Hey everyone!

I wanted to share a new MTPE workflow hack I've been using for pre-translating content for use in CAT tools, and it’s a game-changer. If you've been struggling with inconsistent terminology, misplaced tags, or losing context when using Google Translate or DeepL, this is for you.

I made a quick video showing exactly how to use ChatGPT for pre-translation while keeping all your formatting intact and maintaining consistent terminology.

Let me know what you think, and also have any of you been using it in a similar way? I'd be curious to see if there are any better ways of doing it.

Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16EnFQOkUww&t=5s

Hey everyone,

I hope you’re all doing well! I’m reaching out to this community because I’m eager to break into the translation market, but I feel completely lost on how to begin.

I speak and understand English, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese, which is my native language. However, I’m finding it challenging to navigate the initial steps in this field—or better yet, I'm completely lost on where to start. I’d love to find a first opportunity and if it's necessary I would take tests (or whatever lol) to show that I’m capable of doing this.

If anyone could share their insights on how to get started (or any resources you guys found helpful), I would greatly appreciate it!

Thank you in advance for your help!

Hello! I’m currently finishing my degree as a translator and… I just can’t seem to find a job. :(

I studied translation since I’m really passionate about it. I speak Spanish, English and I have an HSK4 written proficiency in Chinese.

The thing is that, no one is hiring translators anymore. They either ask for someone who has a degree in their related industry, with a high “level” of English or for an Interpeter with terrible work conditions (12h per day, minimum wage, 6 days a week). When I started, pre-pandemic, there was a fairy amount of jobs for translators, nowadays there is nothing out there. I think is because of AI too.

Do you guys have any recommendations for searching jobs?

I feel like I should’ve studied something different. :(

Has anyone ever faced issues with Babelcube before?

I'd already translated a few titles with no issues, despite the extremely low income.

But recently I translated a bigger book, the author received and approved the translation, but never published the book.

I tried contacting them and they said they would take the publishing in their own hands, but after that they dissapeared too and stopped answering my emails.

There was a contract between all parts (translator, site and author) and there's a fee for breaking it, which I never received, ofc.

Any thoughts or previous experiences with them?

So I'm a translation student, and for this term I'm studying Judicial Translation, but I'm struggling to find judicial texts to translate from other than big cases that you might take from big organizations such as the UN, or certain specific judicial documents, but the most basic simple documents and contracts are hard to find, and if you do find some it's just random templates with no informations and no details at all, which might be helpful for a law student but not for a translation student, especially not a beginner who is actually interested in translating the basic informations and details that you find in every judicial document out there to get used to the task... and I understand why, certainly because actual real documents will contain personal informations of other people, but as you know judicial translation isn't like other field of translation where you can just translate the meaning of the text in front of you, here there's specific terms and specific expressions that you have to use everytime (for most of the time ofc not always), so I was wondering where can I find real judicial documents to practice? And what's another way to improve at judicial translation other than practicing ofc?

PS: I translate in 3 languages (Arabic, French and English) and I have the same problem in all 3 languages.

Please ask your questions and/or promote your products elsewhere. No-one here is interested in using your app, and it's not our job to explain how translation works to you. If your questions fall on the tech side, try r/machinetranslation; if you're interested in hearing from people who might use your product, try r/languagelearning. Thanks!

I’m struggling with translation because I often end up sticking to the source text (ST) structure. I know I should aim for a reader-friendly translation and adapt it more, but I still get stuck. It’s frustrating because even when I try to paraphrase, I feel like I’m just rephrasing the same way. Plus, I keep defaulting to one-to-one word equivalents, which doesn’t always work well. I want to break free from these habits, especially to address cultural differences better. Any advice on how to translate more freely and naturally?

Hello,

I am currently in my 4th year doing a user research on healthcare extension app where we provide "on-demand translation services for documents like discharge instructions, consent forms, and medication guidelines. Users can upload or scan these documents and receive clear, translated versions in their native language."

This is an example:

English version:

Symptoms Reported by Patient: Nasal congestion and runny nose / Sore throat / Cough (dry or mild productive) / Mild fever (under 101°F) /Headache and body aches / Fatigue

Diagnosis: Common Cold (Viral Upper Respiratory Infection)

Note: This is a viral infection and will not require antibiotics unless secondary bacterial infection symptoms develop.

Instructions: Increase fluid intake. Aim for warm liquids such as tea, clear soup, and water. Avoid caffeine and alcohol, which may dehydrate.

Recommended Fluids:Herbal tea with honey (for soothing sore throat) / Water with lemon (for hydration and vitamin C) / Electrolyte drinks if feeling weak

Symptom Relief: Use saline nasal spray as needed (every 2–4 hours) for nasal relief. - Option: Over-the-counter decongestants (e.g., pseudoephedrine, following package instructions).

Sore Throat: Use throat lozenges as needed for throat irritation. (Gargle with warm salt water (1/4 teaspoon of salt in 8 ounces of warm water) 2–3 times daily.)

Fever and Body Aches: Acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) as needed for fever or body aches. (Dosage: [Specific dosage based on age/weight] every 4–6 hours as needed.)

Cough Management: Cough syrup or suppressant (e.g., dextromethorphan, guaifenesin) if cough is persistent and interrupts sleep.

Prevention of Symptom Spread: Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds / Avoid close contact with others, especially vulnerable individuals (elderly, children) / Cough or sneeze into a tissue or elbow, and dispose of tissues immediately.

Follow-Up: Schedule a follow-up if symptoms worsen, or if new symptoms like difficulty breathing, high fever (above 102°F), or severe headache develop.

Translated version (Korean):

증상 보고:

• 콧물 및 코막힘
• 목의 통증
• 기침 (마른 기침 또는 가벼운 가래성 기침)
• 가벼운 열 (101°F 이하)
• 두통 및 몸살
• 피로

진단:

• 감기 (바이러스성 상기도 감염)
• 주의: 이는 바이러스 감염으로, 2차 세균 감염 증상이 나타나지 않는 한 항생제가 필요하지 않습니다.

지시 사항:

• 수분 섭취 증가: 따뜻한 차, 맑은 국물, 물과 같은 따뜻한 음료를 마시세요. 카페인과 알코올은 탈수를 유발할 수 있으므로 피하세요.

권장 음료:

• 꿀을 넣은 허브차 (목의 통증 완화)
• 레몬을 넣은 물 (수분 공급 및 비타민 C 보충)
• 몸이 약해질 때 전해질 음료

증상 완화:

• 코막힘 완화: 코 스프레이를 2–4시간마다 필요 시 사용하세요. 옵션: 일반 의약품인 코 충혈 완화제 (예: 슈도에페드린)를 패키지 지시에 따라 사용하세요.
• 목 통증: 목의 자극을 완화하기 위해 필요 시 목캔디를 사용하세요. 따뜻한 소금물 (소금 1/4 티스푼을 8 온스 따뜻한 물에)로 하루에 2–3회 입을 헹구세요.
• 열 및 몸살: 아세트아미노펜 (타이레놀) 또는 이부프로펜 (애드빌)을 열이나 통증이 있을 때 필요에 따라 복용하세요. (용량: 나이/체중에 따른 구체적 복용량, 필요 시 4–6시간 간격 복용)
• 기침 관리: 기침이 지속되고 잠을 방해할 경우 기침 시럽 또는 진해제 (예: 덱스트로메토르판, 구아이페네신) 사용.

증상 전파 방지:

• 20초 이상 비누와 물로 자주 손을 씻으세요.
• 특히 취약한 사람들 (노인, 어린이)과 가까운 접촉을 피하세요.
• 휴지 또는 팔꿈치에 기침이나 재채기를 하고, 사용한 휴지는 즉시 버리세요.

후속 조치:

• 증상이 악화되거나 호흡 곤란, 102°F 이상의 고열, 심한 두통과 같은 새로운 증상이 나타날 경우 후속 진료를 예약하세요.

Translated version (Chinese-Mandarin):

症状报告:

• 鼻塞和流鼻涕
• 喉咙痛
• 咳嗽 (干咳或轻微咳痰)
• 轻微发烧 (低于101°F)
• 头痛和身体疼痛
• 疲劳

诊断:

• 感冒 (病毒性上呼吸道感染)
• 注意: 这是病毒感染，除非出现细菌继发感染的症状，否则不需要抗生素治疗。

指导:

• 增加液体摄入: 尽量喝温热的液体，如茶、清汤和水。避免饮用可能引起脱水的咖啡因和酒精。

推荐饮料:

• 加蜂蜜的草药茶 (缓解喉咙痛)
• 柠檬水 (补充水分和维生素C)
• 感到虚弱时可饮用电解质饮料

症状缓解:

• 缓解鼻塞: 根据需要每2–4小时使用生理盐水喷鼻剂。选项: 按照包装说明服用非处方充血缓解剂 (例如伪麻黄碱)。
• 喉咙痛: 喉咙不适时使用喉片。用温盐水 (1/4茶匙盐溶于8盎司温水) 每天漱口2–3次。
• 发烧和身体疼痛: 如有发烧或疼痛时可使用对乙酰氨基酚 (泰诺) 或布洛芬 (艾德维尔)。 (剂量: 根据年龄/体重的具体剂量，每4–6小时服用一次，按需服用)
• 咳嗽管理: 如果咳嗽持续并影响睡眠，可服用咳嗽糖浆或止咳药 (例如右美沙芬、愈创木酚甘油醚)。

症状传播预防:

• 经常用肥皂和水洗手至少20秒。
• 避免与他人密切接触，特别是老人和儿童等易感人群。
• 咳嗽或打喷嚏时用纸巾或肘部遮挡，并立即丢弃用过的纸巾。

随访:

• 如果症状加重，或出现新症状如呼吸困难、高于102°F的高烧或严重头痛，请预约随访。

Let me know your initial thought on this app's function

Edit: currency in USD

Here's an excerpt from the job description:

> We need a skilled translator to convert three Arabic TV series (30 episodes each - AVERAGE 35min/episode) into English, including detailed closed captions for dialogue, sounds, and audio cues.

> Due Date: 12days max/ series.

I've worked in transcription and ghostwriting and editing as freelance. Completed an internship. Latest translation-related gig I did was a somewhat-occasional volunteer position where I get paid a fixed 30$ for short technical translations (I calculated the word count, it's usually 1000 words) and 50$ for double the word count (2000 wrds). And yes I know these are low but this is a poor country and I was desperate at the time.

This is the first time I come across a local gig like this in a year, and I could really use your help because I'm not sure how to bid. I don't want to lowball but I also don't want to overcharge and get rejected.

For the record, where I live, 5$ per hour is considered a really good gig around here. I get paid 3$ an hour WfH, which is still miles better than other people who have to drive and get paid less.

Any idea? Appreciate any help!

Recently while studying Iranian history, I've noticed a very stark and remarkable lack of translations of Persian primary sources written to English, and subsequently a great deficit of attention paid to the field in general, which I hold to be a biproduct of said inaccessibility, as this period in my honest opinion is extremely interesting.

I have the ability to fluently read and translate these books, but I don't know how to share my translations or bring them to people's attention to any significant degree. I am also not aware of the legalities concerning the issue of translations of these materials in the form of PDF (I'm a highschooler I don't have the ability to publish anything physically) even if the authors are all long dead (some were directly present in the courts of various Shahs, served in their armies, etc)

I would appreciate any kind of help or advice on the process of unofficial translations, any recommended applications or important guidelines to follow for translating history. Thank you

I know that it would depend on preferences and maybe context, but still. I want to learn a new language but can't decide on which (I already know Spanish and English). I don't expect to actually get translation jobs on it, but still it would be nice if the chances were not on negative numbers lol so which languages do you consider to be useful to know nowadays?

Hi! I have been translating for about two years and I need a new computer. The old one I had just died.

I want a computer compatible with Windows, because I used to have a Mac and had to use Boot Camp to install Windows and be able to use Trados, Subtitle Edit etc. Never again, it was hell.

So could you recommend me a good Windows computer? Preferably a portable one, because I am an interpreter as well and frequently travel for my assignments, so I need something that I can carry with me. Thank you!

Deepl ? Google translate ? Chat GPT ? Reverso ? Others ?
Need to be accessible from IOS and Mac OS.
For English < > French, English < > Indonesian and French < > Indonesian

I recently translated a short story, which was published by an online literary magazine. I got permission from the author to publish this translation. It wasn't a formal licensing deal and I didn't pay anything for the translation rights. The magazine is run by volunteers and I produced the translation for free.

It took some time to place the story, so in the run-up to publication, I have a long chain of emails in which the author's agent encouraged me to publish the translation asap. This is in addition to preceding emails in which they confirmed more than once that I'm allowed to publish a translation.

Soon after the translation was published, the agent asked me if they can limit this permission to a duration of 5 years. Seeing as this short story is not so short (several thousand words) and the translation process was quite protracted, I'm loathe to agree.

Rights to the translation reverted to me after publication (this is the magazine's policy), so am I correct in assuming that I, as the translator, am basically the only rights holder of this English translation? In other words, would the author or their agent even be able, legally, to force me to take down this translation after 5 years? Note that the agent made this demand first after the publication (which they explicitly gave permission for and encouraged). I dearly want to turn down this request and it seems to me, legally speaking, that it's within my rights to reject it. Any thoughts or insights much appreciated!

Hi all,

Sorry if this post isn't allowed.
I am a student preparing for the Australian certification exams for both interpreting and translating. I plan to (hopefully) work between English, Italian, Spanish and German. I know this question probably gets asked quite a bit, but would anyone have any gage on the average salary or earnings for translators and interpreters in Australia?

I know I could probably just google it, but the estimates I've found on the web have been all over the place. Are there any Aussie translators or interpreters here on this subreddit who would feel comfortable sharing their rough annual salary, and whether they find they can live comfortably off T&I?

Thanks :)

Hi all.

I'm an undergraduate translation student currently, and I'm wondering if there is a good way to practice translating. Recently I've been utilizing chatgpt to generate short passages for me to translate into english and then asking it to grade me for subtle nuances, clarity, cohesion, and register. Would you say this is a good way of practicing? I'm naturally very skeptical about chatgpt's translational ability.

Otherwise I tend to just look up articles on Google and then see if I can translate them onto a google doc. I'm skeptical about this method in the opposite way being that I know the article was written by a French person and that the diction, lexicon, register, etc. are all natural, but then I don't have a way of receiving any feedback.

Any advice or opinions?

Thanks!

Hello everyone,

I have just graduated with a Master's degree in legal translation and I'm now looking for my first jobs.

I've done a 5-month internship in an translation agency as part of my degree and they told me they'd be interested in keeping me as a freelance. Basically I'd sign a "framework agreement", it's a 20-hour contract with fixed hours defined by me (they told me they can be flexible if I tell them beforehand but otherwise my hours would stay the same every week). I can choose to work more hours in the week, 20 is the minimum.

They're offering me 15€/hour, which seems a bit low to me considering that as a freelance I'd have more expenses than an employee without certain social benefits (I live in France). From my research, hourly rate starts at 25/30€, but then again I am a beginner and I don't have anything else as of now (freelancing with no experience is difficult and I'm not getting any response back currently). Some of these jobs would also be post-editing projects.

They did also tell me they have new projects everyday so I am guaranteed to get work, and that they'll pay me for every minute spent on a project. So now I'm wondering if it's worth it since at least I'm guaranteed to be productive for at least 20h/week.

My main issues are the rates (if I translate 300 words an hour, that'd be 0,05€/word, unless there is something i'm not considering) and having to stick to the hours I have provided.

Anyway, thank you for reading. What do you think about this offer? Have you ever had an agency offer an hourly rate like this and should I negociate? (taking into account I've just interned at their agency so they know my only work experience in the industry was with them) i'd like reading about your experience!

Hello everyone I study linguistics and translation at my uni. English to Arabic and Arabic to English. I wanna to utilize an effective way that allow my to translate to be freelancer translator. Any websites or assistant tools can help me

Because I can speak Russian, I recently got hired at a gym in an area with a lot of Eastern European population. English is my most comfortable native language and I’ve really only used Russian with my family. Recently, a gym member came up to chat with me and told me I should take the opportunity I have of being bilingual and try translating. He told me it’s pretty lucrative and recommended proz. com. If i can get even a few hundred bucks a month from a remote side job i wouldn’t mind ofc, but from looking at this subreddit it seems like that will be harder than he made it out to be. What do yall think?? Would it be possible for me to start without any experience at all?

Edit: Thx for all the replies! I didn’t intend to make translating my main way of income attt all lol, just thought if it’s a small thing i can possibly do remote on the side to make a bit more, while improving my russian then it’ll be nice. I rly don’t know anything abt the industry at all which is why I came here to ask. Seems like it’s harder to get into than I thought so I’m not gonna pursue it further :,) I appreciate everyone for the insight hope everyone has a great day! 🫶

Hi, I am b2 in Spanish and fluent in English. I currently reside in India and I am searching for translation /interpretation certifications or courses to improve my cv and credibility and most importantly learn something new and exciting . If any knows any such course . Please let me know.

I have been learning Russian on and off for almost two years. My current level is A2. I recently graduated university with a bachelor's in English Literature. I plan to continue learning Russian, and I also plan on teaching English in a Russian-speaking country - probably Kazakhstan - for a year or two.

In three years, I want to do a master's in Translation and Interpreting, specialising in English to Russian. Before starting the course, I hope to get to a C1 level in Russian. Do you think a C1 level would be enough to do such a course?

I’m currently working on translating a very important text about a historical event, which contains many first hand accounts of the event. It’s the only book of its kind and is widely used by researchers of the subject, as it’s the only text ever compiled like it. It’s in German.

Due to the nature of the book and the importance of not losing meaning by translating it, I am trying hard to ensure that the words and details of each sentence of the original text are carried over to the English version. I am, however, occasionally finding that the original text will have sentences that may translate in a way that can be confusing to an English reader.

For example, I ran into a sentence where the writer said essentially “he never saw his family, who lived in the Eastern zone, again.”

Given the line was written in the 50s, a German would immediately understand that “Eastern zone” is referring East Germany, the DDR…however, the time period being discussed, predates the division of Germany. It ends up being a bit confusing because because it’s talking about an event before the country was split, while at the same time specifying they lived in East Germany and just saying the “eastern zone” for an American reader may not register for them that it’s referring to the country.

So, what would be the correct way to add a clarification, without using a footnote? Just brackets, ie “…eastern zone[DDR].”?

I’m not doing this professionally or for commercial publication, nor have I any experience with translation or writing in general. Just a side project for our small niche of historians. Still, I’d like to try and do things somewhat correctly, but without the addition of footnotes, just for simplicity sake as most everyone will read it on their phone.

Hi. I got the opportunity to apply for a Language Line interpreter role twice in the past two weeks.

When I first applied, I had to pass a grammar English test to step into the next phase: a Language Proficiency Test in my native language. I failed this second test. That was weird since I'm a literal Linguist, but fine. Days later, new opportunity from a different recruiter, this time I had to do another oral Language Proficiency Test in English and I failed, again.

I'm feeling a little demotivated since I was very excited about this opportunity. I've been trying to get my first real job and these situations are always kind of frustrating, especially since I don't do well with speaking to myself in front of a computer screen and I'm not comfortable at all with the questions these tests ask, like what's my favorite food, pretend you have been robbed, etc. Usually I just want the test to be over so I make up an answer on the spot without thinking and I do not elaborate almost at all because I'm so out of my comfort zone and I don't know who is going to watch those recordings of myself. I'm naturally a shy and anxious person but I have trained myself to be good at interactions that involve work and interviews - however, I have not prepared myself for these (ridiculous) recorded "tests".

So, by posting this here I wanted to know if any of you who has had a positive experience with these LLS LP tests and has passed them could give me any tips for a possible next try or explain to me what they think they did right. I don't think there's an issue with my English level since I didn't even pass the LP test in my native language and I actually passed the multiple choice grammar test (English). I think there's an issue with my fluency, accuracy etc due to being too nervous and uncomfortable. Please give me some closure on this since LLS doesn't. Thank you!

I'm a freelance translator specializing in Gaming, my language pair is English-Vietnamese. It's only been a year since I started going down this career path.

I had 4 different agencies doing this to me. I had gone through application process like sending CV, passing the test, signing contract, NDA, completing registration. After that, all of them said they would contact me for work in the future (I had one project 2 months after completing registration, so I thought it was normal). But it's been over 5 months without any email of work, the most recent one was about updating their system.

My current agency gives me work almost everyday without pause for the past several months so I don't know why it's not the case for the other 4. I did try to email one about the lack of project, but they did not response.

Is this a common occurence for freelance translators? Or is there something else I'm missing?

Thanks in advance

I (27F) have been studying translation for about a year. It took me forever to find a career path that I was passionate about. Translation is not only something I love doing but it’s also convenient for me.

To put some perspective into it, my family lives in Brazil, and I’ve been living in the US for 6 years now, going back to visit them every 1-2 years for 15 days only. I wanted to dedicate myself to a career that would allow me to spend more time with my family.

I haven’t had any professional experience in the translation field yet and it’s a bit discouraging when I read comments talking about how AI has been taking over - but I want and have to be realistic.

I still don’t have my mind set on one specific field and I am willing to focus on a more profitable area. I currently make around 45-50K/year. So the question is: Is it possible to make more than that working with translation? Or am I going to be poor for the rest of my life? lol

Hello, everyone! I've recently started working as a Freelance Translator and I got some jobs that require Trados to be done. I was using a cracked version for now because I don't have the money to invest in a license, which is something that I know I ought to do in a near future. The things is, the crack stopped working this weekend and I couldn't find any other to replace it. I've got to finish a project until Thursday and I'm a little desperate since I can't use Trados to finish it. Could anybody help me? I know many people here use cracked softwares so I hope I can find another crack or at least another cracked version. BTW: using cracked softwares is not really a taboo in my country, but I'll still pay for the license in a few months

I’m a student studying translation studies with an emphasis in French and the department at my school is completely slashed. The first class I was supposed to take for my minor all about the basics for translation I now have to take last because the department is so underfunded and no one wants to teach. I’m taking my classes all out of order in order to graduate on time. For my project I have to work on a long translation project that consists of two parts, a translation portion and an analysis of the translation and it should cover problems of translation of a particular text and examine the relationships between textual practice and theoretical perspectives thus addressing some relevant aspect of translation theory, criticism, or history. I have no idea what to write about because I don’t know any translation theory, criticism, or history because I haven’t taken the class yet because it’s not being offered. Anyone have any ideas for French translation topics I could use for this and its application to the above criteria? Thanks so much!!

Hello! I am completely new to this world. I just started studying to became a translator. In the specific I would love to be a videogame translator, but I have no idea where to look for jobs (even free just to get the experience). Any suggestions? Also is the language degree enough or do I need another one?

I've been using SubtitleEdit but I can't extract my subtitled video withou some kind of an outside app, do you know what could be more useful?