Translation - how seriously do you take it?

2006-06-05T12:58:00.000+02:00

I thought this might be a good place to get a few things off my chest about translation and people's perception of translators. I've been working in the industry for over ten years and still find myself a little frustrated about how little regard companies seem to have for the business of translation.

Let's take pricing, for example. You have a commodity you want to sell. You know how much it's worth, and you know how much you want to sell it for. So you lay out your stall and set your prices. Then along comes a customer, and you're probably one of several translators they've contacted and let's face it, they're probably looking for the cheapest offer.

But since when has the cheapest meant the best? Don't get me wrong, it could well be in a very few cases. There might be a very impressive, professional, competent translator out there with the right know-how and wherewithal to produce just what a company is looking for in a translation, but who is genuinely more concerned with producing good quality than earning a fast buck.

But most of us have worked hard to earn our qualifications and harder still to gain that all-important experience. So what happens when a company comes along and says, "Sorry, you're just too expensive," or "We have xy and z budget, this is what we're willing to pay"? Would you go into the Levi's store and, when told how much the 501s you're interested in will cost, tell the assistant, "Well, I only have this much in my purse and this is how much I'm willing to pay"? I don't think so. So why should we as translators have to bend over backwards, cut our prices just to compete with the cowboys and devalue not only ourselves but all those professional and competent translators out there trying to make a half decent living?

I suggest that any company which values its own image and whose own standards mean anything at all should take the business of translation seriously and be willing to invest in a good translator or team of translators. If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. And that's certainly true in the translation industry. How often has a company come to you and said, "We had this translated but the quality was just so poor, we'd like you to take a look at it." So not only do they pay for a cowboy translation, they have to pay to get it re-translated. When will companies learn?

If they would just value the work of the translator, take the time to query his or her credentials, ask for references, invest in building up a good relationship.

Paying for cheap translations is a false economy. Is it really worth the price?

All about Jim

2006-05-20T19:59:00.000+02:00

Born and bred in Wakefield - better known as Wakey - in West Yorkshire, UK. It's not right well known, and I couldn't in all honesty recommend it as a holiday destination. If you're up that way, you might want to consider bypassing it altogether and exiting the M1 in Leeds, which is much nicer altogether.

As soon as I turned 18 and had my A Levels under my belt, I packed my bags and headed off with feelings of both excitement and trepidation to the University of East Anglia in Norwich. Given the international flair of Wakey, it's no surprise I ended up studying foreign languages. (Though Yorkshire English is a language in its own right.) During my 4 years in deepest Norfolk, I spent some time in Austria as a teaching assistant and never really looked back. Austria was the place for me!

So after completing my degree, I questioned whether to return to the bosom of my home town, or prolong my absence a bit longer. Difficult decision. So off I went again, this time in the direction of Guildford and the University of Surrey, where I studied for a year for an MA in Translation. Another weapon in my escape arsenal which got me as far as Tunbridge Wells and an editorial job - not quite as far a field as I had planned, but nevertheless a valuable stepping stone. It was also where I met the missus.

A couple of years later and now with some experience under my belt, I finally managed to find my ticket out of Blighty and moved to Vienna, Austria, to take up a job as a translator. After a couple of spells with a couple of different companies in the software industry, I'm now freelance, working from home with 3 cats for company.

And that's where I am now.

James Gray

Translation - how seriously do you take it?

All about Jim