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Do you translate solely into your native language?
Thread poster: AnneMarieG
Sushan Harshe
Sushan Harshe
India
Local time: 03:45
English to Hindi
+ ...
Nice discussion by Katalin and Ronda Apr 15, 2009

I appreciate there disscussions.

 
John Farebrother
John Farebrother  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
French to English
+ ...
Credit crunch? Apr 15, 2009

Bin Tiede wrote:


It is a lot of work. I would need at least 2 days to accomplish a small task with around 1000 words. It is worthwhile though; once my client was so impressed by my job that he paid me upon delivery.




[Edited at 2009-04-15 14:40 GMT]


Do you normally not get paid?


 
wonita (X)
wonita (X)
China
Local time: 19:15
It was a direct client Apr 15, 2009

John Farebrother wrote:

Do you normally not get paid?


After he got and checked my translation, he promised to pay in the next 24 hours, which he did.


 
Gisela Greenlee
Gisela Greenlee  Identity Verified
Local time: 17:15
German to English
+ ...
Native versus non-native Apr 15, 2009

So, how do you envision the restriction to native speakers to be applied:
They must be native speakers of the source language (to ensure they understand the term/sentence in question, or
they must be native speakers of the target language, to ensure they know the correct target term/sentence? Either way, you might end up with a problem. I am one of those brazen translators that translates into her non-native language. I also review test translations for several agencies (medical text
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So, how do you envision the restriction to native speakers to be applied:
They must be native speakers of the source language (to ensure they understand the term/sentence in question, or
they must be native speakers of the target language, to ensure they know the correct target term/sentence? Either way, you might end up with a problem. I am one of those brazen translators that translates into her non-native language. I also review test translations for several agencies (medical texts). You would be amazed how often the target text is completely misunderstood and therefore mistranslated by native English speakers, frequently resulting in total nonsense. I do have my work reviewed by my US-born, college-educated daughter for any errors in grammar or punctuation.
I would argue the point that with excellent language skills in your non-native language and a good reviewer, it's easier to correct any potential grammar/punctuation errors than to find an editor/reviewer that is capable of a) spotting errors in the source language and b) reviewing/correcting the target text.
In summary, I would be more concerned about translators that don't have top-notch language skills in the source language than the old native/non-native target language issue. Lots of potential for damage, but I don't think I've ever seen a thread about the issue of translators that translate from a source language where they don't have near-native proficiency.

[Edited at 2009-04-16 03:34 GMT]
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liz askew
liz askew  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:15
Member (2007)
French to English
+ ...
Yes, only into my native language Apr 15, 2009

Hi

Yes, I only ever translate into my native language, i.e. English.

I would never dream of doing otherwise.

You only have to look at the answers non-native English speakers (on Proz) provide as suggested translations to see what I mean.

Maybe I am a minority of one, but I would rather that than make dreadful errors.

BTW, there are one or two exceptions on Proz where there ARE non-native English speakers who really are excellent
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Hi

Yes, I only ever translate into my native language, i.e. English.

I would never dream of doing otherwise.

You only have to look at the answers non-native English speakers (on Proz) provide as suggested translations to see what I mean.

Maybe I am a minority of one, but I would rather that than make dreadful errors.

BTW, there are one or two exceptions on Proz where there ARE non-native English speakers who really are excellent, but they are in a minority. So I still believe one should translate into one's native language only.

Liz Askew

[Edited at 2009-04-15 19:07 GMT]

[Edited at 2009-04-15 19:31 GMT]
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Kunik
Kunik  Identity Verified
Local time: 23:15
English to Latvian
+ ...
It depends Apr 15, 2009

In theory I totally agree that one should only translate into a native language (or equivalent). In practice, I would really appreciate if any of the people taking the "moral high ground" here would introduce me to a native Portuguese translator translating from Latvian. At least the Proz directory search tells me "No results found". Of course, it is not a particularly common combination, but I still get offers and even desperate pleas from time to time.

In this case, there are only
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In theory I totally agree that one should only translate into a native language (or equivalent). In practice, I would really appreciate if any of the people taking the "moral high ground" here would introduce me to a native Portuguese translator translating from Latvian. At least the Proz directory search tells me "No results found". Of course, it is not a particularly common combination, but I still get offers and even desperate pleas from time to time.

In this case, there are only two options left:
1) Hire a native Portuguese speaker who is not a translator and understands some Latvian. However, I doubt very much that an inexperienced native speaker* can do a better job than a professional translator who is well aware of eventual pitfalls and "dreadful mistakes", especially when the translation is proofread by a native speaker.

2) Use a relay language (in this case it would probably be English or Russian). First of all, it would double the cost. Secondly, I believe that the end result would be even worse, because so much is lost in translation. I frequently translate English texts that were originally written in, say, Czech or Romanian, and usually I consult other language versions, e.g. French or Spanish - sometimes differences in meaning are amazing! I am certain that a translation into Latvian done by a native Czech translator would be more accurate and meaningful than my translation via English.

I think the most important thing is to be honest and explain to the client that you are not a native speaker of the target language and that it will affect the quality of your work.

* I personally know only one native speaker of Portuguese who understands Latvian, he is a salsa teacher in a nightclub; there must be others, of course.
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chica nueva
chica nueva
Local time: 11:15
Chinese to English
KudoZ help Apr 15, 2009

amgtraduction wrote:

Hi,
I am here since 5 weeks only and I am astonished to see how often translators participating in Kudoz' questions are not translating into their own native language; result: in 80% of the cases there are big spelling and comprehension mistakes.
What do you think, is this alright?
Can those translators be 'flagged'?
I doesn't give a good impression, I think.

- English not being my native language, I do apologize for any mistake!! -


Hello amg

How about adding neutral and disagree comments; IMO that's what they are there for. BTW don't worry about 'mistakes'. IMO English is an 'international language'. And there are many 'Englishes' ... (but I guess that's a whole n'other topic.)

Lesley

PS You are new to the site. Do you know the abbreviations used here? - BTW IMO AFAIK HTH (and some others that I don't know the meaning of) @ Site staff: I wonder if there is an index for these terms ...

[Edited at 2009-04-16 06:50 GMT]


 
Katalin Horváth McClure
Katalin Horváth McClure  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 18:15
Member (2002)
English to Hungarian
+ ...
Index for abbreviations Apr 15, 2009

,,, BTW IMO AFAIK HTH (and some others that I don't know the meaning of) ...
I wonder if there is an index for these terms ...


There are many lists of these common abbreviations, here is one, as an example:

http://www.loganact.com/tips/afaik.html

HTH
Katalin


 
wonita (X)
wonita (X)
China
Local time: 19:15
Even managed a German to English job once upon a time Apr 16, 2009

Several years ago a German farmer in my village approached me with a translation job. His daughter planned to marry an American soldier stationed in South Germany. He, as the father of the bride, decided to make his wedding speech bilingually in German and English to please his future son-in-law. Someone in the village told him I was a translator knowing English, so he wanted me to translate his hand-written German speech into English. He did not even have a PC.

Seeing that the mot
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Several years ago a German farmer in my village approached me with a translation job. His daughter planned to marry an American soldier stationed in South Germany. He, as the father of the bride, decided to make his wedding speech bilingually in German and English to please his future son-in-law. Someone in the village told him I was a translator knowing English, so he wanted me to translate his hand-written German speech into English. He did not even have a PC.

Seeing that the mother tongue principle did not make much sense to him, I accepted the assignment.

I could well imagine him making the English wedding speech with his thick Bavarian dialect, and his American son-in-law moved to tears.

What a wonderful job I had done!
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Rossana Triaca
Rossana Triaca  Identity Verified
Uruguay
Local time: 19:15
English to Spanish
Quality, as defined by the client. Apr 16, 2009

Maybe I am a minority of one, but I would rather that than make dreadful errors.


Errors which are bound to occur, even in your native tongue, naturally or as a result of lack of cultural background or knowledge of the source language and its subject-matter.

I've seen my share of "belles infidèles" where native speakers produce really good texts (way better than I'll ever be able to pen) but that must be redone entirely from scratch because if you followed their instructions you'd fry a very, very, expensive piece of equipment. Also, I've left many a book gathering dust on my shelves after stumbling upon a poor translation, and in the publishing world this usually means it was the collective work of several natives.

On the other hand, we have all seen time and again the pitfalls that some non-natives get mired in and their stilted, unnatural constructs (some of which you can bet have never been uttered on the face of this earth, ever), while maintaining at the same time an impeccable grammar all along.

Plus, I wouldn't dare to read my favorite Japanese author were it not for the publisher's assurance that I'll be reading quality literature in my own language.

And that's exactly the point; there are many convincing arguments on both sides of the fence (scarcity plays a big role too), but in the end we are always talking about quality (as Ralf said), and quality as required by the client (like Giles said), with the usual time and budget constraints that rule us all.

I usually translate into my mother tongue for several reasons (sound business reasons), but I have some clients that won't take no for an answer, and they much rather have a not-so-great translation done by me than a masterpiece done by someone else. Fit-for-purpose is the key word (compound adjective?) here, and if they pay and I deliver, hey, that's professional work.

[Edited at 2009-04-16 19:26 GMT]


 
Taija Hyvönen
Taija Hyvönen
Finland
Local time: 00:15
Member (2008)
English to Finnish
+ ...
Yes, it's easy to say for those who are native in English, French, German... Apr 16, 2009

tinageta wrote:

In theory I totally agree that one should only translate into a native language (or equivalent). In practice, I would really appreciate if any of the people taking the "moral high ground" here would introduce me to a native Portuguese translator translating from Latvian. At least the Proz directory search tells me "No results found". Of course, it is not a particularly common combination, but I still get offers and even desperate pleas from time to time.


But the reality is that a large part of for example Finnish translators translate into their source languages as well and feel that getting a translation into their native language is a luxury, sometimes a rare one! That is the supply and demand situation in which we make a living - language pairs like Latvian to Portuguese, or Finnish to Arabic/Sami/Turkish/etc. may not come to mind for English natives who ONLY translate from French or Italian, but hey, they happen here every day

I haven't taken up translations into other languages than Finnish yet, but I am being realistic and keeping that option open.


 
AnneMarieG
AnneMarieG  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 23:15
German to French
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Quality Apr 16, 2009

Well guys, thank you!

It gave me a positive boost reading all your postings; quality is an or even 'the' important issue for translators!!!
Thank you for your participation up to now!


Anne-Marie


PS And with regard to the possibility of having 2 native languages, ... I think I will have to open a new thread... because I claim to have 2 native languages, but it is another story!


 
liz askew
liz askew  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:15
Member (2007)
French to English
+ ...
The moral high ground? Apr 16, 2009

Translating into one's native language has nothing to do with moral high ground. It has to do with recognising one's limitations. I have been working with French and Spanish for 40+ years, but am I qualified/competent enough to translate into those languages. No!!

Take it or leave it, but less of the accusations.

Liz Askew


 
Hilde Granlund
Hilde Granlund  Identity Verified
Norway
Local time: 23:15
English to Norwegian
+ ...
Rubbish translations Apr 16, 2009

are produced by both natives and non-natives.
When it comes to Kudoz, I don't see the problem. The asker can look at the profiles of the answerers and make his/her own judgement about their qualifications.
Personally, I only translate into my native language professionally.
The other way only occasionally as a personal favour, and then I try to have it proofread by a native if at all possible. (rubbish favours are a bad thing...)

As for Kudoz, I will occasionally
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are produced by both natives and non-natives.
When it comes to Kudoz, I don't see the problem. The asker can look at the profiles of the answerers and make his/her own judgement about their qualifications.
Personally, I only translate into my native language professionally.
The other way only occasionally as a personal favour, and then I try to have it proofread by a native if at all possible. (rubbish favours are a bad thing...)

As for Kudoz, I will occasionally answer questions on medical terminilogy in NO>EN, because I think I know what I am talking about. The "chasing points" argument I find rather hard to understand. It is not as if anyone paid you for Kudoz points? Kudoz is great, it has saved me from blunders on technical terminology many times. I am happy to try to save others from medical ones

[Edited at 2009-04-16 08:40 GMT]
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Kunik
Kunik  Identity Verified
Local time: 23:15
English to Latvian
+ ...
To Liz Apr 16, 2009

Sorry, I did not mean to offend. I would, however, really appreciate an opinion from someone who's been in the industry for so long - which of the three options (non-native translator, native non-translator or relay language) you would consider the most appropriate, if there are no professional native speakers around. Or maybe there are two or three.
It is easy to say what we should not do, but what exactly we should do in this case?


 
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