TL;DR: Is it reasonable to ask of someone to translate 900 words in 90 minutes?

I've had a job interview for a translator position in a big music equipment company. They had a few requirements for their ideal candidate:

• being a student (no translation background required, it's more about skimping on wages and social benefits)
• having the target language as a mother tongue, or similar level
• live in the area (no home office allowed, area where the target language is not spoken, obviously)
• be musical

I happen to fulfil everything by a fair margin so I thought it'd be a walk in the park. The interview went okay during the conversation, was mostly mundane stuff about the company and me. Then I had to do a test. They asked me to translate over 900 words from their website, describing a guitar in great details. I was sat at a computer with no other guideline than "use whatever ressources you want from the internet, deepL or whatever" and given an Open Office (...) blank document to fill with my version of the product page. An hour later the supervisor asked me how I was doing. Seeing my progress he repeated that I was allowed to use deepL, which I was already doing. He seemed surprised I wasn't finished yet. Half an hour later he said it was time to call it a day, but I was just finishing my first draft, didn't have time to re-read or even to set the autocorrect in the target language (which I remember being a pain in open office with downloading an add-on etc...)

Hence the question: am I really slow or are their expectations too high? That's a long text for a simple question but I feel like the context matters.

Hi everyone,

I know questioning a masters' usefulness is a recurring topic on the subreddit (sorry about that) but I could really use some advice. I'm currently doing a MA in Translation Studies. My language combination is very common (English > French) and I know completing my masters can be useful in setting me apart in the professional environment. I'm planning to learn at least one other language to work with (either Spanish or Japanese) once I graduate.

Problem is, I have been increasingly struggling with my mental health, especially when it comes to academics. I'm not doing bad per se, my grades are good, but I feel like I'm reaching the end of my tether here. My classes are over, I just have one more essay to write and then comes the dissertation, and I don't know if I can commit to that. I could potentially stop after I turn in my last essay, and see if there is a way for me to turn my MA into a PGDip, but I wonder whether this is a viable solution. Does anyone have some experience with that, or has anyone been in a similar situation ? If so, I'm open to any piece of advice.

Hi all, my partner is currently studying translation, and they are doing CAT. The issue is that the program that they were given (wordfast pro) is not saving translation memories. We tried creating additional TMs and tried to google it, but the files aren't appearing anywhere. They have a fully translated file, but there's no TM to go with it. Has anyone had such issues, and solved them?

Hi

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I want to buy a Macbook Air M3 16 GB for translation.

Although clients are increasingly using online solutions, I need to have Trados installed.

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- Do any of you use Parallels + Trados?

- If so, what are the specifications of your Macbook, processor, RAM, memory, screen size?

- What Macbook specs do you think will provide smooth operation and cope with Windows and Trados on the Macbook?

- Do you use Trados Online Editor as an alterative?

​

Best regards

It is my first time doing translation, I have worked as an editor and copyeditor before. I'm fluent in both languages. I'm doing this for a family friend, with the understanding that while I'm not a professional, I have training in related fields and I have already shown good work in the example pages I did.

The book is a science fiction book, consisting of 178 pages. The translation process I found not that difficult as I'm used to casually translating between the two languages. It was my first time doing literary translation but it took me around 4-5 hours to translate one chapter. I assume I will get faster with time.

I plan to take this process very seriously and I will do a lot of research to ensure that I'm doing everything correctly and I will be looking up resources from Translation Studies.

How long would it take to finish such a project? How much should I charge for it, keeping in mind that it is a family friend and he is doing me a favour by offering me the job, instead of a professional translator? Thanks!

Hi I'm a social sciences student and I'm currently thinking about going into the translation industry after graduation. I have full professional proficiency in Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and English but I don't have a language or linguistics related degree, so I wonder if it's possible to get into this industry and what I should do to be a translator. Should I get a certification first or there's something else I should know? Any advice will be appreciated :)

Pretty sure it's not only me, but I couldn't find a thread about this anywhere. It's hard to work when DeepL takes 75% of my screen, hence I have to constantly switch and shove and move things around. Any suggestions on how to solve this problem? I use the free version. Does it play a role here?

p.s. I do not support AI translation in translating industry. I just have too much homework that I need to do quickly but don't have time to.

Hello everyone!
I have been ruminating on the idea of translating a childhood favourite book of mine in to english. The book in question (pictured below) is a Hungarian cult classic of maritime fiction which is hugely influental within the sailing and seafearing community in hungary (be that as small as it is). My goal is mostly just to be able to show our equivalent of Amazons and Swallows to my foreign sailor friends. It does have a rather evocative and fascinating depiction of maritime life in the last months of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in the Adriatic region, being somewhat autobiographical.

As I understand it is rather unconventional to to translate from one's native language to his second. I also know that literary translation is an artform of its own. That being said, I would love to hear any advice and ideas that you guys might have for an amateur first-timer!

https://preview.redd.it/vmsl454eyauc1.jpg?width=353&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1536c986c9f3844610c6b3589d9b8a20e8c39e34

Hi everyone,

Hope I'm in the correct sub, but I have a question for any other pro translators. When you translate something from say English to Italian, would you switch the currency used in the original text to the other currency?

It seems logical, since your audience would relate more to that currency, or would you keep the authentic figure? And say it was a different time would you use that currency too and convert it too?

I mean 100$ is not 100 euros and it's certainly not 100 liras. I'm sorry I'm new to the world of translating but I just thought I'd ask what's the best practice...

Thanks for your help!

Hey everyone,

I completed my Master's in Translation Studies about 5 months ago, and I've been struggling to find a job ever since. It's been a frustrating journey, and I'm starting to feel a bit lost about what to do next. I've been considering whether pursuing a PhD might be the right path for me, but I'm not entirely sure.

I'm reaching out to this community for advice and guidance. For those of you who have been in a similar situation or have expertise in this field, what options do you think I should explore? Should I continue my education with a PhD, or are there other avenues I should consider?

I'm passionate about translation and language, but I also want to ensure that I'm making practical decisions for my career. Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help!

Which one pays better? Which one is more rewarding? Which one has higher satisfaction rates?

I want to become a localizer with the idea that I will earn a good income and be satisfied.

Please tell me your experiences

I have very little experience with technical translation and I just got work with a company that suggested I use DeepL, especially since it's quite a lot of work + tight deadline. I've mostly done literary translation of shorter texts, so I never felt the need for a CAT tool. Also there's the issue that the company (I'm working directly for a large company, not a translation one) does not provide me with a CAT tool, and some of them are very expensive! (Consider I'm from Brazil, so paying for a software in US dollars is a loooot of money for me).

The DeepL website lists these tools as compatible, but I know at least some of them don't run on Mac:

• Trados Studio 2017 or higher
• memoQ 8.5 or higher
• Déjà Vu X3
• Wordfast Classic, Wordfast Anywhere, and Wordfast Pro 5.1 or higher
• Across Translator Edition and Across Language Server
• Phrase TMS (formerly Memsource)
• TransitNXT
• Soluling
• Alchemy CATALYST
• TextUnited

I've already done research on some of these tools but I feel lost and it would be very helpful to hear from more experienced translators. I've tried using OmegaT before but found it unnecessary for the kind of literary work I was translating. Does anyone here work with DeepL and one of these tools on Mac? Maybe even DeepL and OmegaT, if that's even possible? Like, could I maybe do a first translation of the text using DeepL and then edit it on OmegaT so I could build my glossary there as well? The glossary part is very important!

(If it's not already obvious, I don't really know what I'm doing so... please help...)

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Hi, I’m currently an in-house translator but I’m looking to leave due to horrible management. I’m looking for other in-house positions within the UK (where I live) but I’m struggling to find any as they seem to be next to non-existent, especially for my language pairs (FR/SP>EN). Is anyone else finding this issue? What is your advice for finding these positions? I’m open to moving abroad. Many thanks!

I just wish that DeepL would stick to translating... It is NOT an encyclopedia! For example if I want to translated a date in Chinese, such as:

2023年4月4日

It translates it to English as:

Letter dated 4 April 2023 from the Permanent Observer for Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council.

Conceivably a letter was written by - the Permanent Observer for Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council on that date - but who the hell cares?!?

In this example, it is quite obvious that it is just a date. However, it does this sort of thing all the time - which can obviously lead to catastrophic errors of translation. If DeepL insists on adding extraneous information - it should be in a separate footnote pane, such as: "Did you know that on that date..." As implemented there is no way to know where the translation ends and the gratuitous (and unwanted) extraneous extrapolated idle thoughts begin.

I guess some geek in sandals thought it would be "really cool" to try to second guess and add in random and irrelevant encyclopedic chaff - but, in so doing, it distorts and strategically sabotages the prime mission - i.e. translation.

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Hello fellow translators! I'm a freelance translator offering transcription services to pay for school. I am currently researching how translators perceive the changing landscape of our industry caused by AI. Below, I have linked a short survey I made (~5 min). I will be extremely grateful if you could take part in it! Happy translating!

https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_byd8jigviaGl9iK?Q_CHL=social&Q_SocialSource=reddit

Hi, does anyone know if there are any (valid) specialized translation certifications for aviation / military, that I can use in a resume?

Im aware of a few for general/medical/legal, like: Americans Translators Association, Core Certification Health Care Interpreter, Certified Medical Interpreter, Federal Court Interpreter, ASTA-USA, and Certified Translation Professional.

Thanks!

I apply for a video game translator position and can send them video games with my name in the credits (including a game where I was only one of two translator and I was the sole translator with the other person editing), which they can literally see on youtube in both languages to see the quality of the translation and the difficulty of the language that I translated.

Them: Oh, that's cool, now take this test with way simpler content to be translated and we'll MAYBE get back to you ever after you do that.

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One time I even was like here's my portfolio. I would love to work with you. I am not taking your test as you can see the quality of my work from said portfolio. They then proceed to beg me over the course of two weeks to take their test. I finally and begrudgingly did. I have not heard from them since and it has been over a year since I sent it.

i'm currently a translator/interpreter for a tech company in the u.s that works a lot w kr companies & has a dedicated (small) translation team. financially, the job doesn't pay great but i get by; the problem is that the "culture" i guess at the company itself is really making me hate life, lol. i've had other offers, but the jobs all have same/worse pay and benefits with higher costs of living; theyre also all in tech, so the culture problem likely wont be fixed either. feeling very stuck and wondering if any more experienced translators have found that other industries are better; im still early in the career so i'm really debating going back to school/career change, but not really sure for what as my bg is allll humanities (which still wouldn't pay that much)

I would like to get recomedations about study resources (free) that I could use to improve as a interpreter specially for the note taking and memorization aspects. My language pairs are English-Spanish. I am in Latam, I would also welcome any recomedation to companies that hire latinos in Latam.

Sorry for rant in advance.

I've been having a crisis lately of what to do with my life. I've done reasonably well as a freelance translator, considering I entered the market five years ago when MT got good and just before Covid, the effects of Brexit, the cost of living crisis, etc. hit. Now it's coming to a head and I can't foresee my income even keeping up with inflation, which means I won't be able to make ends meet.

I feel like I've squeezed the best rates I can get out of my clients (agencies). I'm always on the look for new clients who I can charge a slightly higher rate so that I continue to grow, but it feels like I've hit the ceiling.

I should be spending slightly more time on my translations, but I can't earn enough to live if I don't churn things out fast enough. I do a good enough job, and so I guess most of my clients don't seem to care.

And there's no appreciation for my work. That's to be expected in this field, particularly as a freelancer, but I feel like a freelance logo designer or whatever would at least get a "Wow, this looks awesome!" once in a while. But because of the nature of our work, clients generally won't know what to praise. I don't need to be praised like a good little doggy, but appreciation goes a long way in terms of job satisfaction. Otherwise I'm just writing texts and sending them into the aether for some unknown purpose.

I only hear back when some random freelance revisor wants to take a dump on my work. Today, I snapped (not at anyone) because of feedback that said "Did not proofread (left typos), numbers wrong or missing...". I always proofread my work; some errors are reasonable over a long document, hence the need for a revisor. A couple of numbers were wrong because I couldn't use a CAT tool because of some BS confidentiality agreement and there was exactly one typo; otherwise, they changed things like "also" to "further". Some revisors just want to feel superior, as if to say to the agency "Why are you using this guy? Use me instead, I'm much better and you should pay me more." I defended myself, but whenever this happens my client's going to go away thinking I'm not as good as I am.

I've got a master's in translation, done internships, worked in-house, take on feedback, have six years' experience and do regular CPD (which I pay for) and I fry my brain everyday doing technical translations just for clients to say all that's not good enough. I could take it if I was compensated fairly, but I'm not, so it feels like I've gone out my way to do a crap job for crap pay. The state of this profession and the market has almost completely crushed the enjoyment I used to get out of doing translation.

Last weekend, I went for an interview for an engineering apprenticeship. It's a complete change of field and I'd be working alongside school leavers as an almost 30-year-old. I don't know if I even want to do engineering. Perhaps I've gone mad.

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TLDR: No appreciation, burnout and rubbish pay have made me snap, and now I want to do almost anything else.

Anybody here using the DeepL API successfully... ? Does it really work?

Trying to get API access has been broken for days now:

https://www.deepl.com/pro-api

No matter which browser/OS I try, it always errors: "Please reload the page or try again later."

To reach their tech support, you MUST subscribe to DeepL Pro... but getting a subscription is broken. 😂

I cant seem to find one that i can use for my WFH interpreter gig. Most cordless phones these days dont come with a headset jack jack. Ive been looking everywhere . Please help me find one thanks

Greetings, everyone,

I made an amateur translation of a short story by Vasiliy Shukshin from Russian into English, thought that the people here might enjoy it for what it is. If you like social realism, Russian existentialism, and sauna, then I hope you will find this a good read. Attaching both English-only and bilingual versions.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wro0cvx72yh_trz03BA2jgNjIACIIE6I/view?usp=drive_link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VIhXB67nz0GP9nIJG-r_Qi_mR_BSb6Od/view?usp=drive_link

https://preview.redd.it/jfs0b5vpuotc1.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a0b103894313af4c0345bda6d9194ccda6cdc849

I know this is a weird question since translation exists in most career fields, but I'm more focused on court/legal or IT translation. I'm 27 and in my senior year of a BS in IT and it's just a horrifying field to be going into the way the job market is. I've always loved different languages and have a good basis in Spanish and French I can work off to finish learning the languages. I mostly want to know if it might be a viable option.

I've been working in Japan as an in-house translator for the past 2 years and finally finished setting up my website. Currently working as haken at a game company so I figured I'd pick up some extra income through freelance (because the current job is NOT making me enough, oof)

If there is anyone out there who has experience as a JP > EN games/entertainment media freelancer tips are welcome! Not entirely sure where to start but figured I'd sit down this weekend and look through job listings and post my profile on Translators Cafe or wherever other pages I've seen recommended to post your freelancer profile. Advice welcome! Cheers~

A friend of mine said that her colleague has her own notes system (which I know you can create for yourself), but she can also read a "universal" one. (I'm talking about English.) Such as there are & for and, % for percent, but a much more advanced one, sich as X for earth, fpr instance. Any links / references would be appreciated!

Hi all, I work in retail setting and have routinely used a telephone translation service when unable to communicate with patients regarding higher level info that other staff do not know. Recently we have hired two staff members who are fluent in both Spanish and English. They occasionally help out with translating conversations. I would like to ensure we are following best practices in how we engage with customers - it usually feels awkward and I know it could be done better and in a way that is better for the customer experience. Are there any good resources or videos that discuss how to do properly so I can better train staff?

When I'm feeling brave and confident during a conversation with an ESL person, sometimes I want to switch to their language to make them feel more comfortable.

However, I get extremely panicked when I do this. My heart races, I'm in an endless state of cringe, and my emotions are at a 10 which means I can remember every foreign language conversation I've had in my adult life, especially the ones that I messed up.

Funny anecdote. For Japanese, I meant to say "I understand Japanese, but I forgot a lot" and said instead "I understand Japanese, and I remember a lot." I didn't realize it until on the way home which explains why the other person hit me with a barrage of conversational questions. Haha.

Anyway, just wondered if anyone else goes through a similar experience as well?

Hello everyone,

I recently decided to start trying to become a translator, and am a little overwhelmed by how many different courses/certificates/advice that is out there.

I have a bachelor's degree in Creative and Professional Writing, and a minor in International Relations.

I'm currently in the process of getting my Spanish proficiency tested, but it should be around C1.

I also have experience teaching English--including business English--as a foreign language, although I'm not sure how much that would translate (pun intended) to translation.

The thing is, I don't *really* know what I'm doing when it comes to translation. And I don't have a lot of experience in a translation-related-field like medicine, business, or law.

I'm trying to do some volunteer translation for different charities, but I worry that without feedback on my translations to aid my growth, and without some degree of training in a specialization, I might have a lot of trouble turning that into a paying career. (unfortunately, literary translation doesn't seem to offer stable employment)

I've looked into several university programs, including:

• NYU's Online Master's in Interpretation and Translation
• University of Arizona's Online Translation Certificate
• University of Massachusetts Amherst's Online Certificate in Professional Interpreting and Translation
• Amongst some others

But I don't know how to evaluate these programs/my needs. Would I only need a certificate, or would it be worth it to go through a (very) expensive program like NYU's?

I would hate to spend 75,000 on a NYU degree, but I would also hate to go through the work of a certificate course only to realize at the end that no one wants to hire me.

What path would you recommend? (And do you think that I have a real shot at being a translator?)

Thanks to everyone for their help. It is greatly appreciated :)

Links to Mentioned Programs:

NYU: https://www.sps.nyu.edu/homepage/academics/masters-degrees/ms-in-translation.html

University of Arizona: https://ce.arizona.edu/translation#:\~:text=Earn%20a%20Spanish%2FEnglish%20Translation%20Certificate%20Online&text=Students%20who%20successfully%20complete%20all,or%20two%20of%20the%20courses.

University of Massachusetts Amherst: https://www.umass.edu/languages-literatures-cultures/academics/online-certificate-professional-translation-interpreting

I just started my training to become a medical interpreter. I’m trying to develop my own abbreviations and symbols, but I see they say you must take notes with pen/pencil and paper, but I’m so slow and it hurts my hand, I’m much faster and efficient when I take notes with my laptop, I still use abbreviations and stuff, but they do not want people using computers for this. What’s the reason behind it? I can’t write fast and lose all information trying to take notes 😩