Theme 15. Translation market

Translation can be defined as the process of reading, comprehending, and rephrasing the original message, without changing its meaning and context into another language of a different mother tongue.

For a long time, the translation industry has been one of the least sought after, and an undervalued sector of the economy. However, with the advent of the internet, the world translation market has seen a staggering growth in the past few years. The significant changes in the world translation market can be attributed to globalization, localization and fragmentation.

The demand for translators has seen an exponential growth as today several avenues have opened up for people who can communicate in more than one language. Today, there are several opportunities available for translators in the global market, especially in big cities such as New York, which has a large and varied population.

The world translation market can be divided into the following three areas: human translation, machine translation and localization of websites.

According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of translator and interpreter jobs has gone up by 40 percent since 2000, and is expected to see a further rise of 20 percent more, in 2014. Another survey believes that the world translation market is expected to reach US$11.5 billion! There is a global need of translators in various sectors such as travel, hospitals, and of course technology.

There are various factors that are responsible for the growth if the world translation market. Some of the factors are:

- Availability of complex and technologically advanced products, leading to a greater demand of documentation

- Advancement in International trade and finance, globalization of markets, and the accompanying requirement to provide product literature and other documents in multiple languages

- An increased in the travel industry, in the form of tourism, business trips and conferences

- The advancement of new technologies and processes, creating a demand for translation market

The world translation market is all set to bloom as there are plenty of opportunities for trained translators. It is just a question of going out and finding it.

People usually become translators in one of two ways: either by design or by circumstance. There are no formal academic qualifications required to work as a translator but advertisements for translators in the press and professional journals tend to ask for graduates with professional qualifications and three years’ experience. Many countries have professional organisations for translators and if the organization is a member of the Federation Internationale des Traducteurs (FIT) it will have demonstrated that it sets specific standards and levels of academic achievement for membership. The translation associations affiliated to FIT can be found on FIT’s website – www.fit-ift.org. Two organisations in the United Kingdom set examinations for professional membership. These are the Institute of Linguists and the Institute of Translation and Interpreting. To gain a recognized professional qualification through membership of these associations you must meet certain criteria. If you have completed your basic education and have followed a course of study to become a translator, you will then need to gain experience. As a translator, you will invariably be asked to translate every imaginable subject. The difficulty is accepting the fact that you have limitations since you are faced with the dilemma of ‘How do I gain experience if I don’t accept translations or do I accept translations to get the experience?’. Ideally as a fledgling translator you should work under the guidance of a more experienced colleague.

Regrettably, an overwhelming number of people – and these include clients – harbour many misconceptions of what is required to be a skilled translator. Such misconceptions include:

• As a translator you can translate all subjects

• If you speak a foreign language ipso facto you can automatically translate into it

• If you can hold a conversation in a foreign language then you are bilingual

• Translators are mind-readers and can produce a perfect translation without having to consult the author of the original text, irrespective of whether it is ambiguous, vague or badly written

• No matter how many versions of the original were made before final copy was approved or how long the process took, the translator needs only one stab at the task, and very little time, since he gets it right first time without the need for checking or proof-reading. After all, the computer does all that for you.

Though used quite generally, these terms are not really satisfactory. They do however indicate a differentiation between translators who translate books for publication (including non-fiction works) and those who translate texts for day-to-day commercial, technical or legal purposes.

Literary translation is one of the four principal categories of translator. The others are interpreting, scientific and technical, and commercial/business translation. There are also specialist fields within these categories. Literary translation is not confined to the translation of great works of literature. When the Copyright Act refers to ‘literary works’ it places no limitations on their style or quality. All kinds of books, plays, poems, short stories and writings are covered, including such items as a collection of jokes, the script of a documentary, a travel guide, a science textbook and an opera libretto.

Becoming a successful literary translator is not easy. It is far more difficult to get established, and financial rewards, at the bottom of the scale, are not excessive by any measure. Just reward is seldom given to the translator – for example, the translator of Thomas Mann’s ‘Death in Venice’ doesn’t even get a mention. Your rewards in terms of royalties depend on the quality and success of your translation.

Almost without exception, translators of books, plays, etc. work on a freelance basis. In most cases they do not translate the whole of a foreign language work ‘on spec’: they go ahead with the translation only after the publisher or production company has undertaken to issue/perform the translation, and has signed an agreement commissioning the work and specifying payment.

As in all freelance occupations, it is not easy for the beginner to ensure a constant flow of commissions. Only a few people can earn the equivalent of a full salary from literary translation alone. Literary translators may have another source of income, for example from language teaching or an academic post. They may combine translation with running a home. They may write books themselves as well as translating other authors’ work. They may be registered with a translation agency and possibly accept shorter (and possibly more lucrative) commercial assignments between longer stretches of literary translation.

A non-literary translator needs to offer a technical, commercial or legal skill in addition to being able to translate. Fees for freelance work are usually received fairly promptly and are charged at a fixed rate – usually per thousand words of source text.

One decision you will need to make at one stage is whether to work for translation companies and agencies or whether to try and build up your own client base. There are advantages to both approaches.

It is perhaps worth giving a brief definition of translation companies and agencies. The former have their own in-house translators as well as using the services of freelances whereas the latter act purely as agencies, or translation brokers, and thereby rely solely on freelances. (I’ll refer to translation companies and agencies collectively as ‘agencies’ for convenience since this is how clients perceive them). If you work for translation agencies you will be able to establish a good rapport. This will ensure a reasonably steady stream of work. You will also have the option of saying ‘No thanks’ if you have no capacity at the time. It will also keep your administration to a low manageable level. The fees offered by translation agencies will be lower than you can demand from direct clients. But consider the fact that agencies do all the work of marketing, advertising and selling to get the translation assignments. All you need do as a freelance, essentially, is to register with them and accept or reject the assignments offered. Working for translation agencies will also allow you to build up your expertise gradually.

Reputable translation agencies also make additional checks on the translations you submit. They may also spend a considerable amount of time reformatting a translation to suit a client’s requirements. The fact that an agency performs these additional tasks does not in any way absolve you from producing the best possible translation you can for the intended purpose.

Keep these tips for a top-notch resume in mind.

1. Highlight your source language(s), target language, and native language.

2. List all appropriate contact information: mailing address, phone, fax, e-mail, and Website. Don't lose out on opportunities because one of your contact points doesn't work or is unavailable. Give prospective clients various ways to contact you so they can use their contact method of choice.

3. When sending resumes by e-mail, take steps to ensure that the recipient can open your file. Potential clients will often specify in what format they would like to receive resumes. Follow their instructions so that you "get in the door."

4. If you choose to send your resume as a Word document or other file that may contain viruses, purchase a virus scanner and update it frequently. Nothing is more embarrassing than sending a possible client the newest virus.

5. Passing out hard copies of your resume be sure to use high quality paper and a high quality printer. Make sure the font is large enough to read comfortably. Make it short—one or two pages maximum. Company representatives and potential clients will have a lot of paper to cart back, so make your presentation compact.

6. Always be truthful about past experience and capabilities. Do not overestimate your target-language capabilities. It is the industry standard to translate into your native language, and if you translate into more than one language, be prepared to justify your claim to agencies or other industry professionals who may be interested in your services.

7. Specify your fields of expertise. Staking out areas of specialization gives you credibility and encourages clients to contact you for your focused knowledge.

8. Be sure to list (and keep updated) your hardware, software, and technical skills. Do you have Trados or other productivity software? Are you an expert at Illustrator? Let clients know what equipment you have so that possible compatibility issues can be dealt with up front and/or so you can impress them with the latest and greatest.

9. Use appropriate jargon. Don't use terminology that is over your client's head. If your client has never heard of "localization," you may want to briefly explain what it means

10. Check that there are no spelling errors or typos on your resume.

Translators, like the members of any other professional group, are likely to encounter a variety of ethical issues in the practice of their profession. Clients rely on the translator to provide a translation that does full justice to the source text.

Having said that, there is general consensus that clients can rightfully expect a translator to possess professional skills, which entails that the translator should not accept a translation job if he feels incapable of providing a high-quality text, for instance because the subject-matter is not within his field of expertise.

Another interesting issue is that of errors in the source text. The requirement of faithfulness dictates that any errors found should simply be copied into the translation, but this obviously clashes with every serious translators common sense and desire to produce a text that is free from error and, if at all possible, even better than the original. Sometimes a translator might even feel the urge to protect the authors reputation if he suspects that the content or tone of voice of the source text would open its author to ridicule. One example is that of a CEO whose deputy speechwriter had come up with a New Years speech in a raving populist style. The translator in this case had decided to somewhat neutralize the invective, while of course pointing out to the client that he had taken liberties with the text in order to adapt it to the tastes of the target audience.

The obvious strategy in these cases is to highlight errors or problems and ask the client to reconsider his text, and while many clients will indeed appreciate such perspicacity, others will condemn the translator for being pedantic. Clearly there is no ideal remedy.

There is also a category of texts which, at first sight, appear to be positively illegal. If a translator agreed to translate bomb-making instructions, would he be responsible for attacks committed with the bombs produced with the help of such instructions? He certainly would, in our view, if he did not take the trouble of finding out who needed the translation, and for what purpose it was required. If the nature of the client were sufficiently obscure to raise even the slightest concern, no translator in his right mind would accept such an order. However, if the translation was commissioned by a government authority as part of efforts to study terrorists practices, the translator might actually contribute to a good cause by translating even the most reprehensible texts.

ETHICS

•Qualifications

•Confidentiality (consultation, use of information)

•Payment & references

•Nonsolicitation

•Continuing education

•Conflict of interest

•General moral behavior

•Subcontracting

•Deadlines

•Objectivity

•Responsibilities to other translators

–Encouraging & assisting beginners

–Refraining from unfair competition

–Respect & support fellow professionals

–Not working for substandard fees

–Disciplinary procedures

Basic sources: [1,13,14,15,16]

Supplementary sources: [21,22,23,24,25]

7. Планы практических занятий:

Не нашли, что искали? Воспользуйтесь поиском по сайту: