| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21] > | translation is dead as a profession Thread poster: Daniel Rich
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expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 20:37
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Do you really think they save time and money? | Jun 16, 2022 |
David GAY wrote:
It doesn t matter that much for them that the translation is not the best. All they want is to save time and money.
I believe we shouldn't generalise. There are many translation companies and clients who still value quality and their good reputation.
And believe me, a bad quality job always results in a waste of money and time, additional costs and more resources spent.
In my view, the consequences of bad translation can be hard to remediate. I have already read a few terrible stories about it.
| | | | David GAY
Local time: 21:37
English to French
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| In most cases | Jun 16, 2022 |
expressisverbis wrote: David GAY wrote:
It doesn t matter that much for them that the translation is not the best. All they want is to save time and money.
I believe we shouldn't generalise. There are many translation companies and clients who still value quality and their good reputation. And believe me, a bad quality job always results in a waste of money and time, additional costs and more resources spent. In my view, the consequences of bad translation can be hard to remediate. I have already read a few terrible stories about it.
In most cases, Deepl s translations are acceptable.
Anyway they always think in terms of short term financial gains. One obvious example is the translation of Chinese user manuals. Manufacturers don t care about the translation even though consequences of product misuse can be pretty serious
[Edited at 2022-06-16 11:47 GMT]
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:37
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Like this maybe? | Jun 16, 2022 |
| | | | mughwI
United States
Local time: 15:37
English to Spanish
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| Exactly like this | Jun 16, 2022 |
Tom in London wrote:
Over the years, I have witnessed high-end client's translation requirements go from "100% quality oriented" to "it'll do, as long as it is mostly understandable"; not only for consumer products like in this example, but also for basically all non-legally binding communications. Exceptions are few.
In our current fast-paced world, short-term savings reign supreme, and many (most?) companies have realized that less-than-perfect translations do not significantly affect their bottom line. Collective shrugs all around.
Personally, I switched over to being a consultant years ago (basically, I analyze end-clients translated output to help them determine whether their ad-hoc MT engines are getting better or not). My guess is that this will keep me quite busy until I retire, die, or the singularity takes over for good... whichever comes first.
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expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 20:37
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Lost in translation, and | Jun 16, 2022 |
I believe it's time for Suntory Time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XElQLXXyblk
After reading that "direction", I believe we deserve to drink a glass of whiskey...
[Edited at 2022-06-16 18:26 GMT]
| | | | LIZ LI 
China
Local time: 03:37
French to Chinese
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| matt robinson
Spain
Local time: 21:37
Member (2010)
Spanish to English
| You get what you pay for... | Jun 17, 2022 |
And by that I do not mean that every single document translated should be of the highest possible standard, and those that are not should be dismissed as worthless. Translation is no different to any other sector. Do all retail outlets provide the same standard of goods and services? Do you always go to the one who charges the most? Do you always go to the one providing the highest quality, or is there a balance between what you deem adequate and what you are prepared/able to pay? Consumers make... See more And by that I do not mean that every single document translated should be of the highest possible standard, and those that are not should be dismissed as worthless. Translation is no different to any other sector. Do all retail outlets provide the same standard of goods and services? Do you always go to the one who charges the most? Do you always go to the one providing the highest quality, or is there a balance between what you deem adequate and what you are prepared/able to pay? Consumers make complex decisions based on a wide range of factors, and those purchasing translations are no exception. A deepL translation of the instruction manual (statutory requirement?) for a rubber duck may well be all that is required, whereas if the instruction manual is for a nuclear power plant, then we might expect more resources to be used and a little more attention paid to the finer details. ▲ Collapse
| | | | David GAY
Local time: 21:37
English to French
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matt robinson wrote:
And by that I do not mean that every single document translated should be of the highest possible standard, and those that are not should be dismissed as worthless. Translation is no different to any other sector. Do all retail outlets provide the same standard of goods and services? Do you always go to the one who charges the most? Do you always go to the one providing the highest quality, or is there a balance between what you deem adequate and what you are prepared/able to pay? Consumers make complex decisions based on a wide range of factors, and those purchasing translations are no exception. A deepL translation of the instruction manual (statutory requirement?) for a rubber duck may well be all that is required, whereas if the instruction manual is for a nuclear power plant, then we might expect more resources to be used and a little more attention paid to the finer details.
perhaps it s the best decision end clients make but what are the consequences for translators and agencies in terms of work and rates
That s the point. How often do you translate an instruction manual for a nuclear power plant
Is everything you translate rocket science
Good for you if you manage to make a living translating only power plant user manuals
Even if you did, after translating your 50th nuclear plant user manual, the agency you work with would say
We have a new project for you. The wordcount is 20 k words but there are only 2000 new words. The rest is 18.000 84 percent matches.
[Edited at 2022-06-17 07:25 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-06-17 09:34 GMT]
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Adieu
Ukrainian to English
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| Just set some minimums | Jun 17, 2022 |
I just collected $50 to revise 11 words earlier today. Literally 1 line.
And yes, that's a bit of an outlier, but I'm still at $200 for less than 1k words between 4 tiny jobs for today. Took me maybe 60-75 minutes.
[Edited at 2022-06-17 14:05 GMT]
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 22:37
Member
English to Turkish
| Good for you! | Jun 17, 2022 |
Adieu wrote:
I just collected $50 to revise 11 words earlier today. Literally 1 line.
And yes, that's a bit of an outlier, but I'm still at $200 for less than 1k words between 4 tiny jobs for today. Took me maybe 60-75 minutes.
[Edited at 2022-06-17 14:05 GMT]
You keep mentioning that $50 minimum. Can you provide some info or clues as to the types of agencies that go for that kind of minimum charge, or would that be a 'trade secret'?
I'm guessing they're not those 'London' translation agencies employing PMs whose surnames ending in 'ova', 'ovic', 'ovsky' etc...
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 15:37
German to English
| Not dead, not even dying | Jun 18, 2022 |
However, it has become increasingly difficult to develop a viable career due to wage stagnation and MT. In the mid-1990s, due to the novelty of the internet and the idea that foreign offices would enjoy even the most trivial news from the home office, there was plenty of work translating newsletters, office memos, etc. which provided sufficient income between larger jobs. Machine translation is now used to translate information about plant bus routes, office outings and holiday menus at the home... See more However, it has become increasingly difficult to develop a viable career due to wage stagnation and MT. In the mid-1990s, due to the novelty of the internet and the idea that foreign offices would enjoy even the most trivial news from the home office, there was plenty of work translating newsletters, office memos, etc. which provided sufficient income between larger jobs. Machine translation is now used to translate information about plant bus routes, office outings and holiday menus at the home office facilities outside the US.
Given prevailing rates and current inflation it must be difficult for someone starting out to earn sufficient income with the expectation of making a living wage within a year or two, or in the long run, be able to put money aside for retirement. I consider myself extraordinarily fortunate to have been able to invest a portion of my income to allow me to contemplate getting out of the words for money biz. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Translation is dead as a profession | Jun 18, 2022 |
I do not think so, not yet. In fact, the economy has not really picked up. There are only a few signs of it doing so, but work is not in full swing as yet. So translations are still being done internally to justify the salaries some of those working in businesses are receiving. It will thrive again the day the economy starts to pick up and goes into full swing again, but i am afraid, it will be taking another year or two.
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Adieu
Ukrainian to English
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| I can't really elaborate | Jun 18, 2022 |
All I can say is it started with quoting one place that asked for a bunch of pricing options a ~1.5 hrs minimum ($35/hour, 50 minimum).
It also involved just one language pair, a decent translation rate, and a stupid-cheap MTPE rate (50% off) based on lots of false assumptions. The MTPE rate sucked, but the minimum worked.
I've since added languages, raised some of the cent per word prices, and quoted the same or more to others.
I have NO idea if the $50 mi... See more All I can say is it started with quoting one place that asked for a bunch of pricing options a ~1.5 hrs minimum ($35/hour, 50 minimum).
It also involved just one language pair, a decent translation rate, and a stupid-cheap MTPE rate (50% off) based on lots of false assumptions. The MTPE rate sucked, but the minimum worked.
I've since added languages, raised some of the cent per word prices, and quoted the same or more to others.
I have NO idea if the $50 minimum works without burying it among more "client-friendly" per word rates.
Hell, I'm not even sure what's going on in the market. I haven't applied to anywhere new or talked to a single prospective client in 2022.
Baran Keki wrote: Adieu wrote:
I just collected $50 to revise 11 words earlier today. Literally 1 line.
And yes, that's a bit of an outlier, but I'm still at $200 for less than 1k words between 4 tiny jobs for today. Took me maybe 60-75 minutes.
[Edited at 2022-06-17 14:05 GMT] You keep mentioning that $50 minimum. Can you provide some info or clues as to the types of agencies that go for that kind of minimum charge, or would that be a 'trade secret'? I'm guessing they're not those 'London' translation agencies employing PMs whose surnames ending in 'ova', 'ovic', 'ovsky' etc... ▲ Collapse
| | | | David GAY
Local time: 21:37
English to French
+ ...
YINGSHUAI MA wrote:
The machine-assisted translation is indeed replacing and doing a lot, but not necessarily mean the translators will lose their jobs. I believe all translators must prepare themselves for better professionality in the future as they have to edit and supervise the machine's initial work, which may be precise but still lacks humanity and literacy.
If translators are no longer needed to translate but are still needed only to edit and supervise the machine s work and train MT engines, 90 percent of the jobs are going to be destroyed because proofreading and editing typically make up only a fraction of a translator s work and income.
The mix of ever soaring consumer prices and ever falling rates will do the rest.So, yes, technically speaking, there still will be translators on planet earth, but this species will be seriously impoverished and endangered. They ll probably live naked in huts without heating in some god forsaken places.
Some advice
https://caregiversamerica.com/how-to-stay-warm-at-home-without-a-heater/
[Edited at 2022-06-19 03:20 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-06-19 04:41 GMT]
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[quote]LIZ LI wrote:
Those who are satisfied with DeepL quality won't be our clients, or at least not good ones.
Why not just leave them to algorithms, and then find our way to a niche segment of the market?
And I'm here to offer more examples and fun.
I cannot understand how the translation for the second image came up with "noodles", since I do not recognize any Chinese character representing noodles in the original Chinese.
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