| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Request for low quality translations Thread poster: XXXphxxx (X)
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Radian Yazynin 
Local time: 21:56
Member (2004)
English to Russian
+ ...
Laurent KRAULAND wrote:
Is it that corporations want to spend less ...?
I have direct facts of their (desperate?) saving on everything, among them... I dare not pronounce their names.
[Edited at 2012-07-04 19:00 GMT]
| | | | Neil Coffey
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:56
French to English
+ ...
| Peter hits the nail on the head... | Jul 4, 2012 |
We don't have a God-given right for our market not to evolve and diversify over time and for new markets to emerge. If there's a genuine market, in addition to the professional human translation market, for other forms of "translation" of whatever form, then fine. And if professional translators do or don't want to move into that market, that's a decision they need to take depending on whether or not it is beneficial to them.
The danger I do see is as Peter says: if clients who are ... See more We don't have a God-given right for our market not to evolve and diversify over time and for new markets to emerge. If there's a genuine market, in addition to the professional human translation market, for other forms of "translation" of whatever form, then fine. And if professional translators do or don't want to move into that market, that's a decision they need to take depending on whether or not it is beneficial to them.
The danger I do see is as Peter says: if clients who are really seeking what we would regard as a "true" professional translation service are bludgeoned into thinking that the quality of these 'paratranslation' services is actually the norm.
So we need to make sure that clients understand the difference between a true professional translation and other types of 'pseudotranslation' so that they can make an informed decision. If on balance they decide that they would still rather take on the associated risks of not using a professional service, then that is their informed decision. But let's make sure it's an informed one.
[Edited at 2012-07-04 17:11 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Laurent KRAULAND (X)
France
Local time: 20:56
French to German
+ ...
| Informed decisions... | Jul 4, 2012 |
nowadays are made based on budgets, simple as that. And controllers are paid to keep budgets as low as possible.
| | | | | If they don't have the money maybe they should not write that much | Jul 4, 2012 |
in their corporate language, with at least 40% of empty words -- pure redundancy. Maybe if they used fewer words,and replaced empty jargon with the human type of language, they would really save a lot. Then they could pay regular rates to translators, and everyone would be happy.
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Dave Greatrix
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:56
Dutch to English
+ ...
| Any thoughts? | Jul 5, 2012 |
On the subject of financial controllers, I have been told by a potential client that they would expect a translation output of a "minimum" of 600 words per hour! Any thoughts?
| | | | Radian Yazynin
Local time: 21:56
Member (2004)
English to Russian
+ ...
| Simple as that | Jul 5, 2012 |
Like in that anecdote about a woman secretary: "My typing speed is 1000 characters per minute... but it turns out to be absolute thrash..."
Suppose I can translate 600 words per hour if this is a subject I know very well and won't waste time on time-consuming terminology research. But this is a rush job that one can take on in case s/he is absolutely sure to provide good quality and is in a perfect shape to keep on translating as long as the client needs but how high would be the remunerat... See more Like in that anecdote about a woman secretary: "My typing speed is 1000 characters per minute... but it turns out to be absolute thrash..."
Suppose I can translate 600 words per hour if this is a subject I know very well and won't waste time on time-consuming terminology research. But this is a rush job that one can take on in case s/he is absolutely sure to provide good quality and is in a perfect shape to keep on translating as long as the client needs but how high would be the remuneration? That's the question.
Apart from that. You should be offered a certain working schedule, since those controllers are supposed to assign jobs and control the countdown till delivery time, that itself is like an advance order to be paid somehow.
[Edited at 2012-07-05 08:36 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I'm getting really upset... | Jul 5, 2012 |
...when asked for substandard quality transaltion, or any quality compromise.
Happened to me just recently. I finished abt. 60 pages out of a large text (19th century memoirs, with quite specific terminology, lots of hard-to-research toponymic names and historical allusions). The PM appeared happy, the customer ecstatic, and the payment prompt enough. Then, few weeks later I am getting a call from the PM asking for two more chapters from the same work to be translated. The only thing is, ... See more ...when asked for substandard quality transaltion, or any quality compromise.
Happened to me just recently. I finished abt. 60 pages out of a large text (19th century memoirs, with quite specific terminology, lots of hard-to-research toponymic names and historical allusions). The PM appeared happy, the customer ecstatic, and the payment prompt enough. Then, few weeks later I am getting a call from the PM asking for two more chapters from the same work to be translated. The only thing is, the customer is pressed for time (eh...where has he been for weeks in this case?) and wants me to do a "simpler, lower quality work" in order to finish it fast enough to meet some ridiculous deadline. I was told that "there's no need to think myself into the epoch, or try and observe terminology". Well, I was not just upset - I was really truly insulted by this "job offer".
Once I flatly refused to have anything to do with it, explaining that I either do a decent quality work or none at all, they appeared to be willing to negotiate and I got this order on the same conditions as before. I am still sort of upset though... why to make such a weird offer if they loved my earlier work? and/or why would anybody in his sound mind want to pay for a poorly-translated text? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Phil Hand
China
Local time: 02:56
Chinese to English
| Classic attempt to take advantage | Jul 5, 2012 |
why to make such a weird offer if they loved my earlier work? and/or why would anybody in his sound mind want to pay for a poorly-translated text?
You deliver high quality; you've already done a lot of research into this document. The client and/or the outsourcer know that you're going to deliver good quality whatever they pay you, so they make up any old excuse and try to pay you less.
If you do the right thing - as you did - often they'll give up the attempt.
It is insulting, but it's also just business. That's the problem with being a freelancer - you have to be a technician, an artisan, a business manager, AND a salesperson AND a negotiator.
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Leo Young
China
Local time: 02:56
English to Chinese
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| Sometimes clilent is God, sometimes client is Shit | Jul 5, 2012 |
It depends on specific conditions. Clients always look for vendors of the same kind as they are.
As a professioanl, no reason to be happy when finished work is a shit.
If MT can work, what are they looking for? A servant of Machine?
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