Margreet Mohle Canada Local time: 21:50 Member (2010) French to Dutch + ...
Nov 15, 2011
Hello all!
I've been asked to submit a price for a translation of a collection of "inspirational quotes and proverbs". Now of course, I know that when faced with a quote, one should always first find out if the author has been translated into your language before and use the translation from that work.
From what I can see from the sample pages, though, these quotes are single sentences, identified only by their author. Am I wrong to assume that in this case, I can translate them myself, since trying to find them back without a full reference would be near to impossible (OK, I'll try a quick google...).
BTW I am OK with the proverb part, having dealt with that in earlier research.
Just want to make sure I'm not setting myself up for something that might turn into a nightmare.
Thanks for your advice.
Margreet
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neilmac Spain Local time: 03:50 Member (2007) Spanish to English + ...
DIY
Nov 15, 2011
Margreet Mohle wrote:
... I know that when faced with a quote, one should always first find out if the author has been translated into your language before and use the translation from that work.
... Am I wrong to assume that in this case, I can translate them myself ...
Just want to make sure I'm not setting myself up for something that might turn into a nightmare.
Thanks for your advice.
Margreet
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Joshua Pepper United Kingdom Local time: 02:50 Member (2011) French to English + ...
Copyright issues
Nov 16, 2011
Wouldn't copyright be an issue if you essentially "copy" the work of other translators?
From that perspective you would be legally obliged to do it yourself.
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David Wright Austria Local time: 03:50 Member (2007) German to English + ...
No copyright problem
Nov 16, 2011
Brief quotations are usually within one of the excpetions to copyright. After all, if this were not so, the original text would also be a breach of copyright
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Michael Wetzel Germany Local time: 03:50 German to English
explain issue to customer
Nov 16, 2011
Hello Margreet,
You ought to charge by the hour for this type of work and make sure that the client understands why. It is simply not possible to accurately estimate how much time you will need. Give an estimate and get back to the client immediately if it becomes clear that you are going to come out more than +/- 10% outside the range of the estimate.
You would be surprised how helpful Google is with just an author's name and a string of three or four distinctive words that can be translated more or less 1:1. With an E-Bible you could probably find most biblical passages in a matter of seconds (make sure you agree on a version of the Bible).
Sincerely,
Michael
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Margreet Mohle Canada Local time: 21:50 Member (2010) French to Dutch + ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you!
Nov 16, 2011
Thank you all for your advice.
@David and Joshua: I had not even considered copyright, in longer translation quotes, you would credit the original translator in a foot note. But yes, the problem would be the same for the original.
@Matthew: I had to submit the price yesterday...hope I'm not burning myself. Next time (if there will be one) I'll certainly consider charging by the hour; I did give a price range, which I explained exactly because of the difficulty to estimate the amount of work.
Margreet
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