| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Translators abroad - What do you think? Thread poster: RosaT
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Uldis Liepkalns 
Latvia
Local time: 04:59
Member (2003)
English to Latvian
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| In my experience | May 28, 2004 |
(I can speak about Estonian and Lithuanian translators, permanently living here in Latvia, the case may be completely different with English), proofreaders in respective countries have in 100% of cases we have had to use services of such translators (urgency, client of too low budget to pay for translation to be done in neighbouring country), characterized their language at least as "funny"...
Uldis
[Edited at 2004-05-28 14:34]
| | | | Mónica Machado
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:59
English to Portuguese
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| No need to get upset | May 30, 2004 |
Hello All,
I quite agree with some of you but that's not the point. The thing is that if an agency has a procedure to follow they should follow it. It doesn't matter if we agree with it or not. If we agree and can follow it, fine, if we don't agree or can't meet their requirements, we just need to "pack our things" and look for another agency or client we are compatible with.
Life is too short to get upset and discuss who is right in such a matter. Remember that no matt... See more Hello All,
I quite agree with some of you but that's not the point. The thing is that if an agency has a procedure to follow they should follow it. It doesn't matter if we agree with it or not. If we agree and can follow it, fine, if we don't agree or can't meet their requirements, we just need to "pack our things" and look for another agency or client we are compatible with.
Life is too short to get upset and discuss who is right in such a matter. Remember that no matter how important the issue is or how right we are, we sometimes can't just win and that's the case with agencies. They have their own rules and if we don't agree that's no point in discussing that with them. They will always find someone who can just meet their requirements no matter how odd they are.
We have to keep our energies for things that really matter (such as clients who appreciate our work and trust us to deliver a reliable piece of work).
All the best
Mónica ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Missed the point | May 31, 2004 |
I think you have missed the point somewhat.
Of course, agencies are perfectly free to set their policies as they see fit.
But let's face it - a large number of them are close to bankrupcty because they attract only mediocre translators.
They don't pay their bills - lots of them at least - they claim to have knowledge they don't possess.
Don't ever work for agencies that set arbitrary standards.
They are likely to be bankrupt.
... See more I think you have missed the point somewhat.
Of course, agencies are perfectly free to set their policies as they see fit.
But let's face it - a large number of them are close to bankrupcty because they attract only mediocre translators.
They don't pay their bills - lots of them at least - they claim to have knowledge they don't possess.
Don't ever work for agencies that set arbitrary standards.
They are likely to be bankrupt.
A good agency will recruit on merit alone. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Correct that to arbitrary , sorry, it's a bit late | May 31, 2004 |
Anne Gillard-Groddeck wrote:
I think you have missed the point somewhat.
Of course, agencies are perfectly free to set their policies as they see fit.
But let's face it - a large number of them are close to bankrupcty because they attract only mediocre translators.
They don't pay their bills - lots of them at least - they claim to have knowledge they don't possess.
Don't ever work for agencies that set arbitrary standards.
They are likely to be bankrupt.
A good agency will recruit on merit alone.
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Heras
Spain
Local time: 03:59
French to Spanish
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| There are many reasons to this practice | Jun 9, 2004 |
I undestand you can think this is an unfair practice.
Nevertheless, a good translator ("Professional" or not, it's another question: I don't like this term) needs to know exactly the language, the "feeling", the uses of the country, the language and the culture into which he/she translates. It`s difficult to have an in-depth knowledge of your culture if you live in another country. It's difficult to have a real (not virtual) knowledge by the internet.
| | | | | That depends... | Jun 10, 2004 |
... a good translator ... needs to know exactly the language, the "feeling", the uses of the country, the language and the culture into which he/she translates. It`s difficult to have an in-depth knowledge of your culture if you live in another country. It's difficult to have a real (not virtual) knowledge by the internet.
That depends entirely on the translation at hand. An English-language instruction manual for a computer that is sold worldwide is a different kettle of fish to translating the copywrite for a tea cosy for Kay's catalogue.
In the latter case I would agree with you. In the former case, definitely not. I don't need quaint dialect for an international product.
Horses for courses, and work enough for everybody, that's what I say.
-M-
| | | | | Great comment! | Jun 10, 2004 |
Carruthers wrote:
a rule that should also apply to "foreign correspondents". They too should stay at home.
As for writers in exile (a nasty lot if ever there was one), take a look at Finnegans Wake for proof of the depths to which one might sink. (notice the missing apostrophy)
I rest my case.
Not to mention writers in exile that write in a foreign language - not their native language at all, such as this guy Jósef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/jconrad.htm
Live and let live - and keep up the good work!
| | | | Julia Gal
Local time: 03:59
French to English
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| I can understand their reasoning | Jun 11, 2004 |
As a student I spent my holidays working in a translation agency and saw the other side of the coin.
Translators would come to us, with fantastic CVs, a huge list of qualifications, high-quality references etc. but often - especially if they'd been living abroad for too long - we would find that their language didn't have that natural, native-speaker flow to it, even orally in many cases.
In fact there were translators who started off great and whose quality levels grad... See more As a student I spent my holidays working in a translation agency and saw the other side of the coin.
Translators would come to us, with fantastic CVs, a huge list of qualifications, high-quality references etc. but often - especially if they'd been living abroad for too long - we would find that their language didn't have that natural, native-speaker flow to it, even orally in many cases.
In fact there were translators who started off great and whose quality levels gradually dropped, the longer they were in France. I remember having to rewrite a translation done by a very upper-class English gentleman, whose spoken French was rather poor, yet whose written English was virtually "franglais"!
Of course there were exceptions and we worked with many translators who kept active in activities and groups using their native tongue or who travelled regularly to their home country, but there were many whom we turned down, too... ▲ Collapse
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DGK T-I
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:59
Georgian to English
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| Keeping skills and knowledge alive | Jun 11, 2004 |
Julia Gal wrote:
we worked with many translators who kept active in activities and groups using their native tongue or who travelled regularly to their home country...
Those are important, to keep language skills and knowledge alive and up to date, and a foot in each camp....as well as all those phone calls, and the reading, writing and speaking work that we have to do. One new factor that augments them all is the internet, providing many of us with daily television bulletins, radio, newspapers and much else, as never before - we are very fortunate:-)
Giuli~
(Eng Rus Geo)
[Edited at 2004-06-11 16:28]
| | | | | South African / British English | Jun 14, 2004 |
Samuel Murray-Smit wrote:
RosaT wrote:
Today an agency refused to use my services, saying that their policy is to only use translators who are based in the country of their native tongue.
Insisting on using a native speaker is simply a method of quality control. It is not flawless. Nor does it imply that all native speakers are necessarily good translators. But from a random group of translators in a language, chances are that the best translator is a native speaker and chances are also that more of the native speakers are good translators than of the non-native speakers.
The same goes for insisting on a local translator. It doesn\'t guarantee a good translation. But it does to a degree improve the chances of getting a good translator.
Why? Because local native speakers are immersed in the culture that speaks the language. They have a better ear to the ground. The foreign native speaker can remain in touch with the language through the web, newspapers, satellite television, chat rooms etc, but ultimately he no longer lives in a place where the language *surrounds* him.
The same goes for regional variants. As a South African I\'m able to translate into English, and although South African English follows British English closely, there are differences in the idiom. I wouldn\'t touch a creative writing translation if the target audience is Britain. Similarly a British translator might use words or phrases unknown to a South African audience.
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