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Working with translators - 2
The more you cooperate with your translator, the better |
SELECTING A FREELANCE TRANSLATOR
Select your translator on the basis of relevant qualifications and experience, appropriate resources, availability and cost. If your job requires specialized terminology or knowledge, look for someone who at least has experience in that broad area. Working with a translator directly has several advantages over working through an intermediary, including a generally lower cost and greater direct input into the translation process. If you are likely to need someone on a regular basis, you might consider employing your own in-house translator.
Many translators advertise in Yellow Pages or other directories, but it is important to ascertain their qualifications and their linguistic and subject expertise.
- Shop around and ask your associates for recommendations.
- Keep an eye out for good translations in a related field and track down the translator if possible.
- Ask potential translators for references or samples of work they have already done (both source and target texts).
- Have prospective translators do a half-page sample text, for which you should offer to pay. Show the translation to a language-sensitive native speaker of the target language.
- Verify the translator's capabilities through cross-checks and on-going checks.
WORKING WITH A TRANSLATION COMPANY
For some jobs you might need to employ a translation firm that can offer additional services and quality control and that has the facilities to provide camera-ready artwork and can handle large volumes, tight deadlines and complex or unusual subjects. Most translation companies rely on both freelance translators and in-house staff, so when choosing an agency you should ask about the qualifications and experience of their freelance and in-house translators. You should also ask whether the company adds value to the translations - e.g., through editing and proofreading or desktop publishing. Translation companies charge a commission on top of the amount paid to the translator, so they are usually more expensive than working with a translator directly.
Whether using a freelance translator or an agency, once you find a good translator it is a good idea to use the same person consistently so that he or she becomes familiar with your work and the preferred vocabulary, style and formatting and can do an even better job for you in the future. Good communication between all parties involved in the translation process is also essential for obtaining a quality translation.
HELPING YOUR TRANSLATOR HELP YOU
The more planning and preparation that goes into a translation task and the more you cooperate with your translator, the better the outcome is likely to be. These steps won't take long, but could save you a great deal of money and frustration. Here are some tips to help you.
1. Before assigning the work to a translator
- When writing a document that you know will be translated later, take particular care to ensure it is written clearly, accurately and unambiguously and contains no factual errors or formal deficiencies. It is impossible to translate something that doesn't make sense into something that does make sense, and problems in the original text will slow down the translation process and adversely affect the finished product.
- Don't send a document for translation without first checking in advance whether the prospective translator is available.
- Show the translator the actual document - or at least a substantial sample - in advance.
- Provide clearly legible texts. Tiny print, handwritten copy and third-generation faxes make your translator's job more difficult and increase the risk of error.
- If the material is to be published, agree on who will do the proofreading (the translator or a third party?).
2. Information to provide the translator
- Brief your translator on the purpose of the translation (e.g., whether it is for information, publication, a meeting, or use in court), on the intended readers (e.g., British or American; how much knowledge they have of the subject and the source culture), and on how this document fits in with any related documents. This will help the translator choose the most suitable approach and wording.
- Clearly mark any sections that are not to be translated.
- Let the translator know if the terminology should conform to any specific requirements (e.g., an in-house or industry-specific glossary). If possible, provide a list of specialized terminology that might appear in the document. This will help your translator do a better job, even if the glossary is in one language only. This might also usefully contain the official renditions of the names of departments or job titles, or the correctly spelled names of people.
- Provide the translator with as much background material as possible (e.g., related correspondence, reports, glossaries, specifications, relevant web site details; previously translated materials on a related topic), preferably in both languages. This will help the translator tailor the job to your needs.
- Inform the translator of any particular style that should be followed (for instance, if the text has to match in-house style or the style of existing documents).
- Brief the translator fully on any particular layout requirements (e.g., the handling of tables and diagrams, the placement of captions, whether identical page layout is necessary for producing a bilingual text). Remember that the translation might be longer or shorter than the original, which could affect the layout or typesetting.
- Inform the translator of any software requirements (e.g., preferred word-processing/DTP package) and the physical form in which the translation is to be submitted (e.g., post, courier, express post, fax, disk, electronic file; camera-ready or not).
- Provide sufficient context. A list of isolated items or an extract from a text will make it more difficult for your translator to provide an accurate and appropriate rendition.
- Provide any drawings, illustrations, tables or graphs (even if not to be translated), as they may help explain the rest of the text.
- Give the name and number of a contact person in case the translator needs to clarify something. Ideally, this should be the original writer of the text or a specialist in the subject matter. This contact person should be prepared to help the translator by explaining any unclear parts in the text or providing industry jargon. Be prepared to liaise with your translator to ensure a good result. Collaboration helps produce better-quality documents.
- Let the translator know if the source text and reference material should be returned.
3. Deadlines and financial arrangements
- Allow sufficient time in the documentation schedule for translation.
- Agree on a realistic deadline before the translator starts work. Allow the translator sufficient time to do any necessary research and to produce a quality translation. Remember that a great deal of time and effort probably went into the document you want translated and it is important enough for you to pay for it, so allow your translator time to do it justice. If this is not possible, be prepared to pay a higher charge as rush rate to compensate the translator for staying up all night or working all weekend.
- Understand that doing a 'rough' summary may be nearly as time-consuming as producing a full translation and may result in a distorted picture of the text if the translator is not fully briefed on exactly what you are looking for. (It is usual with summary translations to pay the translator for the time involved, rather than by the length of the summary text.)
- Decide whether the translation is for information purposes only or for publication, and allocate your budget accordingly. The former are usually less expensive than translations for publication, which might involve considerable adaptation for a different audience.
- Agree on financial arrangements in advance. When is payment to be made (e.g., on delivery, 30 days)? Will it be a single payment or an advance plus installments? What method of payment is to be used (e.g., bank transfer, check)? Will there be any additional charges (e.g., for rush jobs, complex layout or special presentation)? What compensation will be paid if the job is cancelled after work has commenced?
4. General tips
- Understand that if translators ask you questions it does not mean they are incompetent - informed questions are an indication of a professional attitude. Be willing to provide answers if you can.
- Don't try to economize by asking your translator to compromise on quality. In the long run this will only work to your detriment.
- Beware of splitting large jobs between several different translators unless there is a way to ensure terminological and stylistic consistency.
- With translated texts that are for publication, it is a good idea to show the proofs to the translator before going to press. This can avoid expensive mistakes.
- Be willing to give feedback once the job has been completed, especially if - despite your and the translator's best efforts - some editing has been necessary. Giving the translator a copy of the marked-up text enables him or her to learn from the mistakes and suggestions. Translators usually welcome constructive comments, and helping the translator will ensure a better job and better value for money in the future.
WHAT ABOUT FORMAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR TRANSLATORS?
Some universities and commercial schools offer courses in translation. People who have studied in such courses can be expected to have a sounder grasp of translation than novices without any training, but they may still lack the experience of long-standing practitioners. Translators come from a range of professional and technical backgrounds and do not necessarily have an academic background in languages or translation.
Some countries have accreditation exams whose aim is to determine whether the candidate possesses a certain minimum degree of competence. The value of accreditation depends on the reliability of the testing methodology, and even a valid examination is no guarantee that someone who has passed it can perform well on all kinds of texts. When hiring a translator who claims to be accredited, it is important to ask who the accreditation authority was, and in which language direction and at what level the person is accredited. Although accreditation is one indication of a serious and professional approach to translation and it is becoming more common, most translators today do not have formal accreditation. This does not necessarily mean they can't do a good job. Ask prospective translators about their experience in the particular field for which you require a translation. You might also ask some of their other clients about the quality of the translator's work and if it was delivered on time and per instructions.
TRANSLATOR ETHICS
Translators operate under general ethical principles that require them not to disclose information acquired in the course of their work and not to undertake work that is demonstrably beyond their ability (at least without informing the client). They are also required to maintain impartiality, take all reasonable care to be accurate, be responsible for the quality of their work, continue developing their professional knowledge and skills, and respect and support their fellow professionals.
IS MACHINE TRANSLATION A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE?
Today there are many software packages on the market that claim they can translate automatically. Machine translation packages can sometimes serve a rudimentary purpose by providing a very rough idea of the gist of the document. Even so, they work best on texts with very restricted and repetitive subject matter or texts written according to strictly controlled guidelines. Machine translation soon shows its shortcomings when faced with authentic or complex texts that encompass the full range of expression, ambiguity and nuances present in everyday texts - not to mention literature. Extensive pre-editing and post-editing by human experts is usually needed for machine-translated texts, so generally it is cheaper - and certainly better in terms of quality - to employ a professional translator from the outset. Fully accurate, high-quality machine translation with no human input is unlikely to ever be a reality.
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Working with translators - 2. The more you cooperate with your translator, the better - Translation Articles - Trally.com
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