation software will be referred to as interpreting software because it will be able to translate orally as well as written text. With the advancements in text to speech translation on the horizon and the need for interpreting foreign languages expanding daily, the demand has grown so fast that the real crisis is developing the software fast enough for all the required languages.

Kasey Force is a professional consultant and software trainer specializing in offering solutions for companies that need to communicate in foreign languages.

Visit our free online learning center at www.TranslationSoftware4u.com for more information and learn how translation software can be an affordable solution to translate foreign languages.

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Are Good Translators Hard to Come By?

Honestly... YES! A good translator is not just a person who speaks well two or more languages. A good translator loves language, enjoys grammar, plays mental games translating words and phrases (my new hobby is to watch a translated TV show or movie and figure out what was the original phrase that produced the translated result...sick...I know).

Good translators are perfectionists, are people who enjoy learning and gladly accept (and welcome) new knowledge. They say, "Shakespeare is as good as the person who translates his work", actually many writers and poets are translators and voluntarily translate the works of colleagues they admire and look up to.

But I guess it isn't practical at all to ask your translation candidate if he/she enjoys grammar and knowledge, and would gladly learn about your particular subject... or is it? In any case, references from satisfied customers should help you; also, if you speak both of languages, requesting a sample document can also be useful. Otherwise, play it by ear, chat a little with this person or exchange emails... is he/she making grammatical mistakes on the communications? Is he/she misspelling already? That should tip you off about a sloppy translator.

What About Interpreters?

Interpreters are also translators. Normally simultaneous (verbal or oral) translators are called interpreters, because their work includes interpreting a communication between two parties. According to the dictionary, interpretation is the "action of explaining the meaning of something", so an Interpreter is someone that not only translates the words he/she hears in the other language, but also explains to the listener what the speaker is actually trying to say. For this purpose, an interpreter will make use of his/her cultural background and experience to place into context the message of the speaker.

A simultaneous interpreter works with the aid of special simultaneous interpretation equipment which generally consists of a signal transmitter (cabled, radio frequency or infrared) and receivers in the hands of the listeners. The equipment will also include headphones and microphones for the interpreters to listen to the speaker and translate to the audience.

A consecutive interpreter will first listen to a few phrases from the speaker, who will then stop and allow the interpreter to repeat the message to the listeners.

In a whispering interpretation, the interpreter stays close to the listener and "whispers" the translation simultaneously as the speaker talks. Normally, when the listener needs to speak, usually the interpreter will use the consecutive interpretation technique, or if equipment is available, simultaneous interpretation can also be performed.

How do you know if a good interpreter is working for you?

Well, usually only the audience can tell you if the interpretation is working fine for them. However, if it isn't, don't assume it is necessarily because you have a bad interpreter... maybe your conference style is not particularly well suited to their work.

You may be speaking too fast, or your rhythm may not be very even, or maybe you are not finishing your ideas properly. However, if you think you are keeping a steady flow of ideas at a reasonable speed, then watch the reaction of your audience. Do they seem bored? Are they laughing at your jokes? When you ask for participation or questions, do they respond in any way to you? That should be enough to tell you that something is wrong, either with the way you are explaining things or with the interpretation.

In the case of simultaneous interpreters, and translators in general always ask for references, price (high or low) is not necessarily an indication of quality or experience.

Paying a Fair Price for Your Translation

And talking about prices... if free translation services are usually not the best for business purposes, then how much it costs to hire a translator or interpreter?

A translator or interpreter is a well-trained, highly qualified and educated individual. Good interpreters and translators are hard to find and excellent ones are simply rare. So you should expect to pay them similarly to highly qualified professionals, such as accountants, average lawyers or others.

Although there are also "diva" interpreters, usually members of closed associations, who will not only charge significantly higher that "informal" interpreters, but will also request working conditions that may be beyond your budget or capabilities. These types of interpreters have usually been "bred" by international organizations such as the UN and the OAS, which traditionally have had extensive budgets and preferential conditions for everyone involved.

In any case, a good "informal" interpreter can charge anything between US$25 and US$50 an hour. Rates depend very much on the country where you will be hiring the interpreters. American and European interpreters are in general more expensive than interpreters in Latin America, India, Africa, etc.

Also take note that simultaneous (or consecutive) interpreters will usually work in pairs, switching between them every 20 or so. This is normally the most professional way to perform an interpretation since the work involved requires extreme concentration and mental effort. However, if you will meet for just a few hours, you should be able to find an interpreter willing to work alone.

If you plan to take your interpreters to another country or city, please take into account that you will probably have to pay travel expenses, lodging and meals, similar to those of everyone else in your party, besides to their hourly or daily professional fees.

Now, for document translation, you should again expect a very wide range of prices depending on the country where you are hiring the services and the languages involved. It can go from as low as US$0.05 per word to as much as US$0.20. Rush projects will certainly cost you a lot more than assignments that can wait a few days.

In the case of written translations, try to avoid hiring a translation broker. These companies specialize in dividing your work into pieces and giving them to several translators who work on it at the same time. If you have a very big document and time is of the essence, then you may not have another option. However, if you have the time to give your work directly to a translator (and you trust him/her of course and have checked their references and experience), then you will probably save money, obtain a more consistent and better translation, and will be supporting one or more independent professionals.

The author is an experienced translator and interpreter residing in Costa Rica http://www.spanish-english-translation-costa-rica.com/offshore-meeting-destination.html. She works independently with the help of other local professionals. She has been exposed to translation and interpretation projects for more than 12 years and has thoroughly been involved in every aspect of their organization and management. You can visit her information website at: http://www.spanish-english-translation-costa-rica.com/.

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Exciting Times for Translators

With the globalisation of many businesses and increasing multi-cultural diversity in many big cities, the need for translators and interpreters is on the rise. With Internet and email, as well as online easy payment options, it is easier to operate as a translator independent of global and geographical boundaries. Translators are not confined to working in offices fixed hours per day, 5 days a week. You can work as little or as much as you want, and the hours are flexible as long as deadlines are met.

While there is a wider range of translation agencies to choose from, there is also increased competition from the increased development of translator education. High qualified translation is only just a pre-requisite for many translation assignments. Experience counts equally if not more when it comes to specialised or more complex assignments. A translation agency would rather choose an experienced translators with a secondary studies in the related field of the translation assignment.

The important of experience cannot be understated. Some fresh Masters or Phd holders may think they can demand higher rates based on their degree. But truth to be told, experienced and hard-working translators who may not have the post graduate degrees can produce higher quality translation. The rigors of day-to-day translating and a true passion of translation can never be substituted by a degree.

If you are a novice translator, experience is exactly what you need. The other thing to acquire would be a local government accredited translation certificate for the languages you would like to specialise in. Treat every assignment big or small with equal respect.

There is always room for improvement. Translation is not the conversion of one language to another for mere understanding. Apart from being critically accurate in translating, there is also translation that reads better. Accuracy and readability are both important. There may be three versions of translating a single sentence and they may mean the same thing to a degree of 95%. The 5% difference is the detail which differentiates an exceptional translator from an average translator. Moreover, the difference is usually picked up easily by native speakers.

We have seen translation from two separate translators that were both acceptable by translation standards. But the difference in every phrase and sentence was astounding. We did not have to think twice about the translator to pick, even if it meant a lesser profit margin.

Some good translators commit themselves each year to staying in different countries just to be fully conversant and up-to-date in their specialised languages.

Usually, more specialised or technically complex assignments are outsourced to translation agencies, who need to manage translators from a wide range of languages. Novice translator should never be afraid of taking up the more difficult assignments. On the other hand, they should spare no effort to fully understand and produce quality translation. The 'no pain - no gain' cliché does apply. Translators get stronger in their craft through more research and study during hands-on translation assignments.

Before accepting the translation job:

Ensure the agency can be trusted, have a website and contact details.

Ensure you can tackle the subject matter or know the experts who can advice you when you hit a road-block.

Estimate the time and give yourself some allowance for emergencies. Your reputation depends on it.

If in doubt, ask or convey your assumptions with regards to the translation.

While it is easiest to ask the agency for a rate, you should also know the rate you would be happy to work for and express that confidently when asked.

Always state whether your price includes Goods Services Tax (GST), which can be a significant sum of money. Payment should be finalised before beginning the assignment. You should also know when you will get paid!

The Translation Process

Read and follow the brief closely. Do not accept the job is there is an unrealistic deadline.

Do not change file names but you may add an international language code at the end of the file name. (Example, CN for Chinese or DE for German)

If applicable, preserve the source text layout. Otherwise, choose a formal layout and font. Do not use the spacebar to create an indent or start a new page because it may damage the layout. Remember Samuelsson-Brown's commandment "Thou shalt not use the spacebar" from his excellent Practical Guide for Translators (2004: 114).

Translated text may increase or decrease depending on the language. If there is a confined space for the text and this becomes an issue, translators should have a best-approach in mind and discuss with their agency.

Accuracy is critical. Slight differences in translation can have devastating consequences especially for contractual or instructional documents. Always get help or subject references when you can for maximum accuracy.

Translators can be independent problem solvers, and highlight problems in the source text for agencies to verify with clients. For example, if a page is missing, or if text is cut-off, agencies should be informed.

Spend time and utmost patience in proof reading your work. Never be distracted or tired during this process. If it takes more than one read-through to weed out all mistakes, spend that effort gladly. Never send out incomplete or draft translations.

Spell checkers do not recognise all errors. For example, mushroom soap wouldn't be highlighted by a spell checker.

Pay attention to measures and date conventions, and spelling difference between UK and US English for example.

Be loyal to your agency and never try to contact their clients without expressed permission or worse, solicit business from your client's clients.

It's an exciting time for translators. If you have the right price, attitude and certification, translation jobs are abundant. You can work from wherever you want and plan your holidays whenever you want!

Sydney Translation


http://www.sydneytranslation.com.au

Sydney Translation is a translation agency based in Australia, providing translation service for individuals, communities, businesses and government departments.

Our agency provides Australian government accredited translators and interpreters.

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Google Translate Serbian Tool - Should Human Translators Be Worried?

"Machine translation". Translators shudder to hear those words! It is partly in disgust, due to a firmly-held belief that a computer will never replace a superior human translator (like us!), partly because we are scared stiff that it will! So we either vehemently deprecate machine translation, or we carefully skirt around the subject and hope, for example, that our customers won't find out about the Serbian-English-Serbian translation tool, recently made available for free by the almighty Google (link below)!

Because the fact is that Google's translation tool, which now provides automatic translation into English of Serbian websites and of copy-pasted blocks of Serbian text, is really surprisingly good (we will not discuss Google's English-Serbian translation tool in this article, i.e. the reverse direction, as it is pretty awful right now)!

Rather than acting as if it didn't exist, we think it is better to get this subject out in the open and examine its implications for the clients of translation companies and for the translation industry in general. So this will be the first in what is planned to be a series of articles looking at automatic and machine translation, both in the context of Serbian-English translation and of translation in general. In this article we will look briefly at the quality of Google's automatic Serbian-English translation and explain why we do not think translators and translation companies working in the Serbian-English pair should be too concerned for their livelihoods right now.

An example of Google's Serbian English translation

Let's carry out a little experiment first. We took a paragraph of Serbian text (taken from a Serbian Wikipedia article) and pasted it into the Google Serbian-English translation tool.

A human translation from the Serbian to English would read something like this:

A translation memory is comprised of segments of text in the source language and of their translation into one or more target languages. These segments can be passages, paragraphs, sentences or phrases. Individual words are not handled by translation memories, these are dealt with by terminology bases. Research has shown that many companies using multilingual documents use translation memory-based systems.

Within a few seconds, Google Translate outputs the following translation into English:

Translation memory consists of segments of the text in the original language and their translation into one or more target languages. These segments can be passages, paragraphs, sentences or phrases. Individual words are not in the field of translation memory, but they deal with terminoloske database. Research shows that many companies have multilingual documentation systems used to translating memory.

Can you understand it? Apart from a few problems the translator had in identifying passive/active constructions and an unknown word, of course you can! It's certainly a lot better than any Serbian-English machine translation tool we've tried before. If you look at what an old-style machine translation (which shall remain nameless) did to this paragraph, maybe you can begin to appreciate how good Google Translate is:

Prevodilacka store sastoji oneself off segmenata textual on izvornom jeziku too njihovog prevoda on unity whether over ciljanih jezika. Those segmenti might lie flinders,pasusi,recenice whether fraze. Pojedinacne reci did not of domenu prevodilacke memorije,vec oneself to them bave terminoloske baze. Istra%u017Eivanja pokazuju ought mnoge kompanije wo there are visejezicku dokumentaciju koriste sisteme with prevodilackom memorijom.

I beg your pardon? That was supposed to be English, in case you were wondering! And NO, we did not doctor this in any way! Also, if anyone can tell us what "flinders" are, then they know more Middle English than we do!

Google Translate is perhaps not as successful with all texts as it was with this one, but it is certainly a major improvement over the above example in practically all cases! So perhaps translators should think twice before discounting machine translation from Serbian to English (and other languages, if this is anything to go by).

What makes Google Translate different?

Google's system is a little different to previous machine translations in that it uses a statistical method to analyse existing translations from Serbian to English and applies what it has learned to the new text. Old-style systems merely use a dictionary to translate texts word-for-word by "brute force" and tend not to be very successful. However, it should be noted that Google themselves have recognised that their statistical method has now hit a wall of diminishing returns and it is unlikely that, as the technology currently stands, the standard of translation will be able to improve appreciably, and that goes not just for Serbian and English, but for all language combinations.

Death-knell for human translators?

So are we crazy to tell you all this? After all, translation companies rely on the (paid) work of human translators! What happens if all your clients go off and begin using Google Translate free of charge? Indeed, we have already seen examples of amateur translators supplying "translations from Serbian into English" that have clearly been carried out using this tool! It is only a matter of time before translation companies begin receiving "previously-translated" texts (texts that suspiciously resemble Google translations!) from clients and being asked to "just proof-read this" for a rate considerably lower than a translation from scratch would cost.

Well, we would like to talk about a few reasons why you and your clients should know about Google Translate for Serbian and English and why we think translation companies need not fear for their business:

A translation business should value transparency and seek to work within the realities of the market - it does not make long-term business sense to "hide" valuable resources like this from our clients! Besides, they will find out about it sooner or later! Rather, we should accept the reality that tools such as this bring to the translation industry - the market will always be changing and we need to be prepared to adapt, not cling to an outdated reality.
We should want our customers to use Google Translate for Serbian-English translation! After all, the vision of a translation company should be to enable their customers to communicate with other markets and cultures. So if this tool helps a client who only understands English to understand a text in Serbian, then you have surely gone some way to achieving this vision!
But the core of the issue and the reason translation companies have nothing to "fear" from Google Translate is what you have been suspecting all along: computerized, automatic translation is not going to replace professional human translation from Serbian to English (or any other language) any time soon. Or let's phrase it as a question: would you, as the marketing manager of, say, a Serbian company wanting to do business in the West, entrust the translation of your website or of your corporate magazine into English to a machine translation tool? The simple reality is that, no, you would not.
This is not necessarily to knock automatic translation tools - they are after all a soft target for us superior human translators! They may well have their applications, and we may discuss this in another article. This is merely to say that any business that is serious about a given market, given the current quality of machine translation, will settle only for a professional, human translation of their promotional materials. After all, we said Google's Serbian English translation was good, but it's not THAT good! In fact it's not nearly good enough.

Perhaps in a future article we will also take a look at some of the differences between machine translation and human translation and investigate some of the reasons why, despite the remarkable advances, and the positive things we have said about Google Translate, automatic translation software is not currently a serious choice for professional translation - from Serbian to English or in any other language combination - and why it may never be. Indeed, we have some deep concerns about possible misuses of a tool like this, in an environment where even now translation is often not taken seriously enough.

In the meantime though, check out the tool and perhaps open up a whole new world of translated Serbian web content that you could not access before! Try Google Serbian-English and English-Serbian translation here.

Why not pay a visit to Odista, the only company dedicated solely to Serbian-English translation - based in Serbia and run by native English-speakers, providing professional human translation services from English to Serbian and Serbian to English, primarily to corporate clients. We do not recommend using Google Translate for important translation projects!

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Making the Most of a Translator's Services

In today's global marketplace, appealing to an international audience may be not just an advantage but a necessity for your business or web site. Speaking to your customers in their language gives them reassurance that you will cater to their needs. Speaking to them in clear, well-written language leaves them with a positive impression of your business that may clinch the sale.

Unless you have the resources to employ full time multilingual copywriters, chances are that you'll be appealing to the services of a professional translator. Translators are sometimes viewed with an air of suspicion, and as a translator and language specialist myself, I can empathise with this to some extent. It's the same problem that arises when you call a plumber or electrician: you need their services, but you may not fully understand or have the means to judge their work. You've possibly had a bad experience in the past, such as a translation being delivered late, or turning out to have mistakes in it. So in this article I hope to give some hints from "my side of the fence" on how you can alleviate these problems, understand what you can expect from a translation service and ultimately make that service work for you. I'll focus specifically here on some aspects of budget and organisation, though I'll mention the editorial process briefly.

Attitude

A key underlying point to getting the most out of translation is actually the attitude you have towards it. Remember that a good translator is on your side and will be continually trying to make their translation achieve your purposes: be that making your publicity material sound more convincing in order to get more sales, or making the text of your internal documents as explanatory as possible so that your collaborators understand them quickly. Either way, a good translation can make or save you money in the long run. So you should view the translation work as a valuable part of your business strategy, not simply a boring, administrative task to be done as cheaply as possible at the last minute. It's really a false economy to shave 50 Euros off the cost of a translation only for this to result in a lesser quality job that gets you fewer sales over the course of a whole year. Similarly, asking for an "urgent" translation to be rushed may not actually save you any time overall if your colleagues then need twice as long to digest the document because it's less clearly written.

Being clear from the outset

So, the next point is that you need to be clear about your time and money budget. As a rough guide, you should ideally allow one day for every 2,000 words of text that need translating, and in any case a minimum of two days to allow the translator proper time to do any necessary research and consultancy. Depending on your needs and the speciality of the text, you should budget for around 50 to 80 Euros per 1,000 words of source text at the very least, and for more to accommodate any special requirements or additional proofreading. (Unusual language pairs will also usually involve extra cost.) This may sound a little expensive and time-consuming, but as I mentioned, the investment will generally pay for itself in the long run.

If you state no preference, a translator will generally propose a timescale that they are confident that they can meet. If you need the translation sooner or one of your documents is of higher priority than the others, state this from the beginning. Changing the timescale part way through the project is generally not a good idea, because the translator may have agreed, for example, to get feedback from consultants and work back from collaborators at a particular time, and re-scheduling this process may then involve cutting corners.

Working with budget constraints

If you really need to budget for less money or time than would be recommended by default, then be up front about it with the translator from the outset and make sure that the translator is up front about what corners are being cut to achieve your budget. Translators such as myself who work in tandem with other collaborators can often work around a lower budget or tight time constraints. For example, part of the work can be outsourced to a student translator who will charge less money (but where the work will still then be subject to some minimal checking by a more experienced translator), or portions allocated to multiple translators to get the job done more quickly. Or it may be that the translator or one of their collaborators has recently worked on a similar document which they can use as a basis for completing your job more quickly. But in any case, they should be transparent about this and you should understand the implications. If a translator agrees to a suspiciously cheap price or short timescale without explaining how they're able to achieve it, alarm bells should be ringing.

Ask the translator if they can offer any other options for cutting the budget. For example, they may offer a discount in exchange for a link to their web site. An option I offer with my own translation service is a discount in exchange for sentences from the resulting translation being included in a public on-line database of example translations. (An interesting side effect is that this provides an additional guarantee of quality: why would I want to fill my database with bad translations?)

Note that professional translators will generally NOT agree to cost-cutting by not including names or repetitions. This is a cowboy practice which in particular some agencies try to demand and which can compromise the quality of the translation. Any translator that agrees to this practice is being unprofessional, and you should ask yourself what other unprofessional practices they'll also be using behind your back to complete your translation.

The editorial process

I'll briefly mention some editorial matters, which in reality would merit a separate article. Just because a text has been translated does not necessarily mean you can bypass the editorial processes that you applied to the original text. Make sure your original text is clearly written, and provide the translator with any additional illustrations and notes that will help them understand the text. If the translation is for an important publication and you don't have your own editors in the target language, negotiate extra proofreading with the translator or with another professional editor; don't assume proofreading or editing is included in the price unless you've specifically requested it. On the other hand, for less formal publications such as a web site, if you had no editorial process as such for the original, you may not need an extra editing step for the translation: the key thing is to treat your original "raw" copy and the "raw" translation like for like.

If you're concerned about the quality of a translator's work, then one strategy is to contract-- and pay for-- translation of a small portion of the text (say, 500-1000 words) and have the result independently proofread. You can also ask for a small sample of previous work and ask an independent proofreader to look at that sample. (In general, a good translator will be able to pick a 300 word sample that shows off their work; you should be able to put together several such samples from different translators and have the whole lot proofread reasonably cheaply.) This means that you may need to invest a little bit of time in recruiting the best translator, but if the quality of your translation is so vital, then the initial outlay will be worth it. You can also simply ask the translator about your concerns!-- a good translator should be able to allay your fears. Paradoxically, it is NOT generally a good idea to recruit a translator by demanding that they carry out a FREE "sample" job, especially if the sample is more than about 100 words. Doing so is considered a highly unprofessional practice, and you'll automatically rule out the best translators because they'll simply refuse to do work for free. You'll also give your company a "cowboy" reputation among the translation community, making it more difficult for you to recruit good translators in the future.

If you contract proofreading separately, try to make sure the proofreader's judgement is (a) professional and (b) impartial. It is normal, and not necessarily the sign of a bad translation, for a proofreader to make a number of improvements to a translation-- after all, they're an extra "brain" on the job and it's partly what you're paying them for. If you're concerned about the number or nature of suggestions made, then a decent proofreader will be honest about which are purely preferences and suggestions and which are out-and-out corrections, and a good translator will give you their honest opinion on which of the proofreader's suggestions they think are genuine improvements to their original translation. The key is to relay your concerns to both parties.

Conclusion

I hope I've given an overview of some of the expectations you can have of the translation process and how, with the right attitude, you can make it work for you. A good translator will be working with you to achieve your goals. If you properly build the translation process into the timescale and budget of your project and take the time to clearly set out your needs, then quality translation is an investment that will likely pay off in the long run.

As a language specialist, I run various language learning web sites as well as a translation service, specialising in high-quality human translations between French, Spanish and English.

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