Poll: Has specializing in certain fields increased your productivity as a translator?
Auteur du fil: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
COLLABORATEUR DU SITE
Apr 14, 2010

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Has specializing in certain fields increased your productivity as a translator?".

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neilmac
neilmac
Espagne
Local time: 08:37
espagnol vers anglais
+ ...
Not sure Apr 14, 2010

I'm not always comfortable with the idea of specialisation per se, as I feel it is a bit of a cop-out, and try to keep my options as open as possible.
I am told that I am a specialist in certain types of text, and the more familiar I am with a subject, the faster and better I can process the texts, so maybe the answer shold be a yes. For example, today I'm working in a field (construction) that I haven't been for ages, so I am a bit rusty and going slowly, whereas yesterday I had a long t
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I'm not always comfortable with the idea of specialisation per se, as I feel it is a bit of a cop-out, and try to keep my options as open as possible.
I am told that I am a specialist in certain types of text, and the more familiar I am with a subject, the faster and better I can process the texts, so maybe the answer shold be a yes. For example, today I'm working in a field (construction) that I haven't been for ages, so I am a bit rusty and going slowly, whereas yesterday I had a long text but in a field I am familiar with and I was going about 3 times a quickly. So the answer should probably be a yes...
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Alexander Kondorsky
Alexander Kondorsky  Identity Verified
Russie
Local time: 09:37
anglais vers russe
+ ...
serious issue Apr 14, 2010

Specialization for a translator is a serious issue because one can't be deeply specialized in a wide range of disciplines while deep specialization in a limited number of disciplines will shrink your scope of customers.

 
Interlangue (X)
Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 08:37
anglais vers français
+ ...
Not in the long run Apr 14, 2010

Specialisations come and go and specific fields evolve.

 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Danemark
Local time: 08:37
Membre (2003)
danois vers anglais
+ ...
To some extent Apr 14, 2010

Outside translation I would not dare to call myself a specialist in any subject. I have dabbled in far too many to go really deeply into any of them.

But there are definitely fields I can work in quite happily, because I have read up on them, and others I turn down because I know they need real specialists. I think concentrating on a few specific areas improves quality at least as much as productivity.

Sometimes it annoys me that my knowledge is very wide, but also ver
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Outside translation I would not dare to call myself a specialist in any subject. I have dabbled in far too many to go really deeply into any of them.

But there are definitely fields I can work in quite happily, because I have read up on them, and others I turn down because I know they need real specialists. I think concentrating on a few specific areas improves quality at least as much as productivity.

Sometimes it annoys me that my knowledge is very wide, but also very superficial. That is just the hand life has dealt me. Maybe no trumps, but plenty of quite strong cards all the same.





[Edited at 2010-04-15 07:46 GMT]
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Tatty
Tatty  Identity Verified
Local time: 08:37
espagnol vers anglais
+ ...
If you have a true specialisation Apr 14, 2010

how could it fail to increase your productivity? Even if it didn't increase your productivity in the short-term it should improve the quality of your translations. In time you would also improve your productivity.

I think a specialisation is something different from areas which you have worked in previously.


 
Deborah do Carmo
Deborah do Carmo  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 07:37
néerlandais vers anglais
+ ...
Precisely ... Apr 14, 2010

Tatty wrote:

I think a specialisation is something different from areas which you have worked in previously.


... it's something quite different!


 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
États-Unis
Local time: 23:37
Membre (2003)
espagnol vers anglais
+ ...
Absolutely! Apr 15, 2010

I'm probably three times faster--and better--in the fields in which I have specialized.

 


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Poll: Has specializing in certain fields increased your productivity as a translator?






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