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7/29/2019 Multilingua Translation CoreFocus127
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Perspectives from translat
program graduates
Translation technology
comes full circle
How to choose a translatio
vendor
Adaptation in translation
TRANSLATIOCORE FOCUApril/May 2012
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CoreFocus
Perspectives fromtranslation program graduates
Nancy A. Locke
TTen years. It seems like yesterday. And yet
ten years ago, the world was still reeling fromthe devastating one-two punch of the tech bub-ble implosion and the 9/11 attack on the TwinTowers. Both events had a chilling effect on theeconomy. The language industry did not escapethe global slow down as companies reassessedtheir globalization strategies, axed importantprojects and choked off important revenue toa nascent industry with already thin margins.Some language services providers took a directhit. Most spectacularly, Lernout & Hauspie,
once a language industry superstar, crashed andburned in October 2001. Many other companiesstruggled to keep afloat, and major players suchas Bowne Global disappeared. Optimism was atan all-time low; layoffs and rumors of layoffscast a dreary pall over the industry.
In Canada, however, where federal language policy plays akey role in creating the demand for language services, a quietcampaign to put the language industry on the map finallystarted to show results. Bureaucracy-bound, the campaignmoved at glacier speed. The upside of glaciers? Theyre hard to
stop once they get moving.So, despite the dreary economic context, in 2002, Canadaproudly announced the creation of one of the first mastersprograms in localization, offered at Universit du Qubec enOutaouais (UQO), and an innovative undergraduate localization
certificate created under the aegis of the translation programand offered by the continuing education faculty at Universitde Montral (UdeM). In 2003, for the first time ever, the federalgovernment recognized the importance of the language servicesby allocating funds for the creation of an industry association.
The excitement of those years has since evaporated. In 2007,UdeM summarily decided to yank the localization certificateprogram. The masters program at UQO has been mothballed.
Fast forward to 2012, when the students who enrolled in the newprograms have long since left school and joined the work force. Asthe former director and instructor in the now-defunct localizationcertificate program at UdeM, I had the pleasure of meeting manyof these translation students cum pioneers. Recently, some of themgenerously offered to share their experiences as students and asprofessionals food for thought for current and future translationstudents destined for careers in the language industry.
A career in translation was not Sbastien Adhikaris firstchoice. Naturally curious and attracted by the sciences, he imag-ined a future in engineering. But this is a highly competitive field,and the polytechnic passed on his application. Disappointed butundaunted, he considered a degree in mathematics, but the ideaof spending years writing proofs to then wind up in academiadidnt appeal to him. Of the programs still open for enrollment,the baccalaureate in translation caught his attention.
The first thing he learned? A career in translation was ideallysuited to his curious nature and his innate linguistic aptitude.He graduated with a BA in Translation (technical concentration)in 1994 and landed a series of in-house positions in the insur-ance and financial services fields.
In 2004, his career at a plateau, he was anxious to move tothe next level. He let his curiosity guide him to a presentationon localization offered at the annual meeting of OTTIAQ, theprofessional order of translators in Quebec. Sold! He enthusias-tically enrolled in UdeMs certificate program.
Unfortunately, the exciting career possibilities suggested bythe certificate program, in particular the introduction to inter-nationalization taught by Pierre Cadieux, proved to be largelytheoretical. Adhikari expected to find more job opportunities inlocalization and even internationalization. In his experience,he says, Canadian companies are still dragging their feet aboutadopting such processes.
Nancy A. Locke is a writer and
translator living in Montreal.
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Recently, again sensing that he hadreached another plateau, Adhikari left thesecurity of in-house positions to go free-lance. Despite certain disappointments,he seems very optimistic about the futureand anxious to tackle the challenges of asolopreneur in the language industry. Ithink its a pretty vigorous field, he saidbut, laughing, admitted, I dont haveany empirical evidence for that!
Like Adhikari, Andr Jodoin had adecided scientific bent. He enrolled atthe polytechnic but decided that it wasntreally for him. Unsure what direction totake, he enrolled in a certificate programin arts and sciences at UdeM, then asecond in electronic business solutionsat LUniversit du Qubec Montral, aprogram more in line with his interests.A simple plan began to emerge: completea third certificate to receive a cumulativebaccalaureate. His mother, France Jodoin,who at the age of 52 completed her bac-calaureate in translation, led him to con-sider the localization certificate programat UdeM. She saw a bright future for thisfield and understood that combining lan-guages and IT would interest me. Turnsout, Mom was right! Jodoin quickly madean impression on one instructor, MouradAmine, an engineering line manager atSDL, who took Jodoin under his wingand secured an internship for him at theMontreal office of SDL. The internship
turned into a two-year stint at the com-pany as a computer-aided translation(CAT) technician, a position that includedproviding training on SDLX. Jodoin cur-rently works at GAT as the CAT/desktoppublishing team lead.
While Jodoin believed that his bac-calaureate would demonstrate a mar-ketable versatility, he doubted that hewould have much luck finding work inhis chosen field. I had the impressionthat there were very few agencies that
needed or had the money to hire a full-time CAT expert, he wrote in an e-mail.This autumn, I was approached threetimes on LinkedIn. My perspective haschanged. The translation world is in con-stant evolution, and to stay competitiveand profitable, agencies have no choicebut to use translation tools.
Caroline St-Onge always had a flairfor languages, but as an administrativeassistant, she wasnt exploiting her tal-ents fully. At 26, she decided to go backto school and make better use of herstrengths. She completed the certificateprograms I and II in translation at UdeMin 2007. Her first job as a languageprofessional was in copyediting. Heremployer quickly recognized her skills,and in less than a year, St-Onge wasentrusted with translation. Although sheimagined working freelance eventually,she felt confident enough to make theleap much faster than anticipated. In2010, she launched Verbophile, a micro-enterprise that offers revision and adap-tation as well as translation services, andhas never looked back.
Im really fulfilled by this newprofession, she wrote in an e-mail. Iearn a very good living and appreciatethe multiple aspects of my work: proj-ect management, translation in itself,accounting and business development. Ifind validation in the fact that my results
are directly proportional to my efforts.St-Onge attributes her success totwo factors. First, she praised the coursecontent at UdeM even if she would liketo have seen an internship added as arequirement. Secondly, she stresses theimportance of an in-house experienceunder the tutelage of a seasoned reviser.For St-Onge, embarking on a career intranslation was the best decision I evermade. In the future, she hopes to becomea mentor within her professional order.
As a student, Maude Doucet, a con-firmed linguaphile, discovered that shealso had a strong interest in and aptitudefor the IT side of the translation process.Having completed her baccalaureate intranslation in 2004 at UdeM, she enrolledin the localization certificate program tofurther explore this new IT-related field.To fulfill the requirements, she sought aninternship by literally going door to doorvisiting local translation agencies thatadvertised localization services. She wasstunned to discover some of them werea tad fuzzy on what localization actu-ally entailed. Finally, she knocked onthe door at Traductions Serge Blair Inc.(TRSB) and found Michele Lamarche, aseasoned localization professional and asupportive and skilled mentor. At first alittle reticent to take on an intern, TRSBtook a chance on Doucet. Lamarchemade sure that Doucet gained the nec-essary experience to stay on full-time.At first, Doucet split her time betweentranslation and CAT/localization tasks,but she eventually concentrated full-time on the latter.
Doucet admits that her universitystudies gave her the confidence to pur-sue a career in translation; however, thedegree program did not prepare her foractually doing the job. Her experience atTRSB provided the key complement to herformal studies. After more than six years
as a localization and CAT technician atTRSB, Doucet accepted a promotion toteam lead, a challenge that she relisheseven if its a little scary. Although shehas nothing to compare it to, she enjoysher work, her team and the company, andhas enjoyed participating in a multitudeof changes at TRSB. She regrets a littlethat her work is not more multilingual TRSB specializes in Canadas officiallanguages and that there is more CATthan localization to do. That said, she is
Andr Jodoin Caroline St-Onge Fabien CtSbastien Adhikari Yasmina Ait Ali
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pleased to have significantly deepenedher understanding of CAT tools, and shehasnt let her education in localizationlapse. In 2008, Doucet earned certifica-tion as a localization professional fromThe Localization Institute.
Alexandre Bujold also works at TRSB;
however, he arrived there by a more cir-cuitous path. Armed with a baccalaureate(a major in political science and a minorin arts and sciences) from UdeM, Bujoldrealized that finding a job might be achallenge. Linguistically agile, he thoughttranslation would be a more concreteway to apply his studies. He enrolled in thetranslation certificate I at UdeM with theintention of pursuing a masters. The free-dom of a freelance career tempted him, butlife had other plans. In 2006, he accepteda job at Lionbridge as a project manager.
Like several of the students interviewed,Bujold discovered that while he loved lan-guages and translation, his strengths layelsewhere. Im not a great translator, hesaid, but I know if a translation is good.He enjoys variety in his work, the innatediversity of project management and pitch-ing in on revision and desktop publishingif necessary. After a little over three yearsat Lionbridge, Bujold left to join the teamat AD-COM, a much smaller, diversifiedlanguage provider, then five months agotook a position at TRSB. Although he is bynature optimistic, the mcdonald-ization(commoditization) of language servicesconcerns Bujold. Not only does the trendthreaten the pricing structure for services,he said, but quality also suffers.
Translation is a second career forFabien Ct. First a programmer, then asales professional in the IT sector, he wea-ried of battling the innate conservatismof big organizations. He wanted moreindependence, more control over his pro-fessional life. In 2004, Ct enrolled inthe undergraduate translation program atUdeM, where he discovered the brave newworld of localization, and simultaneously
pursued a freelance career as a translator.Even before he graduated in 2009, thefreelance life had lost its appeal, and hewas looking for new challenges.
In 2008, he founded his own trans-lation company, Trans-IT Translations,Inc. Understanding the importance ofclear positioning and with a solid back-ground in the field, Ct chose to spe-cialize in the language service demandsof the IT sector. Trans-IT also garnersa fair amount of business from the
federal government. The company hasweathered the economic downturn andis now well-positioned for expansion.During our interview, the smell of freshpaint hung in the air as construction wasunderway to enlarge the office space.
As a freelancer and now business
owner and employer, Ct places a highpremium on formal university educationin translation, professional accreditationand continuous professional development.He described the curriculum at UdeM asnot perfect but very good. Since so manytranslators are freelancers, he believes thatsmall business management would bea useful addition to the curriculum. Hestresses the importance of the professionalorder for translators and the necessity tocontinually sharpen their skills.
Raised in Algeria, Yasmina Ait Ali is notonly a linguaphile but an impressive poly-glot. She speaks Berber, French, Arabic,English and Spanish. For her, translationwas an obvious career choice. In 2009, shegraduated with a baccalaureate in transla-tion from UdeM. After graduation, Ait Alimoved to Gatineau and worked freelancefor two months while seeking full-timeemployment. In 2010, she accepted aposition at The Masha Krupp TranslationGroup Ltd. and nine months later joinedthe staff at Fox Translations Ltd.
As a student, Ait Ali dreamed of trav-eling widely to discover new cultures,interpreting or teaching languages inpoor communities, writing books, work-ing for international organizations andworking freelance. To date, her profes-sional experiences have fallen somewhatshort of her dreams. I thought thattranslation was a pleasure, a pleasureto discover and help others discover by
transmitting content in a language theyunderstand, she wrote. The profes-sional reality: translation is assemblyline work. She decries the intense pres-sure to produce volume, not only fortranslators but also for revisers whoserole she doesnt always appreciate.
She feels that her studies did notadequately prepare her for the real worldof work, admitting that no academicprogram alone can create a professional.That said, the participation of a widerange of language professionals invitedto share their experiences in the profes-sional realities course did open her eyesto the possibilities in the translation field.Still, for Ait Ali, its on the job every daythat you really learn.
Despite some disappointment, AitAli describes herself as a born trans-lator and believes in the value of thetranslation profession. She also remainsoptimistic about the future. Ait Ali plansto launch her own language servicescompany very soon and is preparing foraccreditation by the professional order.
Older, wiser but still committed totheir choice to work in the languageindustry, my former students seemedto agree on the importance of a formaluniversity education even with all itsflaws. Naturally curious, they all valueopportunities to grow in their careers andrecognize the value of continuous profes-sional development through participationin professional orders or associations,as well as the role played by mentors.Finally, despite a sluggish economy andsome of the negative aspects inherent inthe field, all of them seem to be satisfiedwith their career choices and optimisticabout the future. M
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Translation technologycomes full circle
Jost Zetzsche
IIm a historian by training who writes about the
latest trends in translation technology. Some maysee this combination as worldview schizophrenia,a perspective caught between the past and thefuture. I prefer to describe it like this: I study the
past to gain a better understanding of the presentand, hopefully, a better handle on the future.
With that in mind, allow me to give an overview of the shorthistory of translation technology, especially the kind we findin computer-aided translation (CAT) or translation environmenttools (TEnTs). Well then look at whats happening presently andtake a brave glance into the future.
In the 1950s and 1960s, translation technology was syn-onymous with machine translation (MT) or, more accurately,the idea of what MT would be able to do in five years. As itbecame apparent that this five-year prediction was an ever-moving target, funding dried up and only a handful of aca-demic and commercial attempts soldiered on.
Instead, attention turned to terminology in the form ofdictionary applications and terminology tools. The first stand-alone terminology tool for the PC, called MTX, was launchedin 1985 using a precursor to todays terminology exchangeTBX format. Terminology management continued to develop(Trados first commercial application was MultiTerm in 1990) asanother technology received increasing attention from develop-
ers. Various developers were beginning to use a low-level formof MT called translation memory (TM), and they all releasedthe first version of their products around 1992: STAR releasedSTAR Transit, IBM launched its Translation Manager, TRADOS
introduced the Workbench product and Atril offered the firstWindows-based commercial product, Dj Vu, in 1993.
The stakeholders in the translation industry reacted to thesereleases in various ways that had a tremendous impact on thefurther development of the tools and their placement: transla-tors largely rejected the new technology. Some language serviceproviders (LSPs) used it as a competitive differentiator. The vastmajority of translation buyers simply didnt even take notice with the exception of the terminology components that were ofinterest to their terminologists.
The result? With the exception of Dj Vu, the price of theseearly tools was so high that they were virtually unobtainable bytranslators. The tools project concept was structured to matchthe needs of LSPs, and the terminology components were devel-oped into high-powered applications with the needs of largecorporations in mind. The following years produced next to nodevelopment of translation features, except the support of morelanguages with the advent and support of Unicode.
In the meantime, Dj Vu and some newer tools, includingWordfast, had been targeting the freelance translator marketrelatively successfully, paving the way for other tool vendors tooffer less expensive translator versions. In addition, the old busi-ness model of LSPs financing the expensive Trados or Transittranslator licenses proved to be unsustainable. As a result, theuse of CAT tools in some form or another became the rule ratherthan the exception, both in the freelance community and amongLSPs. And more sophisticated customers were starting to expectdifferentiated pricing on the basis of TM leverage.
At the same time, a number of new players entered the mar-ket. Since translation buyers had become aware that there couldbe substantial savings by using technology, companies such asUniscape, and later Idiom and GlobalSight, began offering largetranslation management systems (TMSs) that were first grandlycalled globalization management systems. Only later were theymore aptly and humbly dubbed TMSs.
These large systems provided the workflow automation andtransparency that translation buyers were looking for. Interest-ingly, the roles were suddenly reversed. The LSP was increas-ingly ceding control of the process and to some degree thepricing to the translation buyer. Naturally, at some point
Jost Zetzsche, MultiLingual editorial board mem-ber, is a translator and translation technology con-sultant. He is the coauthor ofFound in Translation:How Language Shapes Our Lives and Transformsthe World, to be released in October and alreadyavailable for preorder on Amazon.
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technology vendors also started to offerTMSs for LSPs, especially Trados/SDL(which had swallowed both Uniscapeand Idiom), Across, memoQ and others.
And the actual translation technology?It stayed virtually the same throughout.Minor improvements were made with
context-sensitive matching and someimproved quality assurance processes, butthe underpinnings of the foundational TMand termbase modules remained wherethey had been a decade earlier.
Then, soon after the turn of the cen-tury, something reawakened that manyhad written off as a productivity tool forthe translation industry: MT. Three thingsprompted this resurrection. First, the eventsof 9/11 and its aftermath highlighted thedesperate need for automated translationand opened subsequent government fund-ing. Second, statistical machine translation(SMT) was discovered as a possibility tocreate MT engines relatively quickly fora large variety of languages. Thirdly andmaybe most importantly, the concept ofquality was replaced with usability amore user-driven and much more variableconcept of what the translated text neededto look like.
Many different MT applications haveemerged in the last few years, from rawoutput of a trained MT engine for knowl-edge bases, to post-editing MT outputin various degrees, to the increasinglyspecialized training of MT engines. ButMTs most surprising effect may havebeen the transformation of CAT toolsstale translation features.
The most obvious change was theaddition of tool-internal connectors toonline translation tools such as GoogleTranslate or Microsofts Bing Translator,or other commercial and open-sourcemachine translation systems. Virtuallyall tool vendors quickly implementedthese. The logic behind the reunificationof these long-parted siblings of MT andTM goes something like this: if no match
in the TM is found, propose a matchfrom an MT engine that then will haveto be edited like a fuzzy match. Theresnothing too exciting in that, but incombination with the next development,something truly new was created holdthat thought for a second.
The value of TMs was also re-examined. With the increasing necessityto feed data to SMT engines, the needto subsegment existing TMs became aprimary concern. This was especially
voiced and championed by TAUS. Withthe exception of a small number of tools,most importantly MultiTrans, existingtechnology only gave manual access todata below the level of a complete seg-ment, typically a sentence, even thoughit had long been obvious that below the
sentence is where the true linguistic trea-sure of TMs was buried.
Responding to the increased pressureof their user groups, most tool vendorshave now started to dig deeper and givetranslators materials at their fingertipsthat had always been there, just not in anaccessible way. Its fascinating to watchthis evolution. While many of the earlierparadigms of finding whole-segmentmatches and using a separate terminol-ogy database as a reference were virtuallyuniform across the different technologysolutions, the subsegmenting approachesare almost as varied as the number oftools supporting them. Because we arestill in the infancy of these develop-ments, even more creative approacheswill likely be put forward.
One sign for how new and disruptivethis concept of subsegmenting is can beseen in the fact that most tools have not yetcompletely grasped that this new approachto data brings forth two major paradigmshifts. First, the newly required quality con-trol of TMs needs to become much moresophisticated. The old model of garbage-in/
garbage-out has been replaced with gar-bage-in/every-little-piece-of-litter-in-the-garbage-on-the-carpet out, which asks formuch more in-depth pruning and controlof TMs. Second, the concept of terminol-ogy has shifted, with terminology nowautomatically being extracted from TMs.
While the specialized termbase applicationsof most TEnTs will not just go away, theirusage and design will have to adapt to thenew reality.
Lets return now to the introductionof MT output into the TEnT workflow.In combination with subsegmenting,MT will now start to play a significantlymuch greater role in the normal, non-MT-centric project. MT will provide thosesubsegments that cannot be unearthedfrom the TM. Depending on the qualityof the underlying MT engine, this has thepotential to give an immediate boost totranslation productivity, with MT as onetool of many in the translators TEnT.
Translation technology is poised tocome full circle. MT is about to return asa productivity tool. And those tools thatstarted out as translation tools but losttheir true calling are reembracing theiridentity. In the process, theyve rediscov-ered their formerly evil sibling: MT.
Will they live happily ever after? Onlytime will tell. But as a historian and afuturist, Im watching the story unfoldwith rapt attention. M
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How to choose
a translation vendor
Madalena Snchez Zampaulo
TThe thought of purchasing a new product or
service can seem overwhelming at times. I knowthat when I need a high-quality product, I tendto research the item or service Im looking to buyfor some time before I buy it. Note that high-
quality product doesnt necessarily equate toexpensive. For first-time car buyers, for exam-ple, the process of researching efficiency andsafety, test driving and closing the deal can bestressful. There are so many people involved and
things can seem unsure for a while before a dealis finally reached, but finding the right car thatfits your needs and taste is the goal.
In this way, first-time translation buyers are a little like first-time car buyers. If you dont know much about languages, therecan be a sense of uncertainty at first about what dialect of alanguage is needed or how much is a good price for a transla-tion project but if you can find a high-quality, professionalagency, then the process can actually be quite smooth.
Here are some tips for choosing a translation vendor. Themajority of the tips are based on the idea of selecting a transla-tion agency; however, some clients prefer to stick with individual
freelancers. This is often a personal choice, but the process is quitesimilar. An agency will most likely provide multiple services andquality assurance (QA) processes that many individuals do nothave set in place, so take this into consideration when decidingwhat will work best for you. These tips are meant to guide you
through the selection process, although there may be more stepsto the process or fewer, depending on your translation needs.
Tip 1: Remember that translation is a service provided byprofessionals who should produce a professional (read: qual-ity) product. Choosing someone who is bilingual to translate
your documents is not enough! It may seem like an easy solu-tion to a language access need to simply call your coworkerscousin who speaks fluent Spanish to translate your companysmarketing brochure, but what are this individuals qualifica-tions? What level of education in the foreign language doesshe or he have? Does she or he have knowledge of industry-specific terminology? Remember, whats easy is not alwayswhats best. The American Translators Association publishes abrochure called Translation: Getting it Right in which ChrisDurban states, Bilingualism on its own is not a guarantee ofwritten fluency or skill in translation. Durban points out thattranslators are good writers and are able to transmit ideas fromone language to another a skill not possessed by all who arebilingual. Ill take this a step further and note that most transla-tors specialize in certain areas, as they feel more comfortablewith their skills in transmitting the words from one languageto another in their own fields of study. For example, a Japanesetranslator who works with automotive texts may not feel com-fortable translating a document from English to Japanese thatis chock-full of medical jargon.
Tip 2: Figure out your translation needs. First, determine
exactly what you need. Do you only need to have a brochuretranslated, or will you also need to have your company websitetranslated in the future? In thinking about what you need, dothink ahead to the future. However, dont let an agency talk
you into translating materials that you truly dont need to havetranslated. Remember, you are the client. You may not need thewebsite translated until a year from now because you need tochange some text or add some information. Go ahead and letthe agency know you are interested, but that you wish to waitto begin the sites translation. This way, the agency (or indi-
vidual) can start creating a glossary or translation memory (TM)for your projects and save it for your next translation need.
Madalena Snchez Zampaulo, the ownerand CEO of Accessible Translation Solutions,holds an MA from the University of Louisville.In October 2011, she was elected to be theadministrator of the Medical Division ofthe American Translators Association.
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Who is the ideal reader of the bro-chure and/or website? What languagedoes this group speak? What dialect?These are all important questions to askyourself before looking for the perfecttranslation vendor for you. I always findit interesting when I ask potential clientswhat dialect of a language they need fora translation and, many times, theyreunsure. Just as you would educate your-self about your English-speaking targetaudience, do the same with any othertarget audience. This can only work inyour favor. Imagine picking up a bro-chure or coming across a website that iswritten in a variety of English that youfeel to be awkward to your ears (or eyes,
in this case). Would you finish readingit? Choosing the correct dialect of a lan-guage for your target audience is a keyfirst step, and it is one that any vendoryou approach should request.
Another point to consider is howflexible you need the translation vendorto be. Will you need the translation backtomorrow? In three days? Next week,next month? This is important informa-tion to give any vendor before startinga project. Make sure to set these terms
beforehand so that you dont have towait two weeks for a translation thatmight have been done in three days.
Tip 3: Decide what kind of vendormight fit your needs. Is it important toyou to choose a local vendor? Do youprefer to work with an individual, a smallbusiness or a large corporation? No matterwhat your preferences, all of these optionswork a little differently, so consider thisbefore you start the project. Many clientschoose local companies to handle transla-tion jobs, as they feel a sense of comfortin knowing that they can meet with theowner, project managers and in-houselinguists fairly easily. Some prefer to usethe services of a large company instead,
while others prefer individual freelancers.Whatever you choose, find out what pro-cesses the vendor has in place and whatkind of quality you should expect thereis more on this under Tip 6.
Tip 4: Research a few vendors beforeyou select one if youre feeling unsure.Think about how you would find out moreabout a service or product that is new toyou. Most people these days would do aninternet search. Besides simple word ofmouth, this is probably the fastest way
to get basic information quickly. Searchfor translation vendors and read aboutthe companys mission, values, successstories and so on. Does this vendor haveaccreditation by the Better BusinessBureau or another accrediting agency?Look for details that prove the vendorsdedication and professionalism.
Does the vendor have a blog? If so,this is a great way to see what the com-pany or individual thinks about industry-specific and sometimes other topics. Hereis where you will be able to determineif the vendor seems knowledgeable. Asthe vendor is in the industry of connect-ing through language, the way the blogis written can often be a window into
the quality of services you will receive.By this, I mean that if you find multipletypos, misspellings, errors and so onwithin the blog or on the vendors site,you may want to rethink contacting theindividual or agency. Remember thesewords from Durban: Professional trans-lators are writers, producing texts thatread well in the target language. I canttell you how many times I have read ane-mail, newsletter or a blog post by atranslation vendor and found numerous
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| MultiLingual April/May 2012 editor@multil ingual.com54
grammatical errors. To me, this is appall-ing for two reasons. The most obviousone is that we are in the business ofwords and language. If the vendor can-not proofread something before pub-lishing it, what can you expect when itcomes to how it will handle your texts?
Our faces are not just how we portrayourselves in person, but also how weportray ourselves in writing. I have notmet all my clients in person, as I havemany from other states and countries;however, if I were to write an e-mail fullof grammatical errors, I wouldnt expectthem to respond to me. At the very least,I couldnt expect to earn their business.So, expect excellence in writing, evenin simple exchanges or online posts.Yes, we all have a day where we maketypos or errors, but one might be wary ofrepeat offenders.
In the same vein, ask if the vendor isinvolved in industry-related events andorganizations. Does it have any certifica-tions or special affiliations? These mayseem like little extras that a vendor couldor could not have, but showing involve-ment in industry-specific associationsdemonstrates a sense of dedication to thefield that not all vendors possess. Look atthe groups or organizations in which thevendor participates. Does it hold a spe-cific office or is it involved with commit-tees or area-specific groups? If so, thisreveals leadership and commitment, aswell as professionalism. If you choose tohave an individual translate your text(s),find out if she or he has any certifica-tions or specialized degrees in the field.If you prefer an agency, ask how it vetslinguists and what it requires of them.
Tip 5: Discuss your needs. Once youhave decided on a vendor (or two or so)that you feel might fit your needs, ask toset up a meeting or phone call to discussthe specifics of your potential translation.Be sure to have the information readyon what language(s) you will need as the
final translation, what type(s) of transla-tion (technical, marketing and so on),the immediacy of the translation (yourproposed deadline) and be prepared toinquire about any other services the ven-dor might offer that would complementthe translation. More on complementaryservices is under Tip 9.
When speaking with the vendor, beopen to new suggestions or processesthat you might have overlooked. Some-times there are details one might not
have considered before taking the stepsto purchase a service that could addvalue to the final product.
Tip 6: Ask about processes in placethat ensure quality. When meetingwith the vendor (or several vendors ifyoure comparing prices), it is perfectly
fine to ask about the agencys or indi-viduals niche areas or specializations.Not all vendors prefer to handle legaldocuments. Some may not specialize inmedical texts, so having a set of medi-cal charts translated via this vendor maynot be the best option. However, smallcompanies and larger corporations typi-cally have the means of handling vari-ous specializations and can place yourprojects with the appropriate linguists.Nonetheless, you will find peace of mindin asking and knowing the answer to thisquestion.
Another tip that falls under QA is onethat I find many clients do not request.Ask for samples of translations, refer-ences or testimonials. If you wish to hiresomeone for a new position, you wouldprobably check references. If you hire atranslation vendor, you can request ref-erences, or at the very least, you can readtestimonials from the vendors previousclients. Also, if youve checked to see ifthe vendor is accredited by the BetterBusiness Bureau or another accreditingagency, you might find this informationwithout even having to ask for it.
The next point Id like to make is onewith which many translation buyers tendto be unfamiliar. However, it is a goodway to find out what kind of software orprograms the vendor utilizes in order tomaintain consistency and quality in mul-tiple translations from the same clientand/or clients in similar industries. Whenspeaking with the vendor to discuss yourneeds, ask about what computer-aidedtranslation tools it uses for translationprojects. Some vendors do not use any,while most professionals have a preferred
tool or a variety of them. These tools helpto provide a quicker turnover on futuretranslations and can sometimes saveyou money, as the vendor will utilize aTM created from similar texts that havealready been translated. So, it is alwayssmart to ask about them, and in doing so,youll show the vendor you know a thingor two about the process.
Tip 7: Now let the vendor ask youthe questions. Another imperative stepin selecting a translation vendor is to
let the vendor ask you questions, too.A vital question that should come fromany vendor you might choose is aboutthe purpose of the translation. So manycompanies and freelancers can be quickto snatch up a project without askingquestions about whether or not the text
will be used for publication, for a website,for readers of various dialects and so on.This is always an important detail andone shouldnt assume the answer to thisquestion is obvious. Providing a vendorwith more than enough information isdefinitely a safer approach, and its onethat will ensure the best outcome foryour translation project. So, if it seemslike the vendor has a lot of questions,this is probably a good thing!
Tip 8: Find out payment detailsbefore the project begins.One of the firstthings you might consider in selecting avendor for your translation project is theprice. Notice that I didnt write about thisfirst, but rather, I saved it for later in theprocess. The reason for this is that priceshouldnt be the sole deciding factor forwhat company or freelancer you choose.Yes, money plays an important part inyour decision, but you dont want to haveto pay less now and end up with a poorproduct and then pay more later for theproduct you were really hoping to buy inthe first place. After you have gathered allthe information from the previous steps,its time to ask the potential vendor(s) fora quote on your project. Remember, inorder to receive an accurate quote, youllneed to give the vendor the source docu-ment to review. This is common practicein the translation industry, and it is thebest way to know the exact cost of thework youre requesting.
Once you receive the quote from thevendor(s), it is up to you to decide if youfeel the translation project is worth thatamount. If so, there is little left to do. Ifnot, dont just walk away from the ven-dors price offer. Rather, let the vendor
know that you were expecting a bit lessor your reasons for not wanting to payas much. I believe youll find most ven-dors to be game for some negotiation,but you should listen, too, to what thevendor has to say in regard to the rea-sons behind the original quote. Perhapsyour document requires a certain set ofspecialized linguists to work on the proj-ect, and the terminology is such that itcannot be placed with just any translatorand proofreader. Many times, this is the
mailto:[email protected] -
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case for more focused areas. So, consider
the translation an investment, as it will
take multiple steps with highly skilled
individuals to complete the project and
ultimately give you the finished product
you desire.
As you take the quote into consid-
eration, find out about payment terms.Will the vendor ask you to pay on NET
30 terms, pay the total beforehand or
pay half before and half after the trans-
lation is delivered? Not all vendors have
the same procedures, so its best not to
assume when payment will be due. If
you need the translation back in a very
short amount of time, be prepared to
have a rush fee tacked on.
Tip 9: Find out about other servicesoffered and how they might work foryou and your brand or purposes. Asyou wrap up the translation process, with
any luck youll be thinking that youve
found your vendor of choice. Consider
other services the vendor might offer you
that would complement the translation
or future translation projects. Could the
vendor localize your website to make sure
the images and fonts, layout and other
characteristics market your brand as you
would like it to appear to your target
audience? Maybe you need to rethink the
images and layout used for the Spanish-
language pages of the site in order to
reach Latinos who might purchase your
products or services. Perhaps the vendor
offers voiceover services that would
allow you to put the promotional video
on your site into a second language.
Another service you might need is on-
site or telephonic interpretation. All of
these things and more should be on your
radar as you move forward into reaching
out to the target audience via your trans-
lated materials. Some buyers prefer to
consider this step earlier in the process,
as they are already thinking ahead to
how the translation might enhance their
own brand, while others are able to stop
at simply having their materials trans-lated. To finalizing the process, consider
your research on how to obtain a high-
quality translation as time well spent. By
reading this, you have already taken the
first step to ensuring receipt of a valu-
able service. Much like the first-time car
buyer who finds a car that is reflective
of his or her personality, the translation
in which you invest should be a great
reflection of you and your brand in the
target language. M
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CoreFocus
IIt is a well-known, taken-for-granted rule that
for any translation to work properly, a translatorhas to go beyond the superficial meanings of thewords.
It is not enough to work out how best to render the wordsof the source text; rather, it is much more important to extractwhat the words mean in a particular situation according tocultural context. The cultural facet of translation studies urgesus to consider the point that the translator is not the only per-son involved in the translation process; rather, the readers alsoparticipate, utilizing what they already have in their culturalreservoir and what they have learned to make sense of whatthey read, connecting meanings and evaluating them with cul-tural codes that exist in their minds. Eugene Nida has noted thatlanguage is a part of culture, and in fact, it is the most complexset of habits that any culture exhibits. Language reflects theculture, provides access to the culture, and in many respectsconstitutes a model of the culture.
Recently, therefore, the need for treating translation froma wide range of perspectives has been recognized. The sig-nificance of sociological settings has been emphasized in recenttranslation studies, and rather than mere linguistics, insightsfrom a number of scientific disciplines such as psychology, cul-tural anthropology and communication theory are proposed tohelp explain the nature of translation.
The cultural turn in translation studies has stimulated manytranslation studies researchers to elaborate upon adaptation asa form of intersemiotic translation. Adaptation is in fact the
least literal or the most free type of translation. It abandons thestrict linguistic aspect of translation and rather concerns itselfwith the cultural one, though it inevitably is concerned with thelinguistics also. Adaptation is one of the most appropriate andeffective modes of expression when a re-creation is needed to
Adaptation in translation
Mehdi Asadzadeh & Afaf Steiert
convey the same effect attached to a word to another culturewhere a same word is missing. Adaptation is usually employedto convey the equivalent in sociocultural terms.
To illustrate the point with an example, we refer to transla-tion of a text related to a wedding, originating from a Britishcontext and aimed at Azeri Turkish speakers. During a weddingceremony in Britain or the United States, the groom is usu-ally accompanied by a man who is called the best man; that ispart of their tradition and so a part of their culture. In Turkishculture, however, there is no best man, and the groom is ratheraccompanied by not one, but two men in the wedding. They arecalled sad and sold and stand on the right and left sides ofthe groom respectively. So, when rendering a text where thereis reference to a best man, anyone translating to Azeri Turk-ish speakers could possibly substitute it with the more familiarwords sad and sold.
We should note that though in certain situations the directtranslation is not suggested much (when translating a politi-cal speech or an advertisement, for example), at the same timenot all ideal translations are adaptations. A good translation isfaithful to the full context of the source text in terms of mean-ing as well as style, appearance, register and message. Beforechoosing to adapt, a translator should understand that it is amust to produce a target text that seems natural and appropri-ate to the target language and culture while sticking to theessence of the source text; nothing may be altered, deleted oreven added from and to the text unnecessarily and without anacceptable reason. A true adaptation is a reinvention that helpsreaders to better understand the text and its content.
Although it can happen anywhere, adaptation most often hap-pens in the literary realm. Poetry, for example, as a very personalform of literature, has its roots deep inside the culture, and becausemetaphors change from culture to culture, as do stylistic prefer-ences, its rendering will likely need more adaptation than other
kinds of texts. In general, the greater the differencesbetween cultures, the bigger the obstacles in the pathof translation. To overcome these, the translator mightresort to adaptation. There is a basic rule to observe:adaptation is used when there is no chance of render-ing the concept correctly, precisely and appropriatelyby performing a usual type of translation. M
Mehdi Asadzadeh is a Ph.D. research studentat Hyderabad Central University, India,and a lecturer at Maragheh Azad University.
Afaf Steiert is the president andcofounder of Afaf Translations and works
as an Arabic interpreter and translator.
http://nativeturkishtranslator.com/mailto:[email protected] -
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April/May 2012 ww w.multilingual.com
Core Focus: Translation
he ever-growing, easy international access to information,
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Who provides services in this area? Where do I start?
Savvy people in todays world use MultiLingualto answer
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MultiLinguals eight issues a year are filled with news, techni-
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TranslationTranslators are vital to the development of international and
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Youll find sound ideas and practical help in every issue.
Language technologyFrom systems that recognize your handwriting or your speech
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Global webEvery website is a global website because it can be accessed
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Managing contentHow do you track all the words and the changes that occur
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a wide array of current topics from the world of multilingual
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