| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | Does this world still need "good" quality-oriented linguists (translators, post-editors, reviewers)? Thread poster: Inge Schumacher
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Inge Schumacher 
France
Local time: 10:15
Member (2023)
French to German
+ ...
Dear colleagues,
I'm rather new to the freelance market, but I've long years of (mainly technical) translation and interpreting as an in-house linguist.
I have always been extremely quality-oriented, which is certainly the main reason for my success in the profession.
Now, I get more and more the impression that clients are mainly looking for fast and especially CHEAP linguists.
I could have a lot of jobs if I was ready to accept low rates, bu... See more Dear colleagues,
I'm rather new to the freelance market, but I've long years of (mainly technical) translation and interpreting as an in-house linguist.
I have always been extremely quality-oriented, which is certainly the main reason for my success in the profession.
Now, I get more and more the impression that clients are mainly looking for fast and especially CHEAP linguists.
I could have a lot of jobs if I was ready to accept low rates, but after my last (and very unexpected!) disastrous experience (translation in European defence field for an Italian agency), I decided to take stock and reposition myself as a professional:
Is there still a need for "good" translators who want to work in accordance with the rules of the art or not?
Thanks a lot for your thoughts and advice.
Kind regards,
Inge ▲ Collapse
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 11:15
Member
English to Turkish
Words "cheap", "low rate", "disastrous", "Italian agency" might could open a can of worms...
Just saying.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:15
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Inge Schumacher wrote:
Dear colleagues,
I'm rather new to the freelance market, but I've long years of (mainly technical) translation and interpreting as an in-house linguist.
I have always been extremely quality-oriented, which is certainly the main reason for my success in the profession.
Now, I get more and more the impression that clients are mainly looking for fast and especially CHEAP linguists.
I could have a lot of jobs if I was ready to accept low rates, but after my last (and very unexpected!) disastrous experience (translation in European defence field for an Italian agency), I decided to take stock and reposition myself as a professional:
Is there still a need for "good" translators who want to work in accordance with the rules of the art or not?
Thanks a lot for your thoughts and advice.
Kind regards,
Inge
If you have a track record of being a better translator (more puntilious, more exact, with command of the specialist language and terminologies used in a specific field) you'll find that people will come looking for you when a cheap MTPE translation just won't do.
Naturally you will be more expensive than the others.
That's been my experience in recent years. There's less work now, but it's paid better, is more interesting and challenging to do, and is more appreciated by those who need credible, first-class translations which reach a standard that can be published and that will enhance their standing in the perceptions of those with whom they interact.
As an Italian once said to me "you get what you pay for".
So my answer to your question is "yes - of course". Things have moved on in the translation business; we're into a new phase now.
[Edited at 2024-01-02 14:33 GMT]
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Yes! Good human translators/post-editors/reviewers are always in demand. We could compare the translation industry to the restaurant industry: there are lots and lots of fast-food joints but there is also room for five-star restaurants and everything in between. I’m one of those “dinosaurs” who don’t work with a CAT tool (there are still some of us left…) and yet I’m still working after 40 years in the business and I must say that lately some clients have come to me for that reason. ... See more Yes! Good human translators/post-editors/reviewers are always in demand. We could compare the translation industry to the restaurant industry: there are lots and lots of fast-food joints but there is also room for five-star restaurants and everything in between. I’m one of those “dinosaurs” who don’t work with a CAT tool (there are still some of us left…) and yet I’m still working after 40 years in the business and I must say that lately some clients have come to me for that reason. Of course, like many of my peers, I receive offers that are absolutely unacceptable in terms of price, deadline and payment. All it takes is a little patience and resilience... May 2024 bring us lots of projects paid in time for the right price! ▲ Collapse
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:15
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| An excellent analogy! | Jan 2 |
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
..... there are lots and lots of fast-food joints but there is also room for five-star restaurants ....
I like it!
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Inge Schumacher wrote:
Is there still a need for "good" translators who want to work in accordance with the rules of the art or not?
Sure. But not every client requires every single paragraph we produce to be literature, or publication quality. Not everyone needs a Merc, some people just need a Mini.
Problems arise when people claim to be selling Mercs but are charging Mini prices, or claim to be selling Mercs but are actually supplying Minis, etc. The bad drives out the good, and all that.
Apart from the fact AI is fast and almost free, I do wonder whether one reason for its rapid acceptance is that rubbish, but expensive, translations have been seen the world over for years.
Anyway, I'm sure there will still be some room for high-quality work, but probably not to the extent there was. And it's always the case that clients should be given what they need, not what we prefer to supply.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:15
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Fast, free, and laughable | Jan 2 |
I recently needed to translate a short, important statement into Somali. I used ChatGPT
Sure, it was fast but when an Somali friend read it she said it was like something a chatty young person would have written to a friend. Not formal, as would have been required, and for that reason unusable.
[Edited at 2024-01-02 15:39 GMT]
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Tom in London wrote: Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
..... there are lots and lots of fast-food joints but there is also room for five-star restaurants .... I like it!
Not to mention jewelry, there are lots and lots of cheap jewels, but Cartier and Bulgari (just as an example among many others) are constantly growing and hiring.
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Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 11:15
Member
English to Turkish
Tom in London wrote:
If you have a track record of being a better translator (more puntilious, more exact, with command of the specialist language and terminologies used in a specific field) you'll find that people will come looking for you when a cheap MTPE translation just won't do.
If by 'people' you mean direct clients, individuals etc. then yes, you're right. But if you're referring to the translation agencies, then the recent trend for most of them is to hire a better translator as a reviewer/checker to salvage the shit produced by the cheap, incompetent translator. That way they maintain the 'four eye principle' (the so-called 'ISO standards') and keep their costs down.
| | | | Peter Motte
Belgium
Local time: 10:15
Member (2009)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
Yes! Good human translators/post-editors/reviewers are always in demand. We could compare the translation industry to the restaurant industry: there are lots and lots of fast-food joints but there is also room for five-star restaurants and everything in between. I’m one of those “dinosaurs” who don’t work with a CAT tool (there are still some of us left…) and yet I’m still working after 40 years in the business and I must say that lately some clients have come to me for that reason. Of course, like many of my peers, I receive offers that are absolutely unacceptable in terms of price, deadline and payment. All it takes is a little patience and resilience... May 2024 bring us lots of projects paid in time for the right price!
I like the comparison with fast food and fiver star restaurants too, but not the conclusion that working with CAT means "cheap, low grade translations".
CAT is certainly faster, but not necessarily low grade. It helps to keep the vocabulary constant too, and too easily find a previous occurance of a word or expression. CAT actually helps to improve the quality.
Although I also always aim at the best quality (how to make the difference priceways anyway? would you use a stopwatch and switch to the next word on each 'ting'?), I'm a heavy user of CAT.
| | | | Peter Motte
Belgium
Local time: 10:15
Member (2009)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Charlie Bavington wrote:
Sure. But not every client requires every single paragraph we produce to be literature, or publication quality. Not everyone needs a Merc, some people just need a Mini.
Mini's are actually good cars. I don't get that comparisson.
"Literature"? What do you mean by "literature"? In my view, literary translations are a bit more tricky on other ways than technical translations, which have their own problems. Ok, technical translations don't have to rhyme, but neither should most literary translations. As a matter of fact: I have never seen a rhyming translation of the Iliad, except for one, which started out rhyming, and went to prose after half a page.
| | | | Peter Motte
Belgium
Local time: 10:15
Member (2009)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Tom in London wrote:
I recently needed to translate a short, important statement into Somali. I used ChatGPT
Sure, it was fast but when an Somali friend read it she said it was like something a chatty young person would have written to a friend. Not formal, as would have been required, and for that reason unusable.
[Edited at 2024-01-02 15:39 GMT]
Chatty?... Yeah, that's ChatGPT all over.
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| You prove the point | Jan 2 |
Peter Motte wrote:
Mini's are actually good cars. I don't get that comparisson.
Exactly. They are good for some things. They serve a purpose.
I could have said bikes and beemers, or Fiats and Ferraris.
(Although perhaps no-one ever really, really, truly actually *requires* a Ferrari !)
And see also the point made about fast-food and fine dining.
The idea is the same. Not all clients want or need the same product all the time.
Peter Motte wrote:"Literature"? What do you mean by "literature"?
I mean translation viewed as if it were some kind of superior art form, with carefully selected synonyms to avoid repetition and agonies over commas versus semi-colons. Which has a place, for sure. But perhaps not if the client just wants to know what a spec says for a meeting tomorrow morning and the document will be in the shredder by lunchtime.
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Angie Garbarino wrote: Tom in London wrote: Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
..... there are lots and lots of fast-food joints but there is also room for five-star restaurants .... I like it! Not to mention jewelry, there are lots and lots of cheap jewels, but Cartier and Bulgari (just as an example among many others) are constantly growing and hiring.
Fiats and Ferraris
...finally, the usual plumber-translator comparison will be made in this discussion? Does anyone at least know his name by now, so that he could make his point here himself and clarify some things?
[Bearbeitet am 2024-01-03 09:09 GMT]
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Peter Motte wrote: Charlie Bavington wrote:
Sure. But not every client requires every single paragraph we produce to be literature, or publication quality. Not everyone needs a Merc, some people just need a Mini. Mini's are actually good cars. I don't get that comparisson. "Literature"? What do you mean by "literature"? In my view, literary translations are a bit more tricky on other ways than technical translations, which have their own problems. Ok, technical translations don't have to rhyme, but neither should most literary translations. As a matter of fact: I have never seen a rhyming translation of the Iliad, except for one, which started out rhyming, and went to prose after half a page.
Is the Iliad in the original old Greek rhymed? I highly doubt it. It has a certain rhythm, i.e. sequences of stressed and unstressed syllables, which is perfectly rendered in the Russian translation made in 19th century by Gnedic. But it's not rhyming which I think means similar-sounding endings of lines.
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