Improving proz profile/sample translations
Auteur du fil: Diana Kaplan
Diana Kaplan
Diana Kaplan  Identity Verified
Allemagne
Local time: 08:57
anglais vers allemand
+ ...
Feb 4, 2020

Dear all,

Last question for today- I would like to upload a few sample translations to improve my profile.
I was just wondering, where to get the source text from? Am I allowed to take an article (for example) off the internet and to translate it or can I can post a document I´ve really translated, obvously without any personal date being visible?

What did you do?

Thanks again,

Diana


 
Eva Stoppa
Eva Stoppa  Identity Verified
Allemagne
Local time: 08:57
anglais vers allemand
+ ...
Newspaper articles from the internet Feb 4, 2020

In my view, newspaper articles shouldn't be a Problem. They are public anyway, but maybe someone else has more Information on this Topic. I wouldn't take texts, however, which I really have translated for Clients.

Diana Kaplan
Erwin van Wouw
 
Erwin van Wouw
Erwin van Wouw  Identity Verified
Pays-Bas
Local time: 08:57
Membre (2010)
anglais vers néerlandais
Choose older content as an alternative option Feb 4, 2020

I agree with Eva, don’t use actual translation assignments. You can opt to use older content though. I did a translation of the user manual of the first CD player from 1982 to showcase my skills. I figured no one would care if I walked away with this material, since this device has long gone obsolete.

 
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Allemagne
Local time: 08:57
anglais vers allemand
In memoriam
Be careful with copyright issues Feb 4, 2020

Diana Kaplan wrote:
Am I allowed to take an article (for example) off the internet?
Diana


By default, you should assume that all content you find on the internet is copyrighted. The rules what you can do with copyrighted material can be very different in different jurisdictions. Using it as sample source for translations might constitute "fair use", but the concept of "fair use" does not exist in all countries, particularly not in Europe.

What you can do is use material in the Public Domain, or with a Creative Commons license or similar. For example, Wikipedia articles or even better, Wikibooks ( https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Main_Page ). You can check Wikibooks for articles on your fields of specialization and use abstracts or extracts as sample sources. Look up the license and license them accordingly.


DZiW (X)
Jorge Payan
 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
anglais vers russe
+ ...
WIIFM! Feb 4, 2020

Diana, you have no business education, do you?

It’s ok, but your Bio/CV is but information for it does NOT answer: What’s in it for me?
Thus if something looks like clichéd
I … I … I … I … I … numbers… numbers … I … I … I … blah-blah-bla… centalbank and big funny names
it means literally nothing.

Why exactly should a prospect work with you?

(Note that unlike direct clients, middlemen may seek very different characteristics.)

I would recommend using a reversed BAF technique: Benefits → Advantages → Features == Motives.
Even better if you've got a real* in-demand specialty, which can be nicely supplemented with foreign languages.

And don’t forget about diversification—from rewriting, copywriting, and transcreation to mentoring, consulting, interpreting, and non-linguistic/interdisciplinary activities.


By the way, a clever fisherman goes at different places at various times with plenty of baits--and for a good reason.

Good luck


Diana Kaplan
 
Diana Kaplan
Diana Kaplan  Identity Verified
Allemagne
Local time: 08:57
anglais vers allemand
+ ...
AUTEUR DU FIL
Thank you all... Feb 5, 2020

and esp. DZiW for giving me new ideas (instead of numbers, yes you´re right on that).

 
Rachel Waddington
Rachel Waddington  Identity Verified
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 07:57
néerlandais vers anglais
+ ...
Permission Feb 5, 2020

Why not find something that you would like to translate and contact the author to ask permission?

Rachel


 
Brian Joyce
Brian Joyce  Identity Verified
Royaume-Uni
français vers anglais
copyright Feb 9, 2020

"copyright is for losers" Banksy. If it's good enough for him it's good enough for me. I translated Houellebecq for a example, what is he gonna do, sue me?

[Edited at 2020-02-09 15:41 GMT]


Chris Says Bye
 
Sarah Maidstone
Sarah Maidstone  Identity Verified
Allemagne
Local time: 08:57
Membre (2020)
allemand vers anglais
+ ...
Ask the client Feb 22, 2020

I used a text I’d actually translated for a client’s website. I asked him if I could use it as a reference text and he was happy for me to do so. For my other main fields that wouldn’t be appropriate due to copyright issues, though, so it probably depends on what fields you’re working in.

 


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