In continuation...... Thread poster: Chinmayi Sripada
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... of Nandini Vivek's topic
I run a company here, for translation services, wherein major companies, who are BIG names, refuse to take a whole number of 13 words, and numerals in the word count.
The fact is if I dont do it, then there is someone else who does. The situation is like this in India. Sometimes its tough to run an agency here, and especially for patents, all this takes place and each time, as a company, I am fleeced left, right and centre. I pay my transl... See more ... of Nandini Vivek's topic
I run a company here, for translation services, wherein major companies, who are BIG names, refuse to take a whole number of 13 words, and numerals in the word count.
The fact is if I dont do it, then there is someone else who does. The situation is like this in India. Sometimes its tough to run an agency here, and especially for patents, all this takes place and each time, as a company, I am fleeced left, right and centre. I pay my translators nonetheless on the agreed amount and mostly before the agreed date. When its time for the client to pay me, they tell me that the translation was not approved by 'their' client and I have to listen to endless excuses like that.
In this case, what should I do? Wherein I dont have a choice, and the choice is to either run a company or not? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Sorry, I don't understand | Mar 19, 2006 |
Chinmayi wrote:
refuse to take a whole number of 13 words
what do you mean?
| | | | Balasubramaniam L. 
India
Local time: 08:51
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
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SITE LOCALIZER
Chinmayi wrote:
In this case, what should I do? Wherein I dont have a choice, and the choice is to either run a company or not?
Hi Chinmayi,
From this post of yours, it appears that you do not have the temperement to run a translation agency. Either you don't have the resources (manpower, time, skills, etc.) or your heart is not in it. Which could be why you get bugged so easily.
Agreed it is hard out there, but will emotional outbursts like this help anyone, including yourself? I don't think so.
And I don't think it is fair to generalize your problems to all agencies in India. I am sure there are many agencies in India which are professionally run and which do not crack up under pressure. There are sure to be bad ones too. But is that not the case for all countries? Why single out India for your tirades?
Be calm and cool, there is more to life than translation agencies. Relax and enjoy life. Do things that please you, that satisfy you, that you are made for.
With kind regards,
Balasubramaniam
[Edited at 2006-03-19 19:51]
| | | | Rebecca Barath
United States
Local time: 20:21
Member
English to Norwegian
+ ...
| Unfair assumptions..... | Mar 19, 2006 |
Balasubramaniam wrote:
Hi Chinmayi,
From this post of yours, it appears that you do not have the temperement to run a translation agency. Either you don't have the resources (manpower, time, skills, etc.) or your heart is not in it. Which could be why you get bugged so easily.
Agreed it is hard out there, but will emotional outbursts like this help anyone, including yourself? I don't think so.
And I don't think it is fair to generalize your problems to all agencies in India. I am sure there are many agencies in India which are professionally run and which do not crack up under pressure. There are sure to be bad ones too. But is that not the case for all countries? Why single out India for your tirades?
Be calm and cool, there is more to life than translation agencies. Relax and enjoy life. Do things that please you, that satisfy you, that you are made for.
With kind regards,
Balasubramaniam
[Edited at 2006-03-19 19:51]
I feel the need to step in here, and defend Chinmayi! I just finshed a job for Chimayi and she does have a perfectly fine temperament to run an agency. She pays way ahead of schedule and very good rates as well I might add. As far as her venting, whether it be about Indian or an agency from the Outer Hebrides's, she most certainly have the right to do so. I don't think she is singling out anyone, she is as you might have noticed based IN India! So, I think you are being slightly unfair in your assumptions!
I have had dealings with agencies in India myself and they have been among the hardest to deal with as far as payment and rates are concerned. But, no they are certainly not the only ones!
But, when all this is said I do not want to get into a slamming match with you or anyone else about good or bad agencies and what countires they are located in, I mainly answered this because I felt you were somewhat unfair in your wording!
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| to list out.. | Mar 20, 2006 |
of, and, or, are, the, is, was, were, in, a, an, at, to and from and numerals. They are not taken into the word count.
| | | | | If words like of and and | Mar 20, 2006 |
are not taken in the word count, I would suggest to the client that you will put them in the translation once, and that's it.
See how they like that!
| | | | Gina W
United States
Local time: 23:21
Member (2003)
French to English
| Do not accept this from your client | Mar 20, 2006 |
Chinmayi wrote:
of, and, or, are, the, is, was, were, in, a, an, at, to and from and numerals. They are not taken into the word count.
Tell the client that since you have to pay the translator for ALL words in a document, that they should pay you for same. If they still give you a hard time about this, then don't work with them again. Or, if you really need the business from them, know that you will be losing money on those "common" words, since no translator would accept not to be paid for these.
| | | | Fabio Scaliti
Italy
Local time: 05:21
Member (2004)
German to Italian
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| What is it all coming to? | Mar 20, 2006 |
Unbelievable:
English: the
Italian: il, lo, la, i, gli, le....
English: preposition + the
Italian: del, dello, della, dei, degli, delle, nel, nello, nella....
English: 3.5 miles
Italian: 5,63 km
Or the customer can do it him-/herself.
Bye,
Fabio
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Daniel Bird
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:21
German to English
| Ground rules... | Mar 20, 2006 |
...are so important.
Be sure to understand the basic conditions before accepting work; of course I cannot know for sure, but the conditions attached to your list of prepositions etc. sound very much like they were added after the fact and not negotiated at the outset of the contract.
It's unfortunate that the companies you describe have a) so little respect for their colleagues (imagine what it must be like to be a full-time employee of these people!) and b) such a lack of linguistic... See more ...are so important.
Be sure to understand the basic conditions before accepting work; of course I cannot know for sure, but the conditions attached to your list of prepositions etc. sound very much like they were added after the fact and not negotiated at the outset of the contract.
It's unfortunate that the companies you describe have a) so little respect for their colleagues (imagine what it must be like to be a full-time employee of these people!) and b) such a lack of linguistic understanding.
When you find better clients and turn your back on them they will understand what they have lost and who was to blame.
DB ▲ Collapse
| | | | sandhya
Local time: 08:51
German to English
+ ...
| Educate the client! | Mar 20, 2006 |
Hi Chinmayi,
I encountered a couple of similar clients when I first entered the translation industry 15 years ago. This gentleman was the Director of a large company, a highly educated man (!!). And he asked me if I would charge for repetitive words like the ones you mention. At first, I was a bit stunned to reply, then I regained composure, and told him I will translate and enter those words only for "one occurence" of each. All subsequent occurences he must enter.... then of cours... See more Hi Chinmayi,
I encountered a couple of similar clients when I first entered the translation industry 15 years ago. This gentleman was the Director of a large company, a highly educated man (!!). And he asked me if I would charge for repetitive words like the ones you mention. At first, I was a bit stunned to reply, then I regained composure, and told him I will translate and enter those words only for "one occurence" of each. All subsequent occurences he must enter.... then of course, it was his turn to gape at me... at the end, he paid me for the full job.
Translation is not yet an established profession, even in advanced countries. Most often translators are looked upon as a necessary evil So, I think it is our duty to educate the client, point out examples, if necessary call them and talk to them. Most clients are sensible, and if a few are not, then it is best not to work with them... there are other fish (often bigger) in the sea)
cheers
sandhya
Chinmayi wrote:
of, and, or, are, the, is, was, were, in, a, an, at, to and from and numerals. They are not taken into the word count. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Take a stand. | Mar 20, 2006 |
Hi Chinmayi,
It was with interest I read your post as it highlighted problems faced by the other side, i.e. agencies.
But then I think, the advice I received is what is applicable to you too - take a stand.
Yes, you might loose out on a few clients (like I might), but then I am sure things will even out in the long run. If you are lucky, the cleint might even come around.
It is upto you, me or anyone else to choose the terms under which one will accept work. Possib... See more Hi Chinmayi,
It was with interest I read your post as it highlighted problems faced by the other side, i.e. agencies.
But then I think, the advice I received is what is applicable to you too - take a stand.
Yes, you might loose out on a few clients (like I might), but then I am sure things will even out in the long run. If you are lucky, the cleint might even come around.
It is upto you, me or anyone else to choose the terms under which one will accept work. Possible that if you choose not to, there might be others who will accept, but then this is a free market and that is hardly a justification for accepting such practices.
I am sure you will find your own solutions.
Best wishes
Nandini ▲ Collapse
| | | | Nicolette Ri (X)
Local time: 05:21
French to Dutch
+ ...
| This should be a lesson | Mar 20, 2006 |
Always quote your price before beginning a job. Clearly state that this price is valid for a translation of XX words (wordcount as specified by Word) from XX into XX. And stick to it. Don't begin before you have a signature. Be careful, there are other tricks, such as not taking into account names of places in tourism texts, sending you a purchase order in another currency (dollars instead of euros), taking your price excl. VAT as a price that includes VAT, etc. And for translations that don't i... See more Always quote your price before beginning a job. Clearly state that this price is valid for a translation of XX words (wordcount as specified by Word) from XX into XX. And stick to it. Don't begin before you have a signature. Be careful, there are other tricks, such as not taking into account names of places in tourism texts, sending you a purchase order in another currency (dollars instead of euros), taking your price excl. VAT as a price that includes VAT, etc. And for translations that don't include English, some people take the English wordcount, others don't. Or DTP, or creation of Powerpoint files. You should clearly specify what is included and what is not. ▲ Collapse
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| Sandhya's approach is perfect! | Mar 20, 2006 |
And if one is charging on the basis of character count, then the logical extension would be to eliminate all spaces between words, punctuation, silent letters in English/French/etc.
Think of the savings for the client!
| | | | Brandis (X)
Local time: 05:21
English to German
+ ...
| we normally quote at stroke level | Mar 20, 2006 |
in Germany, without differentiating between symbols, alphabets or joiners or else otherwise. Standard is 55 strokes including spaces and symbols, a line standard not at word level or the number of characters A line has something to say not words etc., Best Brandis
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