Translators and Project Managers (PMs) are just like fish and chips: one won’t go without the other. Here’s a short guide on how to enjoy this recipe without giving yourself indigestion!

Rather than writing about what freelancers love or hate (or a similar rant from the Project Manager’s perspective), it’s possibly more useful for everybody to know what elements link translators and agencies together so tightly, and how they can work better together. (more…)

So you’ve decided that the time has come and you want to get work as a translator. You’ve completed your degree or found some great opportunities and all you need to do is send your CV to potential clients and just start translating… Stop. Send your CV? Well, in order to be able to do that, you’ll first need to have one!
With a great wealth of tips on writing CVs available on-line, one can get really confused. Moreover, everyone is unique, so some people will prefer one format over another. But I believe that there are some rules that one should follow whatever their tastes. (more…)

We’ve expanded Web-Translations and opened an office in Bath to meet the needs of our growing portfolio.

Andrew Carter (pictured right, below) who has been with us for over 2 years as a freelancer, has now become a full-time employee, and is heading up the new satellite office with his latest recruit, Jonathan Power (pictured left).

Andrew says: “I worked with Web-Translations on a freelance basis for 2 years, and became a full-time employee just a few months ago. I enjoy working with a wide variety of clients, and love knowing that whatever their aims are we have a product in our multilingual website “toolkit” that will help them succeed in international markets.” (more…)

The field of language translation has remained robust despite tough economic times. Embarking on a translation career can be a wise decision for young people who love languages. Hundreds of colleges all over the world offer translation programs. In the US, the American Translation Association has approved over fifty programs so far. Translation programs at conventional and online colleges vary in size, languages offered, and specific coursework, but they all cover the same fundamental topics.

Students studying to become translators must first gain a solid foundation in language and culture. College language courses teach vocabulary and grammar, but students must achieve superior levels of language fluency in order to succeed in the translation industry. They must also understand their chosen languages’ cultures on a deep level. This understanding comes from exposure to the literature, visual arts, music, and even film. History courses also play a role in cultural understanding. Most US colleges strongly encourage study abroad, although most don’t require it. In the UK, and most of Europe, however, a period of study in a country where the language you are learning is spoken is a compulsory part of the course.

After a linguistic foundation is laid, students can learn advanced translation techniques through practice. Just speaking a language well is not enough to make someone a good translator. Translators must know how to select the appropriate style, tone, and voice when translating documents. Vocabulary choices and sentence structure greatly influence these three qualities.

Knowing which words to use in a translation isn’t as simple as it seems. If the task were straightforward, computers would be able to take the place of humans. Human translators aren’t in any danger of losing their jobs because each language’s subtle nuances of meaning make translation a complex subjective process. Translators can’t simply rely on a dictionary to make their vocabulary choices.

Some idioms don’t have obvious target language equivalents. Individual words don’t always have corresponding one-word translations. Sometimes five different words might be technically valid translations, but only one will sound right in context. It takes extensive study to get comfortable choosing which words to use. Colleges provide examples and exhaustive practice sessions to help students learn how to accurately match any document’s style and tone through word choice.

Sentence structure also receives a great deal of emphasis. A document’s overall tone and voice is influenced by the length and complexity of its sentences. Translators must be able to replicate tone and voice by manipulating sentence structure as needed in the target language.

For instance, sometimes a sentence from the original work must be split into two sentences to achieve the best result. Beginning translators are often too faithful to the original sentence structure, and insist on producing overlong, awkward sentences in the target language. On the other hand, translators should refrain from unnecessary changes to sentence length and flow. Translation instructors take great pains to help students strike this proper balance.

Colleges translation training programs understand it isn’t enough for most translators to be generalists. The most successful translators have subject area specialties. For example, some translators focus exclusively on legal translations, while others focus on finance, business, or technology documents. Most colleges let translation students pick their specialties early. That way, students can earn minors or additional majors to support their translation specialties. Having credentials in both general translation and a specialty makes students more competitive once they graduate, as well as simply better prepared.

Translation and language study in college is rigorous and challenging, but also highly rewarding. During their time in school students gain invaluable insights into other cultures, their worldviews are expanded, and they become better communicators. When they graduate, they have all the skills they need to succeed.

Written by Marina Salsbury

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Marina Salsbury planned on becoming a teacher since high school, but found her way into online writing after college. She writes about everything from education to exercise for various websites.

Vogue Italia has been widely criticised for the feature it ran on its blog this Monday, a piece entitled “Slave Earrings” that has since been removed.

The post read: “Jewellery has always flirted with circular shapes, especially for use in making earrings. The most classic models are the slave and creole styles in gold hoops.”

It continued: “If the name brings to the mind the decorative traditions of the women of colour who were brought to the southern United States during the slave trade, the latest interpretation is pure freedom. Colored stones, symbolic pendants and multiple spheres. And the evolution goes on.” (more…)

Well, where to start? Not wanting to blow my own trumpet, as a former project manager, but project management is, in my humble opinion, vital to a smooth, problem-free, well-executed translation project!

A recent article handily backs up my opinion, stating that project managers are, in fact “indispensable to the process due to the vast number of project variables, requirements, exceptions to project scope, etc.” Project managers liaise with both clients and translators to see a project through to completion. Their role involves understanding clients’ needs and requirements, ensuring that they can all be met, and then creating a logical sequence of tasks to be carried out to a specific deadline, not to mention assigning the work to suitable translators and proofreaders who specialise in the subject in question. (more…)

It’s a comment you may have heard expressed before by many native English speakers: despite possessing an interest in foreign films and a willingness to embrace their ‘quirkiness’, it sometimes feels as though you have to be “in the mood” to watch them. After watching a French film the other night and hearing my housemate make this exact comment, my thoughts consequently drifted to how world cinema seems to have rapidly gained popularity over the last ten years in the U.K.

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One of the most important questions a project manager can ask when preparing to organise a translation is about the intended audience.  Is the Chinese translation for mainland China, Hong Kong or Taiwan?  Is the Portuguese translation for Portugal or Brazil?  Is this Spanish translation aimed at Spaniards or Spanish speakers in South and Central American countries?

These variations on one language are more in-depth and important than some people may realise, and as such, it is important that any translation is specifically carried out with the audience country in mind.  This often means translating a text into one language twice, one for one country, and one for another.  However, if a client only wishes to invest in translating text once, yet wants to appeal to both South American and European markets, for example, what can be done?  Should they choose between the two, use the same translation for both markets, or is there another way?  This is where “Neutral Spanish” comes into play.

The idea behind this concept is that vocabulary and terminology be defined early in the process, so that only terms that will be understood in both target audiences are used in the translation, thus ensuring that the final translation is suitable for use in both Spain and South American countries that use Spanish, such as Mexico, Uruguay and Argentina.  The large number of Spanish speakers who reside in Central America may be included in the client’s target market as well, so their variation of the language must also be taken into consideration. (more…)

Translation memory is a type of software that stores a unit or “segment” of a source language together with its translated equivalent in the target language.

This is useful for several reasons. Firstly, it improves the consistency of translated documents, as once a segment of text is stored in the memory, the translator will be prompted to use it wherever it appears in a file. Secondly, where text is repeated in a document, the client does not need to pay for the sentence to be translated twice. Thirdly, it makes the process more efficient, so translations take less time.

Other useful feature common to most types of translation memory software are:

• Ability to analyse many different file types to get a wordcount
• Protection of code in web files such as HTML so that strings are not damaged in the translation process
• Displays all text within a file, so that nothing is missed out of the translation
• Integration with glossaries
• Preservation of file format structure

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There is a lot more to translation than meets the eye. Yes, the essence of the process is translating a piece of text from one language into another, but there is a lot more to consider than many people are aware.

There are lots of factors that need to be taken into account both before starting work, and during the translation process itself. Clarifying these points, and identifying any issues at the start helps to ensure a smooth translation process, and avoids delays while any difficulties are overcome.

Depending on the size and complexity of the project, clients should be asked several key questions, including (but not limited to):

What is the purpose/end use of the translation?

File formats - what format do they need the translation back in?

Processing text post-translation - will it be added to a Content Management System, or typeset into a design ready for print? If so, are those responsible experienced in doing so?

Reference material - could include previous translations and any background information to guide the translators. Clients who take the time to provide such information reap the benefits by getting an accurate translation that reflects their company style and is immediately fit for purpose. Without background information, the translators are often working in the dark, and it can take longer to produce text that is ready to use or publish.

Is there an  in-country manager who will be reviewing the text, or who can help with any terminology queries?

Is the author of the document available to answer any queries about its contents?

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