对国内的翻译市场简直是失望透了 (Disappointed with the translation market in mainland China)

stonejohn wrote:

在正规翻译公司锻炼2-3年再出来做自由译者比较合理，一般来说，客户也喜欢这样的合作者（各种辅助软件、质保程序等都非常熟悉）。

Ferdinand LIN wrote:

翻译价格往往是由当地地价决定的，不知道这么说对不对。每千字20-80人民币的价格，也正是2005年中国房地产开始腾飞之前的地价决定的。美国翻译价格高，因为美国的地价比2005年的中国地价高几倍。比如，2005年之前，上海的地价和纽约的地价差多少。
令人感到奇怪的是，现在中国地价这么高，翻译价格不涨多少，反而有所下降。真是丈二和尚。

Donglai Lou wrote:



因为中国的地价是人为抬高的，大有虚假繁荣之嫌

jyuan_us wrote:

直接客户是个好东西。昨天早上5点开始做到下午5点，挣了700美元，还是个个人客户，要求把他的TERM PAPER翻译成英文。因为时间紧，要600，人家给加了100小费。没准我赶上的是富二代或官二代或名二代。

Zinch China, a consulting company that advises American colleges and universities about China, last year published a report based on interviews with 250 Beijing high school students bound for the United States, their parents, and a dozen agents and admissions consultants. The company concluded that 90 percent of Chinese applicants submit false recommendations, 70 percent have other people write their personal essays, 50 percent have forged high school transcripts and 10 percent list academic awards and other achievements they did not receive. The “tide of application fraud,” the report predicted, will likely only worsen as more students go to America.

ysun wrote:

一百多年来中国留学生在美国高校里所享有的好名声，就毁在这样的纨绔子弟手里！

http://www.proz.com/post/1827637#1827637

Fang wrote:

The point is that translation is no longer treated as brainwork, so they find it natural to pay to measurable factors such as hour and word count. It's dismaying. And they knock down the standard rate, if there is, like what they are fond of doing on any physical work in China. China is a miserable market where economics can be above humanity. Well, except in government.

The line of quality is eliminated. The famous rule of correctness, clarity and grace is abolished. The replacement is efficiency plus correctness. It's the result of modernization of translation. People read much from many sources. Their tolerance becomes lower. They bear it as long as they don't meet too many mistakes.

Thanks to our education, which makes us look on the western world and act like a son who takes pride in using the languge of his father's, now almost all who normally receive higher education know some English. Every one can make a living by doing some translation. When everyone translates, there is no need for such a work called translation.