| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Amateur translators Thread poster: XX789 (X)
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XX789 (X) 
Netherlands
Local time: 11:37
English to Dutch
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TOPIC STARTER | You're right | Jan 10, 2003 |
Quote:
and mind you, that\'s possible.
Aye, that is true. I\'ve done it myself. But one must be very careful indeed.
[ This Message was edited by:on2003-01-10 13:29]
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Look at the bright side then; you did give the translator a test which she miserably failed  One weed less.
I wish I could safely state how many days would be enough to guarantee a deadline under the worst scenario, but ufortunately it never seems to be enough. On the other hand, you cannot tell a client 300 words will take a forthnight just because you want to use it as a test... it´s really a hard call.
... See more Look at the bright side then; you did give the translator a test which she miserably failed One weed less.
I wish I could safely state how many days would be enough to guarantee a deadline under the worst scenario, but ufortunately it never seems to be enough. On the other hand, you cannot tell a client 300 words will take a forthnight just because you want to use it as a test... it´s really a hard call.
Anyway, all in all I feel lucky I don´t work in those pairs, so I´ll never stumble upon that particular translator
Cheers,
Rossana
p.d. This whole story certainly makes me reconsider the \"translator´s blue board\" idea... ▲ Collapse
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... or the \"translator blues\" board! 
As you have all noted, quite unprofessional. I for one -- and I\'m sure many of you -- have worked despite colds, the flu, etc. because the deadline had to be met.
Perhaps your \"translator\", and I use the term loosely, is accustomed to a typewriter or, worse yet, a quill and inkwell.
[ This Message was edited by:on2003-01-... See more ... or the \"translator blues\" board!
As you have all noted, quite unprofessional. I for one -- and I\'m sure many of you -- have worked despite colds, the flu, etc. because the deadline had to be met.
Perhaps your \"translator\", and I use the term loosely, is accustomed to a typewriter or, worse yet, a quill and inkwell.
[ This Message was edited by:on2003-01-10 14:15] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Karin Adamczyk (X)
Canada
Local time: 05:37
French to English
| It isn't all that simple | Jan 10, 2003 |
Quote:
Here\'s my answer:
I just think that you are crazy because you hired an amateur for translating legal documents without checking her skills first.
Did you have a sample translated by that particular translator prior to assigning the job to her ?
Many translators refuse to do test translations, paid or not.... See more Quote:
Here\'s my answer:
I just think that you are crazy because you hired an amateur for translating legal documents without checking her skills first.
Did you have a sample translated by that particular translator prior to assigning the job to her ?
Many translators refuse to do test translations, paid or not.
If you request samples, there is no way to know whether the work was done by the translator in question, revised or translated by someone else.
Software skills and attitutde are practically impossible to determine until you work with someone.
FWIW,
Karin Adamczyk ▲ Collapse
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Dave Greatrix
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:37
Dutch to English
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and I\'m out working in the garden. No work at the moment.
Mind you, I\'m not certified, (some people say I should be ) However I have seen some work from certified translators, well.......!
[ This Message was edited by:on2003-01-10 17:12]
| | | | | Support for your professionalism | Jan 10, 2003 |
Hi Loek!
I have worked with you on only one occasion, but during that brief business relationship I was impressed by your friendliness and professionalism. I would bet a lot that there was no fault on your side in this matter.
Well, as people used to say in the States: \"Stuff\" happens! (or something like that)
[addsig]
| | | | Marc P (X)
Local time: 11:37
German to English
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| Amateur translators | Jan 10, 2003 |
If you must work with a new translator and you don\'t have the opportunity to test their competence (and not every professional takes kindly to having their competence questioned), verify experience, or follow up references, then my advice would be to restrict your search to translators who are members of a professional association. At the very worst, you can then complain to the association if you are not satisfied with the quality of the work.
One point regarding the trans... See more If you must work with a new translator and you don\'t have the opportunity to test their competence (and not every professional takes kindly to having their competence questioned), verify experience, or follow up references, then my advice would be to restrict your search to translators who are members of a professional association. At the very worst, you can then complain to the association if you are not satisfied with the quality of the work.
One point regarding the translator falling ill: translators can fall ill just like anyone else. I don\'t know what the legal situation is where you are located, but
here in Germany, if you don\'t agree special terms for the eventuality beforehand, the translator is not responsible for any resulting problems on your part or
losses you might incur as a result, provided of course he or she informs you immediately.
Marc ▲ Collapse
| | | | | There actually are means for preventing this | Jan 10, 2003 |
Quote:
On 2003-01-10 12:56, Loek wrote:
I\'m still thinking about how this could have been prevented. She played it well I must say - first by calling in sick, then by asking questions, then by asking more questions and finally by lighting the fuse and letting the bomb explode. Despite her track record until then, that came as a complete surprise. One day earlier there were no problems at all.
My im
... See more Quote:
On 2003-01-10 12:56, Loek wrote:
I\'m still thinking about how this could have been prevented. She played it well I must say - first by calling in sick, then by asking questions, then by asking more questions and finally by lighting the fuse and letting the bomb explode. Despite her track record until then, that came as a complete surprise. One day earlier there were no problems at all.
My impression is that she completely snapped. I wonder how that could have been prevented.
I think most of us are responsible experienced translators who can give a bunch of references to new clients.
It is those new clients\' duty to verify references and ask the right questions.
This would be a way, I guess.
I ALWAYS offer my references (and try to give as many as possible) to new clients and never got a complain.
I wish you better luck in jobs to come!!! ▲ Collapse
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| Things like this keep pushing us junior translators back. | Jan 10, 2003 |
Hi Loek and all of you good people.
I was stunned to read about your experience with this new so called translator.
I think it\'s a bloody shame things like this should happen and that people like this roam our work environments. It specially affects me because things like these make people wary about giving chances to new people and, though I am a professional translator with 6 years experience I am still 23, a woman, and I work with two of the most common language pairs, so... See more Hi Loek and all of you good people.
I was stunned to read about your experience with this new so called translator.
I think it\'s a bloody shame things like this should happen and that people like this roam our work environments. It specially affects me because things like these make people wary about giving chances to new people and, though I am a professional translator with 6 years experience I am still 23, a woman, and I work with two of the most common language pairs, so most of the time I have to depend on people giving me a chance to get new jobs. I know once I get the first one the employer will always look for me after because I take pains to be as accurate and quick as possible, but then again, getting new jobs keeps being difficult because I am so young and there are so many translators bidding with me.
Many times we complain about the slave-drivers the agencies and employers turn out to be, but things like these make me understand (to a point) their reasons. People like this woman (witch) make employers with good faith turn into growling rigid monsters and that shouldn\'t surprise us.
I wish there was a way to tell this people apart, but unfortunately there will never be one. I just would like to tell Loek and all of you potential employers that, altough I understand your position, please keep your minds open because there are many of us who still need your trust in order to prove ourselves worthy.
My best to you all, have a great year and look at the sky. ▲ Collapse
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You have had a bad experience, and I sympathise with you. However, there is one point that intrigues me.
You say:
\"This is the first time in 8 years I actually had to threaten a translator not to pay his/her invoice.\"
So why didn\'t you stay with your earlier translator or translators ?
Noel
| | | | XX789 (X)
Netherlands
Local time: 11:37
English to Dutch
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TOPIC STARTER
Momichi, no worries I\'m a translator myself too and know how it is. I may run an agency, but I always try to make free time every day to concentrate on that what I love most: translation itself. I\'ve been in your position myself and know how it is.
As both an agency and a translator, I\'ve dealt with both agencies and translators. There are splendid agencies that always pay on time, that are always friendly, and that give po... See more Momichi, no worries I\'m a translator myself too and know how it is. I may run an agency, but I always try to make free time every day to concentrate on that what I love most: translation itself. I\'ve been in your position myself and know how it is.
As both an agency and a translator, I\'ve dealt with both agencies and translators. There are splendid agencies that always pay on time, that are always friendly, and that give positive feedback. And there are jerks that try everything to squeeze the last penny out of you. I guess it\'s not a matter of agencies or translators, but of commitment and dedication.
Quote:
One point regarding the translator falling ill:
There\'s no question that falling ill is force majeure. However, I\'m very suspicious about this illness considering everything that happened after that. Ofcourse, there\'s no way I\'ll ever find out whether she was really ill.
Quote:
So why didn\'t you stay with your earlier translator or translators ?
I didn\'t have any Dutch>English certified translators. There were Dutch>English translators, but they were not certified. For a strange reason, there seems to be a lack of Dutch>English translators in Holland who are sworn. I don\'t care whether a translator is sworn is not, as I know it doesn\'t make any difference in quality, but this client needed an official stamp on his translation.
Fortunately, I got a few very positive responses from professional Dutch>English (sworn) translators by private mail, which gives me new hope
[ This Message was edited by:on2003-01-11 03:24] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Uwe Kirmse
Local time: 11:37
Polish to German
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| Certified doesn't mean professional | Jan 10, 2003 |
I\'ve already seen a lot of unprofessional translations done by sworn translators. But you can be happy, that she doesn\'t know much about Word. By here typewriter she won\'t have internet access (or just only for sending emails), and perhaps she isn\'t a ProZ member, so you won\'t get any entree on Agencies\' Blueboard, if you don\'t pay here
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Marijke Mayer
Netherlands
Local time: 11:37
Dutch to English
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| Find a professional translator that you can trust | Jan 11, 2003 |
I gather from this never-ending story that you essentially work with strangers. I personally always have my work double checked by native speaking editors, just in case, and I do not lack for work. If you have more of these jobs, or have some editing, you can advertise these at the SENSE forum:
Please send all your forum messages to:
[email protected]
Please use the follow... See more I gather from this never-ending story that you essentially work with strangers. I personally always have my work double checked by native speaking editors, just in case, and I do not lack for work. If you have more of these jobs, or have some editing, you can advertise these at the SENSE forum:
Please send all your forum messages to:
[email protected]
Please use the following prefixes when posting messages:
B: society business T: terminology V: vacancy/assignment
C: computer-related P: Professional practice issues
M: miscellaneous U: urgent.
When writing your summary please reply to your original message.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/senseforum
membership secretary, Jenny Zonneveld
[email protected]
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I don\'t know about getting sick, but I can remember on one occasion having to ask the FedEx guy to wait a second before I finished the paperwork on the package containing the job going out because I had to run off and vomit (stomach virus or something). (Of course this was in the Dark Ages before e-mail!) I don\'t recall thinking about asking for an extension on the deadline, because I\'d said I\'d deliver it.
At least I think it\'s easier to tell a good agency than it is ... See more I don\'t know about getting sick, but I can remember on one occasion having to ask the FedEx guy to wait a second before I finished the paperwork on the package containing the job going out because I had to run off and vomit (stomach virus or something). (Of course this was in the Dark Ages before e-mail!) I don\'t recall thinking about asking for an extension on the deadline, because I\'d said I\'d deliver it.
At least I think it\'s easier to tell a good agency than it is to tell a good translator on the surface. Payment practices, per-word rates and turnaround are all pretty good indicators, while it\'s harder to figure out what kind of translation you might get from a new supplier. ▲ Collapse
| | | | NancyLynn
Canada
Local time: 05:37
Member (2002)
French to English
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MODERATOR | Choosing amateurs | Jan 12, 2003 |
Just have a look at the job offers right here: A highly skilled translator is wanted; to use an authentic example: \"Access specialist needed for translating HTML-embedded context. Translation has to be done in MS Access, vast programming and HTML experience required. Only persons with extensive experience in the field of CBT applications should apply.\"
Ten minutes after the job is posted you see more than ten bids. It\'s clear that most applicants do not fulfill the required requirem... See more Just have a look at the job offers right here: A highly skilled translator is wanted; to use an authentic example: \"Access specialist needed for translating HTML-embedded context. Translation has to be done in MS Access, vast programming and HTML experience required. Only persons with extensive experience in the field of CBT applications should apply.\"
Ten minutes after the job is posted you see more than ten bids. It\'s clear that most applicants do not fulfill the required requirements - but they DO apply.
Just a few days after the closing of the job dozens of KudoZ questions pop up - asking for specialized terms related to Access, HTML and programming. It\'s quite clear that the asker just does know nothing about the task he\'s trying to accomplish - and if you could forget about the serious background you might smile when watching the asker choosing the worst suggestion as the best match.
...
And that practice seems to be quite common - just have a look at some KudoZ questions...
Yes, we all do smile when the wrong choice is selected... but I shudder to think that the doc will hit my desk for proofreading in a couple of days (this has happened..)
How do these people get these jobs, and then fill our KudoZ network think we\'re dealing with unscrupulous agencies here (mostly not) but, again, with that all-powerful god, money.
How else could such an amateur get a job he/she is unqualified for?
Recently an agency approached me for some translation work. On hearing that I am not certified (a few hundred dollars stand between me and that wonderful appellation) he decided that I was good for proofreading only. Now for the déjà-vu: Imagine my surprise upon receiving text containing a SERIES of simple KudoZ questions I had read earlier in the day, including some of the answers I had provided!! Now I get 2c per word to edit all the text in between these KudoZ answers.
I have decided to tell the agency that re-writing is NOT proofreading, and besides, how can the translator they used be accredited? It boggles the mind.
I guess my question to you Loek, is did you choose your amateur because her price was lowest? What was your final criterion? If 9 out of 10 bids end up in the trash, and what you\'re left with is of this unprofessional and childish caliber, what is this profession coming to??
All this aside, I really do feel sympathy for you Loek and I hope this sort of thing is indeed rare. ▲ Collapse
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