Article: KudoZ - deciding whether a question is PRO or non-PRO Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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| | Carol Gullidge 
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:28
Member (2006)
French to English
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| clarification of Pro v. Non-pro rules | Jan 18, 2009 |
It's helpful to see this clarification, as I've always wondered what the rules for Non-Pro classification were.
But I can't help thinking that, by the above criteria (specified in the Examples and the subsequent paragraph), only specialist/technical questions would pass the Pro test. Surely, this rules out everything in the General/Conversation ... category, along with most others... extending even perhaps to the trickiest of literary questions, since these would not, by definition... See more It's helpful to see this clarification, as I've always wondered what the rules for Non-Pro classification were.
But I can't help thinking that, by the above criteria (specified in the Examples and the subsequent paragraph), only specialist/technical questions would pass the Pro test. Surely, this rules out everything in the General/Conversation ... category, along with most others... extending even perhaps to the trickiest of literary questions, since these would not, by definition, be classed as "specialist" - leaving very little that can actually be classified as a Pro question.
And where does this leave "non-bilingual" translators? I am a professional translator, yet would consider myself far from being *bilingual in either of my language pairs. And even bilingual people have very varying levels of language skill, even in their own native languages. I recently posted a question that was downgraded on the basis that "a bilingual person would have known the answer", and yet, if one is to judge by the wide variety of answers posted, a good deal of other "professional translators" were also unaware of the answer. As a non-bilingual, how is one to judge whether a bilingual person would know the answer?
The problem with downgrading questions is - as you point out - that by reducing the no. of respondents, the chances of obtaining the best answers are sabotaged. This has happened to me on at least one occasion, when a perfectly valid question was downgraded simply because someone who had the power to do so made a hasty judgement, and pressed the button without looking properly at the context. OK, this can be reversed, but in my case, it was too late, as the translation was needed urgently. Grrrhhh!! (frustrating, to say the least!). As far as I was concerned, this totally defeated the object of using KudoZ as a resource.
I wonder if some of the more zealous and persistent "downgraders" could not be persuaded gently to be a bit more relaxed/generous. The strange thing is that this zealousness is far more apparent in the FR-EN side than in the ES-EN pair, where almost anything goes!
Best regards,
Carol
* I should clarify that my definition of "bilingual" is somebody with 2 native languages - so perhaps this is rather stringent! I ought also to mention that my definition of myself as a non-bilingual is despite having a First-Class BA Hons languages degree and an MA with distinction in literary translation. So does this make me bilingual or even trilingual...? Not by my current definition, but perhaps I should revise...
[Edited at 2009-01-19 10:06 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | The system is incoherent | Jul 8, 2012 |
On the one hand, there's a rule advising Askers to undertake a reasonable search on their own, using dictionaries, etc. before they put a query. On the other hand, the staff bend backward in their effort to prevent the participants from enforcing this rule while other rule defends the right to ask even the most trivial questions. This incoherence should be resolved. I, personally, favour substantial raising of the threshold separating non-pro from pro questions. I have nothing against spending, ... See more On the one hand, there's a rule advising Askers to undertake a reasonable search on their own, using dictionaries, etc. before they put a query. On the other hand, the staff bend backward in their effort to prevent the participants from enforcing this rule while other rule defends the right to ask even the most trivial questions. This incoherence should be resolved. I, personally, favour substantial raising of the threshold separating non-pro from pro questions. I have nothing against spending, as I have just done, two days of my, otherwise valuable time (and the time, very painfully, is the money, for a translator) looking for a solution to a question which needed going through several books, because it develops me too but I am sick and tired of watching people who chase brownies by responding to queries which have answer in the most elementary dictionary. To me, if the answer can be found in a dictionary, it should never have been put to a forum of professionals.
[Edited at 2012-07-08 23:59 GMT]
[Edited at 2012-07-09 00:26 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Votes open immediately | Feb 8, 2013 |
Dear Henry,
I have just seen a question voted non-pro, which I felt was wrong. http://www.proz.com/kudoz/italian_to_english/finance_general/5093534-a_pagamento.html
As soon as I saw the non-pro vote I wanted to vote it Pro, but I couldn't. I had to wait until three non-pro votes were up before I could register my pro vote, by which time t... See more Dear Henry,
I have just seen a question voted non-pro, which I felt was wrong. http://www.proz.com/kudoz/italian_to_english/finance_general/5093534-a_pagamento.html
As soon as I saw the non-pro vote I wanted to vote it Pro, but I couldn't. I had to wait until three non-pro votes were up before I could register my pro vote, by which time the post had pretty much run its course, it was growing old. Another person did come along and vote it pro, but nobody was visiting the post any more.
If I had been able to register a pro vote immediately after the first non-pro vote, then people might have thought harder before registering a second non-pro vote. At face value the term posted was a simple Italian phrase which anybody could answer. However in the highly technical context of a rights issue of shares, IMHO the straight forward answer was not the best.
On the voting question, it is as if everybody who wants to vote for the President can vote first, and when that is finished everybody who wants to vote against can vote on the day after. I think you'd agree that that gives the President a pretty big advantage!
All the best
Jim
Ps Thank you for inventing Kudoz ▲ Collapse
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| Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule | Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 21:28
Member
Chinese to English
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| The PRO/non-PRO chart | Jul 28, 2013 |
- Since when?
- mmm, yummy
- boo!
These are HARD to translate appropriately. I invite any translator to try it and see if their translation is actually natural to the target language.
These fall under the category of slangs and should not be considered terms that can be easily translated; it may even be outright impossible. Even the best translators may have to seek second opinions on how to best convey these slangs in the target language.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 14:28
Spanish to English
+ ...
Lately, there has been a spate of what I consider perfectly reasonable pro level questions being designated non-pro in what appears to be a knee-jerk reaction from a small core group of self-styled cognoscenti.
So far, the only way I have found to post a rebuttal to these summary dismissals is in the discussion section of the kudoz query in question, and it would be nice if there were a more direct way to address the issue.
It has happened to me on at least one occasion and although... See more Lately, there has been a spate of what I consider perfectly reasonable pro level questions being designated non-pro in what appears to be a knee-jerk reaction from a small core group of self-styled cognoscenti.
So far, the only way I have found to post a rebuttal to these summary dismissals is in the discussion section of the kudoz query in question, and it would be nice if there were a more direct way to address the issue.
It has happened to me on at least one occasion and although the query term may not have been world-shatteringly difficult, sometimes we simply want to share opinions and brainstorm our colleagues, especially if working alone with no one around to bounce ideas off of... ▲ Collapse
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