All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy - Part 1

When people work non-stop, without allowing downtime for family and friends and personal solitude, the natural rhythm of life is violated.

When people work non-stop, without allowing downtime for family and friends and personal solitude, the natural rhythm of life is violated. If you’re a person who’s competitive, a perfectionist, mission-driven, then you’ll know that these traits make it very difficult to define healthy and realistic boundaries between your translation work and your private life. Unfortunately, these traits can affect not only your life but the lives of your family and also the people you work with.

Many people have been raised knowing that the key to productivity is hard work, and yes, hard work is essential to success. Now add in laptops and smartphones, and these tendencies are compounded in driven people, so they simply work non-stop and expect everyone else to follow suit. Logically, these people know there are limits to how much work is useful, and most are aware that research suggests that working longer and harder doesn’t necessarily mean getting more work done.

What Have We Learned about Downtime?

A study published in the Harvard Business Review demonstrated that downtime can have a more positive and larger effect on both organizational and individual productivity than more hours on the job. During designated periods of this study, employees were required to take one day off during the middle of their work week (including other time-off experiments): initially, they were anxious and resisted the changes, but the results of the study were extremely positive – including improved communication, greater job satisfaction, increased learning and self-development, greater respect and trust for colleagues, and a better work-life balance. Another study showed that 94% of professional people work a minimum of 50 hours per week, with half of these working more than 65 hours per week. And all of these translation professionals monitored their smart phones at home!

Give Your Body Time to Rest

You must resist the impulse to work constantly. It won’t be easy at first, and you may even feel like you’re neglecting your responsibilities. However, over time, you’ll end up achieving more than you did previously.

We need to understand that we all have a limited reserve of energy; and willpower, focus, and the ability to deal with stressful projects all draw from this limited reserve. When these reserves are depleted through either working on too many projects or through sleep deprivation, we lose the pleasure of working on something important, we lose our creativity, and we lose the quality of our work. We can’t afford to skip rest, and the way to restore our quality of work is to take time off.

Take a Short Nap

One great way of tackling an energy deficit is to take a nap. Many experiments have shown the value of sleep, and this includes brief naps, as a way of improving memory, learning, and creative thinking. Some forward-thinking companies actually encourage their employees to take a short nap during their work day because they understand the added value to job satisfaction, productivity, and the good health of their employees.

Take Time off on a Regular Basis

The most feasible approach to achieving the greatest benefits of downtime is to take time off on a regular basis.

For Quality Translations You Need a Qualified Translator

Just because someone is bilingual, or regardless of how many languages they speak, it still doesn’t make them a translator.

Below we’ve listed some tips on how to find a qualified translator, and why a ‘general’ search may not be the best option –

There’s More to Translation Than Being Bilingual

Just because someone is bilingual, or regardless of how many languages they speak, it still doesn’t make them a translator. There are other skills required when it comes to translation, such as having a thorough knowledge of a specialized vocabulary, business management skills, a familiarity with the translation industry, and so on. Plus, ideally, professional translators will only be working into their native language – not their second or third language. So if you’re looking for an accurate, professional translation then its key that you use someone who has established themselves as a professional translator.

Finding a Qualified Translator

The first step towards procuring an accurate, quality translation is to find a qualified translator. Dealing with an inexperienced translator can be time-consuming, expensive, not-to-mention embarrassing! Save yourself time and money by getting it right the first time. Just because someone has studied or lived abroad does not mean they’re qualified to translate your important documents.

For the purpose of this post we’ll assume that you don’t have access to a word-of-mouth referral and that you’re not familiar with the translation industry; so your best resource for locating a translator would be a professional association for translators. In the United States, there’s the American Translator’s Association: they have an online membership directory, and clients can search using almost any criteria applicable to translation, such as Specialization, Location, ATA Certification, Language Pair, and so on. Then there are translator associations with online membership directories for different States and larger metropolitan areas. Search for your own State or city, because using a local person can be the ideal option if you’re new to hiring translators and you’d like to meet with someone in person.

Online Translation Marketplaces

Some people find online translation marketplaces to be helpful. Some serve as a directory of interpreters, translators, and translation agencies, while others claim to offer a directory of translation services. Besides being a source of translation jobs and work for freelancers, professional translators and agencies display their rates, with some offering free quotes: they can be contacted directly from the site. Unfortunately, some of these marketplaces have become sites where translation buyers can go to receive crazy turnaround times and rock bottom rates; but generally, they can be useful when a client is dealing with an obscure language and is searching for a translator able to handle their project. From this site, they’re able to contact the translator directly.

We Translate Inc. is the world’s largest language services provider (LSP) offering industry leading translation and localization services and highly scalable global marketing solutions. We Translate Inc. is the industry’s largest network of professional translators.

The English Language Is Strange Indeed! - Part 1

While the English language is a fascinating one, it’s also bizarre, confusing, and sometimes downright scary.

First-Order Isograms: This is when a letter appears just once in a word. They’re also known as heterograms, and interestingly, a perfect example is the word isogram. The mission of some language lovers is to find the longest heterogram! We understand that the longest word with 17 letters is subdermatoglyphic, but this word is rarely used. Uncopyrightable is next on the list, and this is a word that could be used in everyday language.

We can’t deny that the English language is a fascinating one (and not only for translation experts), it’s also bizarre, confusing, and sometimes downright scary. Most native speakers of the English language don’t know everything there is to know and understand about this language because it consists of both the worst and best elements of ancient languages. Lovers of language from all over the world have come together at various times to discuss idiosyncrasies, oddities, and quirks of the English language, and it’s usually these people who uncover fascinating and unexpected facts about this unusual language. Let’s take a closer look at some interesting discoveries –

The Difference Between Descriptivists and Prescriptivists

Over the years there have been significant changes to the English language, and its continued its evolution with every new corruption, bastardization, and barbarism. These three unusual terms refer to how language has changed and derived into something that academics consider improper. English has been enforced and informed by all the languages that came before it. These are not words that would be used by linguists because generally, they’re descriptivists (descriptivism is defined as the object study of language where what is spoken is analyzed by specialists, as opposed to what should be spoken). Then there are prescriptivists, and these are people who stay true to the grammatical rules they were taught. A descriptivist might say ‘Me and him went to the movies’ because it’s this type of phrasing that’s commonly used by ordinary people; whereas a prescriptivist will consider this improper grammar usage and say ‘He I went to the movies’.

So what do the three words Corruption, Bastardisation, and Barbarism mean?

The word barbarism refers to a non-standard pronunciation, phrase or word. The word ain’t is a good example of this. These are words that everyone knows what they mean, but they’re not correct from a grammatical point of view, nor will they ever be accepted by academics.

Bastardisation and corruption refer to the phenomena of language changes when people either don’t know how to pronounce the word, or they don’t understand it. For example, you may be surprised to know that the word apron is not correct: the correct word is napron. It became apron because people became confused with ‘an apron’ and ‘a napron’. This occurs quite often, particularly among native speakers, and is simply the result of the evolution of language. Another challenge for translation experts!

Isograms

When it comes to rules and oddities, possibly the easiest one to define is the isogram. Basically, an isogram is a word in which the letters appear a certain number of times – but that’s not all because there are different types of isograms.

63 differences between US and British English revealed | We Translate, Inc.

You say rubber, we say eraser: 

63 differences between US and British English revealed

• Confusions exists over menu items that have a different equivalent overseas
• Items of clothing can baffle as there are different names for the same pieces
• Taking off 'pants' in America and Britain involves two different items of clothing

While Britain and the US may have historically shared a 'special relationship', it doesn't mean they're actually talking the same language.

Anyone who has jumped across the pond to visit their transatlantic cousins will have noticed that the two nations are prone to getting their wires crossed.

From confusion over pants and trousers to the very different uses of the word rubber, a handy infographic has outlined 63 of the main differences between British and American English nouns.

A handy infographic by Grammar Check has outlined 63 of the main differences between British and American English

Some differences, such as British football being called soccer in the US, are well known to sports fans, but tourists ordering food need to be vigilant if they don't want any dining surprises.

The name of potato-based items seems to be one of the most baffling differences. Chips in the US are crisps in the UK and chips in the UK are fries in the States. 

If an American asks for a rubber in Britain they might be surprised to be handed a pencil eraser

The names of sweet snacks are also lost in translation with biscuits and sweets in Britain known as cookies and candy, respectively, in America. 

You'll also need to be careful if you're visiting anywhere with a strict dress code.

A Brit told to come in pants and a vest would arrive in a state of undress compared to their formally attired American friends sporting waistcoats and trousers. 

Similarly if a Brit were told there is only enough hand luggage space for a purse they might be left wondering what to do with the rest of their handbag.

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The names of sweet snacks are lost in translation with biscuits and sweets in Britain known as cookies and candy, respectively, in America

Legal matters could cause confusion, too. 

For any case where you would hire an attorney in America you'll need to look up a barrister in Britain.

Meanwhile, if you're American and your hire car breaks down while you're visiting the UK and a mechanic asks you to pop the bonnet, you may be left scratching your head. 

The bonnet in Britain is the hood in America, while the boot in Britain is the trunk in the States. 

Marketing Yourself and Your Translation Services to Agencies

Marketing Yourself and Your Translation Services to AgencieS

If you’re just starting out in the translation industry, you may be trying to determine the best types of clients to get your business off the ground – translation agencies or direct clients.

If you’re just starting out in the translation industry, you may be trying to determine the best types of clients to get your business off the ground – translation agencies or direct clients. Of course, this is all a matter of personal preference and many translators have determined that working with both translation agencies and direct clients provides a good mix of interesting projects while keeping their work volume and income levels up.

Here are some helpful tips for promoting your translation business to agencies –

Personalize Your Application

There’s probably no bigger turnoff for an agency than when a translator sends a generic carbon-copied email requesting work. You must target your marketing, and ensure that the email you send is personalised towards the recipient. Do some prior research and learn a little about the agency you’re applying to. Now, with that information you can comment on something that caught your eye. You must ‘act’ interested in the agency you’re applying to! Anything personalized you say in your email will be much more effective than the traditional: To whom it may concern: I’m writing to offer my translation services’, and so on.

All Agencies Are Not the Same

We know that, generally, agencies pay less than direct clients, and they add a layer between the translator and the client – which, depending on the project and the client, can be a plus or a minus. But don’t discard agencies altogether because there are many top-quality agencies out there who pay well, plus you save a heap of administrative overheads that you’re responsible for when you work for direct clients. Like all other industries, there are great business models out there and there are the ones that leave a lot to be desired!

Don’t Sell Yourself Short

Charge appropriately for your translation work; then earn that money. Many translators avoid working for agencies because they think they’ll be underpaid and/or overworked, but that’s not true. There are many great agencies out there who understand that using quality-conscious translators means that their work requires less editing, thus saving the agency money: it also means that the agency’s client’s become loyal clients.

Prove That You Provide Quality Work

Provide metrics showing the agency the quality of your work. This might include:

• You compile and send a list of queries all at once, meaning that issues can be resolved before the deadline is reached.  This means no rushed emails to a Project Manager who’s already rushed off their feet; no file submitted right on the deadline with questions still unanswered;
• You’re always either on time or ahead of your deadlines: The Project Manager will never have to make excuses to the end client.

Actively Seek High-Margin Projects

It’s quite acceptable to advise the agency that you’re most interested in medium to large projects – (say) $500 or more. Remember that high margin projects can often be found in unusual places. For example, translating individual clients’ official documents, such as diplomas, educational transcripts, birth certificates, drivers’ licenses, and so on can be interesting work, and very lucrative.

Use Data That’s Available to You

Direct your marketing to agencies that mesh with your own business goals. One    suggestion is to search the database of Payment Practices for agencies that other translators rate highly.

Target Small-Medium Size Agencies

This is a generalization, but large agencies are often geared toward the high-volume low-margin market. You’re more likely to find small and medium translation agencies that work either primarily or exclusively in your own specialization.

How to Handle Rush Translation Projects

It’s not realistic to expect that a translator can do their very best work when they’re put under pressure, and by this we mean the pressure of time constraints.

It’s not realistic to expect that a translator can do their very best work when they’re put under pressure, and by this we mean the pressure of time constraints. However, translators do work in an industry whereby often the deadlines can be very tight. So how can a translator ensure that their output as good as it can possibly be when one of their major clients call with a rush job?

• Perhaps the first thing to acknowledge is that there’s a big difference between an impossible deadline and a rush deadline, and every translators’ interpretation of this will be different. Whatever your distinction is between a rush translation and an impossible translation, you need to be very clear with your client when what they’re asking is impossible. You have the right to refuse work if the client is expecting too much, and of course, once you convey this to the client there’s every reason to believe that they’ll understand your explanation and extend the deadline.
• Be very clear with your client that rushed translation work is not going to be your best quality work. Perhaps you could use the terms ‘for informational use’ or ‘draft quality’ when describing the finished quality of work that’s rushed. It’s very important that the client understands that publication-ready translation work demands several rounds of proofing and a reasonable deadline.
• Get rid of all distractions. You’re on a rush job, so the last thing you need is other distractions. These will come by way of your personal email, your home phone, and your feed reader. It’s a simple matter of disabling these distractions until you’ve completed the rush job. If you work from home and you have a family, ask them to give you space and privacy in order to complete this work. If you’re going to do this rush job, then you need to do it to the best of your ability.
• Before commencing the translation, have a quick look at the document. There’s nothing more annoying than working hard in the first couple of hours, only to find out that the last few pages of the document are a translation of the first few pages, or that there’s already an existing translation of what you were rushing to translate.
• You’ll still need to do some sort of quality assurance on your translation. Because time is of the essence, at the very minimum you can check for spelling errors and ensure that the document is complete. For example, make sure that there are the correct number of subheadings under each heading and you have the correct number of bullet points on the list.

Probably every translator out there has been asked at some time to do a rush job and there’s no doubt that this kind of work can be very stressful. In addition, you don’t get to produce the high-quality translations that you’re used to producing. However, if you can prove that you’re able to work under stressful conditions, like time constraints, it’s highly likely that you’ll be asked to do rush jobs in the future, and also that the work you do under pressure will improve in quality as time goes by.

Should You Use Google Translate For Your Business?

Should You Use Google Translate For Your Business?

Here’s the truth, people: Google Translate just does not work…

It may be tempting as a small business owner to turn to Google Translates brand of free and instant computer generated translation as a way to translate your website and increase your online traffic. Launched in April 2006, Google Translate once seemed like the way of the future—a bright herald for a new era of fast-paced, barrier-free human communication. But as the last ten years have shown, Google Translate does have its limits—especially when large chunks of text are involved.

Google Translate is a mode of statistical machine translation, which works by calculating the probability of a word’s appearance based on an existing collection (or corpus) of bilingual texts. This means that when you type a word into Google Translate, it responds by providing you with the statistically most common word it is translated into—not necessarily the one that conveys your intended meaning or context. In other words, Google Translate is a mathematical algorithm—one that is exceptional at translating single word to single word, but completely incapable of accounting for the nuance, grammatical exceptions and cultural idioms (not to mention spelling mistakes and grammatical errors) that emerge when you start stringing words together.

Still not dissuaded? Check out our “back and forth” translation experiment from English to Chinese back to English, and see just how wrong Google Translate can get it…

“Hello Jack,

I am emailing you in regards to your topiary cat pictures. I am astounded by the high quality and your adherence to the source material, I was wondering if I could commission you to create a new piece for me. I would like this piece to capture the essence of my cat Toby (in the attached pdf below) Toby loves his outdoor spot next to our man-made waterfall outside our home. If you could put Toby near Niagara Falls at sundown that would be amazing.

Thanks,

Terry”

Now translated to Chinese (simplified):

“您好杰克，

我寄给您在问候你修剪的猫的照片。我以高品质和你的坚持源材料惊讶，我在想，如果我可以委托你创建一个新的作品给我。我想这件作品捕捉到我的猫托比的本质（下附PDF）托比下一个爱他的户外现场给我们的人造瀑布我们的家门外。如果你能在日落把托比尼亚加拉瀑布附近，这将是惊人的。

谢谢”

特里

Now back to English:

 “Hello Jack,

I send you in regards to your trim cat photos. I have to insist on high quality source material and your surprise, I was wondering if I could entrust you to create a new work for me. I think this piece captures the essence of my cat Toby (lower attached PDF) under a Toby loves his outdoor scene gives us an artificial waterfall outside our home. If you can put in the sunset near Toby Niagara Falls, it will be amazing.

Thank you,

Terry”

Obviously this just doesn’t work. Who knows how someone might interpret this email and what kind of product they could end up. Would you want to take this kind of risk with your website?

All joking aside, it comes down to this: if you want your website to be taken seriously, than you need to be serious about translating it. Using any computer assisted translation method is bound to mess up your message, meaning and intent, turning off potential readers or even worse potential sales. If you want your business to reach out to other language markets—and not insult an entire culture while you do it—then invest in a certified translator.

…And for more Google (mis) Translate fun, check out these links (they’re some of our favourites):