The Last Word in Translations

I came upon an interesting link on Robin Good’s website:

FDicts, short for Free DICTionarieS, has created an online resource compiling numerous free dictionaries into one, in essence creating a valuable language translation resource for translators, translation agencies and foreign language experts.

FDicts is now designing a new system which will unite all individual language-to-language dictionaries into one universal dictionary for all languages.

FDicts currently hosts 3,305,162 translations - 8,720,000 words (approximately) in 43 languages and a total of 97 free dictionaries but is also looking to expand its dictionary base by receiving new submissions and additions to its already wide collection. Could very well be a one-stop-shop translation resource.

Came upon an interesting Top Ten List from “The Translator’s Handbook” (Schreiber Publishing) that sums up some common and erroneous notions about translation services.

1. Anyone with two years of high school language (or anyone who lived in another country for three years during early childhood) can translate.
2. There’s no difference between translation, transcription, and transliteration.
3. A good translator doesn’t need any reference literature.
4. Translators will soon be replaced by computers.
5. Translators don’t need to know how to spell, since they can use the spell checker on their computer.
6. A good translator gets it right the first time, without any editing or proofreading.
7. Good translators are a dime a dozen.
8. If you can type in a foreign language then you are an accomplished translator.
9. Translators can translate both ways just as easily.
10. A 100-page technical manual that took four months and three persons to write can be translated into another language by one translator in two days.

During its six months as new EU president, Finland has chosen to publish its news on Europe in Latin translations in an effort to pay homage to the ancient language roots the 25 European Union members once had in common.

Reuters reports that the European news will be translated into Latin and posted on Finland’s Web site (www.eu2006.fi) during its presidency.

“It’s just to have fun to be honest,” said a presidency spokesman, and a repeat of the country’s last six-month EU presidency in 1999, when the site first carried Latin translations of the news.

Two editions translated into Latin are planned in July and one each week from September to December.

According to this May piece from Reuters, the Bank of China whose US$9.7 billion Hong Kong IPO was a must-have from investors, may owe part of its success to its chairman’s English language skills.

Fund managers liked the fact that Chairman Xiao Gang was able to field questions in English.

“I am impressed by his fluent English,” said a Hong Kong-based investor, adding he would subscribe to the initial public offering.

Xiao stands out as a relative rarity among executives at state-run Chinese firms.

Although Chinese executives may make powerpoint presentations translated by Chinese to English Translators, or deliver prepared speeches translated into English, few have opted to field questions in English without the help of a Chinese to English Interpreter – leaving investor perceptions tepid.

Fluent English-speaking executives have fostered an impression of openness among foreign investors.

“It is hard …to have any confidence in a stock unless they can communicate directly with the management,” said the head of research at Credit Suisse.

VALUATION GAP

“It is hard to quantify [English] language discounts,” said a chief investment officer of a Shanghai-based hedge fund. “But for sure, it exists.”

For example, PetroChina’s share valuations have paled in comparison to its smaller rival CNOOC, whose executives have experience overseas.

Now, PetroChina tries to answer all of the investor emails in English it gets. Its chief financial officer is also more confident in communicating in English with foreign investors.

According to a company spokesman, “Better [English] communication has helped to make a difference.”

Through a deal with the Korean language wing of the OhMyNews International website, The International Herald Tribune, owned by the New York Times, will be publishing stories written by the South Korean website’s existing non-professional “citizen journalists.”

These newly designated citizen reporters, numbering 40,000, will be covering any number of topics for the website, from local news events to the World Cup.

In what has been seen by many as a “sign of the growing legitimacy of citizen reporting, which has been much heralded in recent years” OhMyNews has citizen reporters residing in 89 countries, which could mean a torrential downpour of translation opportunities for Korean to English, Korean to Spanish or Korean to French translators, or English to Korean, Spanish to Korean or French to Korean translators.

We at Replica are always looking to add solid candidates to our current roster of professional Korean Translators.

Call them “gaffes”, “speaking his mind” or “faux pas,” in any language, it seem that the Duke of Edinburgh, has cultivated a reputation that can be translated across borders and one that he may have wanted to live down.

“For half a century, the Queen’s the blunt spoken husband has turned political incorrectness into an art form, peppering royal tours with ethnic slurs about slitty eyes, pot bellies and booze.”

A new book shows the real Prince Philip over half a century, and that age has certainly not softened him one iota.

At least according to the government in Spain. Apparently “fed up” by their reputation of being solely Spanish speakers, the Spanish government is offering a chunk of cash to their nationals as incentive to learn the English language.

Apparently, only 20% of Spaniards can speak English, despite the fact that it is compulsory in school. That puts Spain at “the back of the class” as compared to other Spanish and English speaking Europeans.

More from the Translation Survey named in the last post. It makes for interesting reading to see how far the translation industry has gone, or not, in the last two years.

A point of keen interest is a Vendor Satisfaction Survey conducted in parallel to the main translation survey. According to the same, there appears to be a gap between what the freelance translator feels is required to perform a quality translation and what the vendor feels is needed.

Freelance translators indicated that terminology and style guides are the “primary tools needed to product quality translations” but only “28% of the organizations provide terminology to their translators, and only 26% of the organizations provide background material.”

Fifteen percent of respondents said that translators are required to have experience with Translation Memory Software, and Trados continues to have a hold on the translation process, while other requirements expected of quality translators includes:

A university degree: 12%

Background experience: 24%

Experience with other companies in the same field: 13%

IT skills: 18%

Internet access: 18%

Finally, quality translators must also have an “advanced degree in translation, pass their tests, demonstrate enthusiasm for the organization’s work, and have experience with additional software.”

Which all makes sense why several organizations also choose translators from their bilingual roster of former or retired employees. They have abundant industry experience that makes up for the lack of an advanced degree in translation.

The above has not changed much, and with the exception of the “best rate policy” most of the quality translator standards highlighted in the survey continue to serve as mainstays today in the translation field.

-Jules

Fifty-one translation agencies, private sector companies, non-governmental organizations and international governmental organizations participated in a translation survey conducted by the World Bank back in August 2004.

Of those surveyed, 64 percent indicated they used translation agencies or localization companies rather than freelance translators, and of those who used freelance translators, most found that “the best way to recruit freelance translators is through translators’ networks, followed by screening of unsolicited CVs and referrals by universities.”

When asked if they experienced difficulty in finding qualified translators, respondents agreed that it was difficult finding qualified translators who are “familiar with their general subject matter and terminology, particularly for the following language combinations: English into French and Dutch, English from/into the following languages: Asian languages, Scandinavian languages, Arabic, Russian, Bengali, Turkish, Hungarian, Romanian, Tigrinya, Italian and Portuguese.”

As far as less common translation languages, like Farsi, they also found it difficult to find quality translators precisely when their particular translation services are needed….Perhaps a casualty of our “have it done yesterday” translation industry.

-Jules

What business does “management” have in translations? Translations, where content is king, and more likely than not a byproduct of the relationship between a translator and his or her keyboard. How does a translator “manage” his translation? There’s a lot going on: deadlines, format specifications, CAT tools used, glossary adherence– but does this involve “managment” or is it simply multi-tasking? Do serveral things well at once.

Does management have a role? You might answer, ‘depends on your client,’ and you may be right, but then again, it also depends on the translator.

In the May 2006 issue of Fast Company, baseball columnist Jeff Angus talks about the role of management in business and how it “fails to live up to America’s past time.” How does the translation industry fare in this comparison?

The translation industry is marked by an urgency over finding the most capable translator for the latest job. Both usually involve an urgent search for a round peg into a round hole, sometimes, however, the peg you find is square, and you did not see it coming until the job was completed, too close to deadline.

That’s were managment comes in. What is often overlooked is the crucial role of management within that process, from the assigning of on-staff translators or contracting of specialized translation agencies, to the terminology assessment and cross-check involved in format specifications demanded by a client. Whose job is it to make sure everything has been done to specifications? It is solely the translator’s job, or would it be better served by a translator who is outsourced by agency managment?

Let’s turn to Angus, “I would say that the 20th percentale of major-league major-league baseball managers is significantly better than the 80th percentile of nonbaseball managers because of the amount of data they have to handle while coping with rapid change.” From this point of view, it makes sense that while the translator is doing his or her job, the manager is making sure the process from submission to delivery is right on target.

Who gets it right every time? In baseball it seems to fall more often than not on one player. As Mr. Angus goes on to say, “It helps to think like a catcher, which is why so many become good managers. A catcher always has the whole play in front of him and can think critically about what he sees.” In the translation process, it would seem that the catcher, or the one with the catcher mentality, would be the ideal project manager for any given translation project.

Perhaps this individual is more important to a given translator than previously thought, though this person is heard from once the translation has been handed off for delivery. Clearly, this is not the best time to learn that your translator/player was not in shape for the game. “You need to learn what people do in situations where their success or failure is less critical. That’s what the minor leagues and spring training are all about. In business, there are plenty of opportunities to get people up to speed before you have to count on them for game-day results.” Another key role for any solid translation manager.

Valuable concepts for the translation industry. Would be interesting to learn about other translation managers and what they are implementing on the other side of the translation process.