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Poll: Do you share translation tips and advice with beginning translators? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you share translation tips and advice with beginning translators?".
This poll was originally submitted by Morano El-Kholy. View the poll results »
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Julian Holmes Japan Local time: 19:41 Member (2011) Japanese to English
I would if I were asked and they were receptive. So 'other' I suppose. | | |
I don't go out of my way to share my 'wisdom' e.g. blogging etc. But if I meet a newbie I gladly share my knowledge and experience. I believe, if we view each other as colleaques (young or old) and not as competitors, we create a better working environment and we'll all win. | | |
Other (not any more) | Feb 1, 2014 |
I mentored some of our new colleagues during the last ten years that I worked in-house for the EU. | |
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It's a rolling debt | Feb 1, 2014 |
Yetta J Bogarde wrote: I don't go out of my way to share my 'wisdom' e.g. blogging etc. But if I meet a newbie I gladly share my knowledge and experience. I believe, if we view each other as colleaques (young or old) and not as competitors, we create a better working environment and we'll all win. Precisely. So many people helped me when I started, and for various reasons I can never repay them. Knowing how much it meant to me, I am happy to pass on what I have received from others, and add my own contribution where I can. The benefits go both ways - beginners still remember what they have learned in college, or elsewhere in life. They can help us in the older generation to understand things that did not exist or were very different when we were starting out! | | |
Thayenga Germany Local time: 11:41 Member (2009) English to German + ... Yes, sometimes | Feb 1, 2014 |
Sharing tips is not only being done through my webinars here on ProZ, available both live and on-demand, but I am also available via my profile to answer any specific questions. The "sometimes" refers to the times when I give the webinar (or when it's ordered on-demand). Basically I am willing do share my knowledge as often as the questions arrive. | | |
neilmac Spain Local time: 11:41 Spanish to English + ...
It would be churlish not to. | | |
I taught translation technique at Georgetown University for 14 years, so I guess that counts as "sharing translation tips." I, too, am very grateful for the senior translators who mentored me when I worked in-house. I haven't had much opportunity to keep the ball rolling, but I'm available and willing to spend time whenever a new translator approaches me. | |
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Vincenzo Di Maso Portugal Local time: 10:41 Member (2009) English to Italian + ... mutual benefits | Feb 1, 2014 |
right, I don't think that we are helping potential competitors. Rather, we are sharing our knowledge and tips and advice with translators which one day can be thankful. At the beginning of my career I received great assistance by senior translator, and now I always remember them for any collaboration and I am willing to give their contacts to customers. I trust that the same will apply with newbie translators I am helping now. And someone is already doing this... | | |
Thayenga Germany Local time: 11:41 Member (2009) English to German + ...
neilmac wrote: It would be churlish not to. | | |
Michael Harris Germany Local time: 11:41 Member (2006) German to English
If I were asked to, why not? | | |
Yes, for the sake of everyone | Feb 1, 2014 |
If someone goes into the field without understanding or skills, then that person is the most likely to get exploited. They become fodder for the "cheaper and faster" agencies that are undermining our instrument and that's not good for anyone. They will believe what they are told, and reinforce the wrong relationship that makes these agencies employers without responsibilities. They also can't get out of it, even if they do figure it out. .... Or, they become the competitor who sells on the b... See more If someone goes into the field without understanding or skills, then that person is the most likely to get exploited. They become fodder for the "cheaper and faster" agencies that are undermining our instrument and that's not good for anyone. They will believe what they are told, and reinforce the wrong relationship that makes these agencies employers without responsibilities. They also can't get out of it, even if they do figure it out. .... Or, they become the competitor who sells on the basis of ultra-cheap. A professional translation takes longer because we go through quality control steps. Novices come in basically saying "I'm bilingual. Where do I get customers." They have to know what translation entails, and then make sure they can deliver. If you do have the skills so you can produce quality, then you can also make demands. If you have no skills, then you're a beggar on the street having to accept what you're given. Which then goes to point A. ▲ Collapse | |
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Mario Chavez (X) Local time: 06:41 English to Spanish + ... Nicely and briefly said | Feb 1, 2014 |
neilmac wrote: It would be churlish not to. I love the word churlish, how it rolls off one's tongue. Seriously, well said, neilmac. It's a way to pay it forward. | | |
Mario Chavez (X) Local time: 06:41 English to Spanish + ... Potential competitors | Feb 1, 2014 |
Vincenzo Di Maso wrote: right, I don't think that we are helping potential competitors. Rather, we are sharing our knowledge and tips and advice with translators which one day can be thankful. At the beginning of my career I received great assistance by senior translator, and now I always remember them for any collaboration and I am willing to give their contacts to customers. I trust that the same will apply with newbie translators I am helping now. And someone is already doing this... Vincenzo, well put. What you said reminds me of the prevailing climate in Córdoba (my hometown), Argentina in the 1980s. Seasoned translators wouldn't tell translation students about their jobs or guide them in any way, even if asked. I know because I asked. One of my English language professors had been a translator for a military airbase in Córdoba, but only mentioned it once in passing during the almost 3 years I took classes with her. Another one, who founded a language school and was instrumental in creating the first association of translators, was reluctant to talk about the future for aspiring translators (like myself). I had to move to New York City to find a different environment, a more welcoming one for new translators. | | |
Kay Denney France Local time: 11:41 French to English churlishness! | Feb 1, 2014 |
Totally with neilmac on that. In-house, I used to train newbies who would then man the fort while the employees went gallivanting off on holiday. I often try to help out answering newbie questions in the fora here. And when a young student I met through another channel told me she wanted to translate a particular book I put her in touch with the publisher and recommended her warmly. | | |
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