Author Archives: thattranslationblog

How to find a specialist subject…

How to find a specialist subject…

…and not stick to it, because you’ll keep on learning new ones.

When you’re starting out as a translator, your specialist subject areas are one of the first things a potential agency client might ask you about. This can be easy for those that are starting a translation career after working or training in a different sector earlier in life. My path to translation was much more linear…school, followed by language studies, followed by translation studies. I found the idea of finding a specialism hard to begin with, as my main focus has always been on language studies.

Working as a project manager, saw a lot of CVs, and I was slightly suspicious of the generalists, and the CVs with a huge list of specialisms. I do understand why people do this though, because whatever you choose to do, it has to be financially viable.

Here are a few of my thoughts on how you can find your stride.

Have you trained in anything else?

Most medical and legal translators have additional qualifications in these sectors, and their prices reflect this. If your studies like mine were language based, go back further – what other qualifications do you have? There might be a subject that you enjoyed at school which you could go back to. Outside of formal education, there could be other courses or subjects that you’ve attended through work or pleasure.

What are your hobbies?

This is a good way to start. Translators specialise in a huge range of subjects. A passion for reading could turn into a career as a literary translator. Sports fans can find work translating equipment manuals, magazines, marketing texts, and more. The only risk with going down this route is that some hobbies can be quite niche, so it might be better to branch out by a few things. My hobby is skateboarding, and whilst I’m realistic in knowing that there probably won’t be many opportunities knocking at my door, if there ever was someone needing this subject translated in my language pair, I know I would be the perfect person to do this.

Have you worked in any other job roles?

I worked in hospitality and customer service, as well as a plant centre when I was younger, so I know a fair bit about the products I was selling. Almost every job comes with some sort of life experience which could prove useful for you as a translator.

What type of writing are you good at?

Perhaps you have knack for marketing texts, where translations need to be a looser, and more creative. It might suit you better to work on more precise translations, like instruction manuals.

You might be questioning why this is all so important. As translators it’s important to uphold the high standards of accuracy that our clients deserve, and to do that, you truly need to know what you’re talking about. Ask yourself, could you write about your chosen specialism fluently in your native language?

Your clients and your end readers will be expecting the translation to be written in the correct style for the target market, using the correct terminology. There are some subjects that truly need to be left to the experts. Legal and medical translation can go catastrophically wrong if translated incorrectly. It’s important not to discount your life experience though – thing about the things you’ve done, where you’ve been, what you’re good at, and what you enjoy – don’t just focus on what qualifications you have down on paper. Over time, you’ll probably pick up different subjects. You might find a new interest, discover a new area of translation that you’re good at, or stumble upon new learning opportunities. Often there are introductory courses available for translators that you can take to give you a taste for new specialisms. The good thing is that your CV can evolve over time.

How are translations priced?

How are translations priced?

Why do most agencies quote on a project-project basis?

The first thing most clients want to know when they decide they need to have something professionally translated, is what is the cost going to be.

Essentially, the cost can vary a great deal, because there’s so many factors involved.

Simply put, price of translation = cost of translation + cost of admin.

Here are some variables, that shape the cost:

Language pair

Language combinations are priced differently, mainly due to supply and demand, and the cost of living in the linguists’ economic area.

Widely spoken languages are generally cheaper, due to there being more linguists available compared to a minority language. If there aren’t many translators working in that language, they will be able to charge more for their services.

The same goes for unusual language combinations, for example, Korean into Russian. With some language combinations being difficult to find, one option is to translate the source into English, then back into the target. This makes it much easier to find translators, but it will be twice as expensive, as the work will need to be translated twice.

Subject Matter

Some subjects are more expensive to translate than others. Generally speaking, business documents are cheaper to translate. There’s high demand for them, and they’re fairly straightforward to translate for someone working in that specialism.

Other subjects require more in-depth knowledge from the translator, or take more time to complete, which is reflected in the price.

Take for example legal translations. A good legal translator will probably have some form or legal qualification or experience, and can charge a premium for that. Same goes for medical translations. There’s also good reason to pay for this premium service, as these documents need to be 100% accurate.

Marketing and literary translations can cost more, because they can take longer. Translators may have to be more creative with their work, and make decisions to ensure that their work is understood by their audience. Sometimes, things have to be recreated in the target language to be understood. That simple slogan which is only a few words long might make no sense at all, or mean something completely different if it’s translated word-for-word.

Here’s a article on some of the greatest advertising translation fails if you fancy a laugh (I’ve put this in to break this unusually long blog up a bit, but when you come back to it, you’ll see I’m making some valid and helpful points). https://www.businessinsider.com/worst-foreign-ad-translation-fails-2012-5?r=US&IR=T#pepsi-4

The article’s a good way of explaining why you should pay a professional to translate your advertising slogans, and come up with a solution if it doesn’t quite work in their language.

Process

The translation industry calls this a ‘workflow process’, or thereabouts. You need to make a decision whether you need translation only, or translation + editing and/or proofreading, as each step add on extra to the process.

The process you choose depends largely on what you need your translation for. If you just need something to be understood, then you can probably get away with translation only. You might have colleagues that can check through the translations for you (but don’t fall into the trap of ‘I know the language, therefore I can translate it’). If you’re having something published, for reasons discussed above, it’s worth getting it double checked.

Whilst a professional translation will be a good standard, you have used a human for this, therefore you have to account for human error. Apart from making sure that a translation is accurate, editors can also improve on the style, a fresh pair of eyes and all that. A proofreader will just check for typos and spelling/grammatical mistakes, but may not be looking at both the source and target text, and may not speak both languages– it’s not as in depth as editing.

Repetitions

If your text contains a lot of duplicate sentences, you might be able to negotiate a discount for repetition, depending on what your translation service provider is comfortable offering.

The bottom line is that duplications do reduce the amount of words that need to be translated, but they still need to be checked through by someone in the process to make sure that it fits well into the target text, so the percentage discount offered will vary amongst providers.

Formatting

Almost every document will need some form of formatting, to make sure that the end result looks polished. If a language expands or contracts, then someone needs to adjust the final file to make it fit right.

Handwritten documents can normally be put through OCR software, but this needs to be checked through, as it sometimes produces some clangers. For hard to read documents, transcription may be required (charged at an hourly rate normally).

PDFs are hard for translation tools to process, so it’s always easier if you can get hold of the original, editable file. Indesign or artwork documents will normally be processed by a DTP specialist, to mirror the original formatting of the document, but allow for language expansion/contraction.

Size of the project

It’s quite normal to have to pay a minimal charge (usually an hourly rate) for even the smallest of jobs, due to the admin involved. To save money, you could group together smaller jobs (if they’re the same subject and language combination). If you’re using an agency, bear in mind that small jobs require the same amount of admin on their part as a larger job, so of course there’s a charge for this service. You can might be able negotiate a standard rate with translators for more regular jobs, but that’s really down to them.

Delivery time

These days, with the help of technology, things can be translated pretty quickly, but if you need something in double time then you might be charged more. There’s a few reasons for this. If multiple translators are needed, then there will be more project management involved to make sure that everything is done on time, consistently. To get everything done on time, people may have to work out of hours and over weekends or public holidays to get things finished. Only pay a weekend rate if there’s no choice but to work over the weekend though (i.e. you have given a job on a Friday and want it delivered the next Monday), not because someone has chosen to work then.

File format

The great news is that the majority of file formats are compatible with CAT (Computer-Aided Translation) Tools, which are widely used in the industry, although it’s always a good idea to check this through with your provider first. It might actually be easier for both of you to work with the original file, rather than a conversion.

The two formats which are a bit tricky are handwritten – these will need transcribing before translation, and sometimes handwriting can be tricky to read, and PDF. These formats require work to get them into a readable format, which will normally be added on in addition to the translation cost.

Hopefully this is some way of explaining why you don’t have access to a translation provider’s rates without showing them your document for translation first. As well as needing to see it first to know whether they can translate it, the price you’re given will also take all the many other cost factors into account.

My first month of freelancing done. How’s it all going?

My first month of freelancing done. How’s it all going?

I’ll have to cast my mind back in time to what Gill one month ago wanted to achieve, because actually, success isn’t defined by earnings, number of invoices you dish out, or the number of clicks you receive or followers you have. It’s actually a matter of perspective. What do you want to achieve, and when do you want to do it by?

I’m coming to the end of my first month a lone wolf, and the question on everybody’s lips is ‘how’s the freelancing going, have you had many orders yet?’. Everyone from friends and family, to acquaintances, to other translators just starting out have asked me, and their reactions have made me realise that it’s difficult to define success through another person’s perspective.

I can’t really tell you if I’ve had a successful first month or not. Some of the people I’ve spoken to haven’t seemed that impressed that I’ve done two small translation jobs. I could have earned more if I’d stayed put in the job I left. Others, especially translation colleagues, have asked me for tips and advice – something that I’m not so used to – imposter syndrome starts to creep in.

My original plans for the first month were:

  • Have a bit of a break, seeing as half of it is taken over by Christmas. Make it to the school nativity, send out cards in time to all the relatives.
  • Introduce myself to a few people, throw my hat into the ring, so to speak.
  • Try and get my website finished for a January launch. New year, new website and all that.

How my first month has actually panned out:

  • Actually, December was busier than I imagined it would be, but I have had a bit of a break, which in turn has made me more productive, I think. The nativity was cancelled, but I watched the recording with my family whilst eating pizza, and laughed out loud at my son’s blossoming comic timing as a servant to the emperor. Sent the cards and wrapped the presents in good time, although not prettily with dried orange slices attached. = OVERALL SUCCESS.
  • I’ve sent more messages than I can count, and I’ve told anyone that will listen that I’ve changed my job status. This has led to a couple of test translations, a couple of jobs, and a couple of very warm leads for the new year, with one meeting booked in for project management work. I won’t lie, for every positive response I’ve received, I’ve probably been ignored or ‘placed on the database and we’ll contact you when something suitable comes up’ several times. But from my perspective, I’ve met some great people, had some great responses so far, and who knows what might come up in the coming months. = OVERALL SUCCESS.
  • It’s the 2nd January and I’m still doing finishing touches to this website. FAIL, but I’d rather not rush this one.

Sadly, after a decade in the industry I’ve seen a lot of people come and go. What that has given me though, is a realistic perspective on what I should be achieving. I know that it will be a good number of months until there’s a steady flow of work. I also know that it will take a bit of time before I get into my groove and become more productive. I’m still learning software – where everything goes and what keyboard shortcuts to use. This, and the fact that I’m being a perfectionist, and unearthing a skill that I haven’t used for a few years means that I’m plodding along more slowly than I’d like at the moment.

But overall, I would say it’s going well. I’ve gone forwards, in my own way. The personal success gauge will surely shift over the next few months though as things will hopefully ramp up a bit. Watch this space!

How long does it take to translate a document?

How long does it take to translate a document?

Spoiler: it’s takes about as long as a piece of string…

Have you got something that needs translating, but are unsure of how much time to need to allow for the translation process?

Your translator (or agency) should be able to give you the best idea of this, as they will know from experience what their daily capacity is. Generally speaking, if you use one translator, you can expect a daily translation rate of 1500-2000 words. When you’re planning a translation project, use the daily translation rate as a rough guide only, because there are other factors at play which can prolong the life of a job. Your linguist or language service provider will be taking all of this into account when giving you your delivery estimate.

A few things to consider factoring in when you’re planning a project, which can add time on:

  • Compiling a glossary, gathering together reference materials, and getting these approved.
  • How complex is the subject matter, does it require research? Often translators will have questions about the text to make sure they get it right, so add on time to answer these.
  • Editing/Proofreading/Quality Assurance. Allow about 1 hour/1000 words for editing and proofreading, although like translation. If it’s a complex subject or a poor quality translation it might take longer. Final checks can seem a bit laborious, but they’re definitely worth doing for peace of mind.
  • File format – final files often need ‘cleaning up’ to make them look as neat as the source file. I’ve noticed this most often with PowerPoint slides. Artwork files often need reformatting too, to make sure that the new language fits on with the old design.
  • Availability – suitable translators might be working on another project when yours comes in, so either book them in advance (and stick to it), or consider that it might be a couple of days before they are available to start the project.

Of course, delays can happen due to emergencies and the unexpected, but this is rare. Nobody wants to deliver a project late, it’s actually one of a Project Manager’s main fears.

Don’t rush things ahead if you don’t need to! Translation is a form of rewriting. You probably paid a great deal of care and attention to the creation of the source document, and a good translator will do the same for the target text.

Make sure that you’re in agreement beforehand who will be responsible for each stage of the process, that way nobody will be sprung with an extra responsibility they weren’t expecting.