The Business of Translating Official Documents - Part 2

The Business of Translating Official Documents - Part 2

Official document translations generally take less than an hour to complete so they’re very easy to schedule into your program.

• Translating These Types of Documents Can Be Very Satisfying

The second reason is that doing this type of work is very gratifying. When an individual is applying for a marriage license, graduate school, or a Green Card, they’re generally very grateful to finally find someone who has the expertise and is sufficiently experienced to translate their documents.

• It’s Easy to Schedule These Documents into Your Program

The work is easy to schedule into your work program. Official document translations generally take less than an hour to complete so they’re very easy to schedule into your program. Let’s face it, it’s not like you need to juggle your other commitments in order to slot in a 10,000-word translation!

• You Get Paid Upfront!

You’ll be paid in advance for the work you complete, which means there’s less stress involved because there’ll be no follow-up or collection hassles. Translators who work on individual clients’ official documents typically require payment in advance by check or by PayPal so, besides being rewarding work, you’re never required to deal with after-the-fact invoicing.

How to Succeed in Your ‘Official Document Translation’ Business

• Set Your Fees in Advance

Set a Notarised Certification fee and a per-page fee. Having your charge-out rate already established makes life much easier for both you and your clients. In our opinion, the per-page rate is very important for this type of documentation because of the time involved when formatting official documents – particularly when it comes to official certificates and diplomas. And, of course, you’re always going to get inquiries from individuals wanting a quote, so by having an established Scale of Fees it’s easier to set up your web page and include your standard rates, procedures, and turnaround times.

• Ask for Payment in Advance

Always request payment in advance. This is very important with this type of translation work. You simply don’t have time to be chasing an individual who owes you $60, and you’ll find that the majority of official document translation projects are small enough that your clients will be more than happy to pay your account in advance. Many people already have a PayPal account for their online shopping, and the reason we like PayPal is because you receive your money almost immediately. Plus, any difficulties that may arise with the payment process are sorted out between PayPal and your client. Another bonus with PayPal is that you can use their free invoicing tool to create a professional looking invoice template that takes care of all the calculations for you.

• Find a Low-Cost Notary

Do your research and see if you can find a low-cost or free notary. We know that some banks offer free notary services to customers who hold bank accounts at their bank, which means that any Notarization Certification Fee you charge need only reflect the time it takes you to go to the bank to obtain the Certification.

In conclusion, for translators interested in this type of work, there are many opportunities to market your official document translation services. Besides creating a separate page on your website dedicated to this type of translation, your services could probably be used by consulates, international credentials evaluation services, international exchange programs, language schools, and other similar organizations. You may discover that translating official documents for individual clients is a lot more lucrative than you originally thought!

Slovenia: The Country and Its Languages - Part 2

Slovene is an Indo-European language and is the official language of Slovenia.

The Slovene Language

Slovene is an Indo-European language and is the official language of Slovenia: it uses the Latin alphabet. The Slovene language is a rare and unique language in that it uses dual grammatical forms as well as the plural and singular.

An Unusual and Unique Language

In Slovenia, the Slovene language has played a large role throughout its history, and today it’s still considered one of the foundations of national identity. It’s always managed to retain its special linguistic features (despite various influences) with the most unusual feature being the preservation of the dual form. This refers to the grammatical number used for two things (or people) in all inflected parts of speech. Together with Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian and Croatian (and even though it has many features in common with the West Slavic branch) this language is classified within the South Slavic branch of the Slavic languages.

The Slovene Alphabet

Geographically, the territory of Slovene lies in one of Europe’s most complex linguistic areas, an area where Slavic converges with Germanic, Romance, and Finno-Ugric. In the areas of morphology, lexicology, and phonology (and when compared to most of the other Slavic languages) the Slovene language has a number of characteristic features. Slovene uses 25 Latin letters to orthographically represent its 29 phonemes, including three with a wedge - č,š,ž.

Even though this language is limited to a small number of speakers in a relatively small territory, dialectologists have determined that there are up to fifty clearly defined dialects, and these are divided into six regional groups, namely – Upper Carniolan, Lower Carniolan, Carinthian, Littoral, Styrian, Rovte, and Pannonian.

Today, there’s a growing interest in Slovene as a foreign language, and Slovene is taught at many universities around the world.

Did you know that…

• The Slovene language is generally considered one of the most archaic languages in Europe.
• In 1550, the first book in Slovene titled The Catechism, was published. It was written by a Protestant parson by the name of Primož Trubar during the Reformation period: Trubar is considered the father of the Slovene literary language. He wrote in the language spoken in the City of Ljubljana, combined with elements of dialects of the Gorenjska and Dolenjska provinces – thus creating the standard Slovene.
• Jurij Dalmatin translated the Bible into Slovene in 1584. Slovene was the 12th language in the world to receive a Slovene translation of the Bible.
• People of Slovenia who live in opposite parts of the country could well have difficulties understanding each other because this is a language with up to 50 dialects in 7 dialect groups – namely, Gorenjska, Panonska, Primorska, Dolenjska, Rovtarska, Štajerska, and Koroška. This variety of languages is the result of historical, political, geographical, social, and other factors.
• Because it’s a Slavic language, it means that anyone who speaks Slovene is only one step away from 400 million speakers of these languages.
• One Hour Translation can handle all your Slovene translations. Contact us today!

Some Slovene Words and Phrases with Their English Translation

Dobro jutro -  Good morning

Dober dan -  Hello

Nasvidenje - Goodbye

Dober večer - Good evening

Kje je stranišče? - Where is the toilet?

Koliko stane? - How much (does this) cost?

Prosim, hvala - Please/thanks

Letališče - Airport

Koliko je ura? - What's the time?

Pošta - Post office

Hotel - Hotel

Bolnica - Hospital

Slovenia: The Country and Its Languages - Part 1

Slovenia: The Country and Its Languages - Part 1

The South Central European country known as Slovenia is renowned for its mountains, ski resorts and outdoor recreation.

The South Central European country known as Slovenia is renowned for its mountains, ski resorts, and outdoor recreation. Slovenia borders Austria, Italy, Hungary, and Croatia – it stretches between the Alps and the Adriatic Sea and is set on a glacial lake fed by thermal springs. Slovenia is the only European country that combines the Mediterranean, the Alps, the Panamanian Plain and the Karst. Slovenia is renowned for its constantly changing landscape – from the sea to the high mountains to the forests and the green plains below, from upland meadows to river gorges.

In fact, a hallmark of this country is the proximity of contrasts and opposites. Even today, you can still wander through the virgin forest in Slovenia or watch grapes ripen on the world’s oldest vines: you can enjoy the fruits of the forest that you’ve foraged for yourself and hear tales of bears. In Slovenia, you’re free to become part of nature and uncover the deepest secrets of the land. There are great opportunities for tourists in Slovenia, with high-quality accommodation, excellent food and fabulous wines on offer.

The Capital of Slovenia

The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana, with a population of 272,000. Ljubljana is also the political center of the Republic of Slovenia and is home to its Ceremonial Head of State. Maribor is another popular city in Slovenia with a population of 95,000 people.

A Little about Slovenia

In 1918 the Slovenes formed a new nation together with the Croats and Serbs, known as the ‘Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes’. In 1929 this was renamed to Yugoslavia. Slovenia became a republic of the renewed Yugoslavia after World War II, and in 1991 the Slovenes finally succeeded in establishing their own independence. Since that time, Slovenia (National name: Republika Slovenija) has become a full member of the European Union and successfully integrated itself into the international community. As at the year 2013, Slovenia had a population of 2.06 million people.

Key Dates in Slovenia’s History

Originally, Slovenia was settled by Celtic and Illyrian peoples and in the first century BC, it became part of the Roman Empire.

1918: Slovenia joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This Kingdom later became Yugoslavia.

1941: During the Second World War Slovenia was occupied by Italy and Nazi Germany.

1945: Slovenia became a Constituent Republic of Socialist Yugoslavia at the end of the war.

1991: Slovenia declared its independence. Slovene forces defend the country when the Yugoslav federal army intervenes. Approximately 100 people were killed. The Yugoslav army withdraws when the EU brokers a ceasefire.

2004: Slovenia becomes part of the EU.

2013: Slovenia’s credit rating was cut by ratings agency Moody to junk status. The economy of Slovenia has recovered over subsequent years.

2016: We Translate, Inc. is available anytime, day or night, to translate your Slovenian documents. Contact us today for an obligation-free quotation!

Religions, Ethnicity, and Languages

Religions (2002 Census):

• 57.8% Catholic
• 2.4% Muslim
• 2.3% Orthodox
• with the remainder being other Christian, unaffiliated or unspecified.

Ethnicity/Race (2002 Census):

• 83.1% Slovene
• 2% Serb
• 1.8% Croat
• 1.1% Bosniak
• 12% other or unspecified

The Languages of Slovenia (2002 Census):

• 91.1% Slovenian
• 4.5% Serbo-Croatian
• 4.4% other or unspecified

More than 90% of Slovenia’s population speak Slovene, which, since independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, has become Slovenia’s official language. In other areas of Slovenia where Hungarian or Italian ethnic communities live, the official languages are also Hungarian or Italian. In addition, other widely spoken minority languages include German, Croatian, and Serbian

Certified | Human Translation Services

Certified Translation Services

We Translate, Inc. can meet all your document translation needs. Our team of professional translators can quickly and accurately translate your document into English. We allow only the best translators and linguists to join our team, so you are assured a high quality translation. Most of our translators have years of professional experience, and bring experience from a wide range of industries to their work.

To get your translation, just upload your document. The best translator for the job begins carefully working on your order. Then the translated document is delivered to your inbox.

Business Translation

Our flat rate pricing is just 10 cents per word. And our typical turnaround time is just 24 hours. And of course our work is 100% guaranteed.

Languages we translate include Arabic, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Chinese (traditional & simplified), Czech, Danish, Dutch, Farsi, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish (European, Latin America, American Hispanic), Swedish, Tagalog, Thai. Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

We translate website copy, immigration documents and forms, legal materials, market research, press releases, software and games, and human resources (HR) documents.

Certified Translation

We Translate, Inc. provides certified translations that can be used to satisfy requirements of the United States Immigration (USCIS), high school and college applications, passport applications, and other state and federal government documentation requirements.

We perform certified translations of official documents such as a birth certificate, marriage license, depositions, academic transcript, diplomas, medical records, legal materials, contracts, and other business documents.

Each page is priced at a flat rate of $33.00 per page (for a maximum of 250 words).

Documents may be submitted in a variety of formats including Adobe PDF, JPG (JPEG), GIF, TXT, or Microsoft Word.

Potential Clients: The Right Way to Approach a Translator

This brief article is designed to offer some advice for translation clients when contacting translators.

Most translators, when asked how their workload is, will respond by saying that they’re very busy. And because most translators already have more than enough work to keep them busy, it’s led to a situation where translation clients, or buyers, can face a difficult time when trying to recruit a qualified translator.

This brief article is designed to offer some advice for translation clients when contacting translators. For the purpose of this post we’ll assume that the client is already familiar with the translator’s credentials - through word-of-mouth, a translation association directory, or simply by viewing the translator’s website.

• Sell Yourself to the Translator

Most qualified and experienced translators are already working full-time, and often more than full time, because they already have a regular client base; which means there’s little or no incentive for them to work with a new or unknown client simply because they’re being offered work. If you’re in the market to recruit a new translator and you assume, or even know, that this person is already very busy, as a potential customer you need to acknowledge that it’s your responsibility to sell the translator on the idea of working for you.

• Introduce Yourself

Introduce yourself to the translator. Even though you know the translator may well be fully booked, you still need to ensure that you evoke a positive impression of your company. At the very least you might say: ‘Good Morning/Good Afternoon, my name is XXX and I work for XXX. You’ve been recommended to us by XXX and I’m wondering if you may have some availability for our upcoming project.’ This first approach is very important because we know that first impressions are usually lasting impressions. When an already-busy translator is contacted by a potential new client saying: ‘Hi, I’m with XXX Translation Company and we’d like you to translate 30,000 words in the next 8 days’, or similar, this kind of approach is considered presumptuous, and rude.

• Choose a Negotiation Point

Choose one negotiation point. There are various parameters when it comes to translations, and these include the deadline, payment terms, the charge-out rate, format, being asked to use special software, collaborating with other translators, and so on. Understand that a translator will usually be willing to make concessions in one area, but don’t ask for concessions in a number of areas. Perhaps you need a translator to work in conjunction with other translators, exchanging glossaries various times each day; perhaps you need this work in a rush, or you may ask the translator to accept payment in three months’ time. Whatever your special request, make this your main negotiation point instead of asking for payment in 90 days, a rush job, plus the need for the use of non-standard software. We’re sure you get the point!

• Be Prepared with Key Aspects of Your Project

If you want the translator to commit to your project, you must be prepared to provide complete details. The translation industry is an industry where most translators are working on strict deadlines and work is accepted on an ongoing basis, which means that the schedule of an in-demand translator can (and does) change very quickly. Get yourself organized prior to approaching the translator and be prepared to detail the key areas of the project, which may be the format, subject matter, number of words, and so on. This information should be provided to the translator on the first contact.

• Confirm Everything in Writing

Everything discussed with the translator should be confirmed in writing. A simple email to the effect of: ‘As discussed on Monday (date), you have agreed to translate the 10,000-word document we emailed to you, and the translated document will be returned to us by 10am on Friday (date). We confirm you will be paid X cents per source/target word within 14 days of receipt of the translation’. This simple written confirmation can avoid any unnecessary confusion or misunderstandings between the client and the translator.

Translation Specializations

Translation Specializations

People just starting out in the translation industry often struggle with the issue of specialization.

People just starting out in the translation industry often struggle with the issue of specialization: what should they specialize in, how important is it to specialize, how does one decide what area to specialize in and, probably most importantly, what are the most requested specializations.

In this post, we’ll go over some general guidelines when it comes to translation specializations, although, of course, there are no hard and fast rules.

• Choose a Topic You’ll Enjoy Researching

If you’re going to specialize then it might as well be something you enjoy researching, and perhaps a way to work out what you might enjoy is to ask yourself the following question: ‘When you pick up a news magazine, what section do you go to first – the health section, finance, business, technology? If it’s a subject you enjoy learning about, then that’s a potential specialization for you.

• The Larger the Language, the More You’ll Need a Specialization

The larger the language you’re working with, the more you’ll need to specialize. If you live in the United States, translators working with smaller diffusion languages like Thai or Finnish have no need to specialize: it would be impractical because there are so few of them working in these languages. However, if you’re a translator working with Spanish, German or French languages, then you’ll need to specialize so you can find your niche in what is a large market.

• Do You Already Have a Strong Background in a Certain Area?

It’s simply a fact that many translators are self-taught when it comes to their specializations. Specialization can indeed be a daunting thought, and many people believe that in order to specialize they’ll need to go back to school or take university courses. The fact is that many translators already have a strong background in their area of specialization, so obviously if you enter the translation arena as a former attorney, physician, or financial analyst, it’s highly likely that you’ll earn a higher income than someone who learned their technology on the job. But don’t let this intimidate you: you can still specialize in any area that interests you.

• Specializing Can Lead to a Lot More Work

You may be surprised to learn that specialization often leads to more work, not less. Clients who are familiar with your specialization will consider you their go-to person for translating documents in your area of expertise. One of the best ways of making more money when working as a freelance translator is to work quicker, and it makes sense that the more familiar you become with the terminology of the documents you’re working on, the faster you’ll be translating.

• Choose an Area of Specialization That’s In-Demand

Of course, the idea is to earn more money through your area of specialization, so when making your choice, choose an area that you know is in-demand. Some of these areas include finance, law, computer software and hardware, medicine, automotive, medical instrumentation, patents, environmental science, technology, advertising, general business documents, pharmaceuticals, engineering, and hard science.

• Take Extra Courses in Your Area of Expertise

Once you’ve discovered a specialization that you really enjoy, then you might want to consider going deeper into that area. The perfect way of positioning yourself ahead of your competition is to take a course in your specialization’s terminology, or even spend a day at an industrial facility or place of business that works in your specialization. Now you can let your clients know about your advanced knowledge in your specialization!

All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy - Part 2

All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy - Part 2

Making modest changes to a busy work routine it will allow you to return to work with more energy

By making modest changes to a busy multitasker’s work routine it will allow the worker to slow down, recharge their batteries, then return to work with more energy, focus, and creativity. There are various ways of adding more free time into a busy work-life, and these include –

• Days off;
• Work-free weekends;
• Vacations from technology;
• Post-lunch catnaps;
• No-work evenings; and
• Regular 10-minute work breaks.

Many translators work long hours into the night, particularly freelance translators with families because sometimes the night hours are the only uninterrupted hours available for translating. It can take time to create a routine whereby you get enough sleep, take care of your family, yet still have sufficient quality time to manage your freelance translation business. Taking days off, post-lunch catnaps, and regular 10-minute work breaks are a good start towards managing your translation business whilst taking good care of your health.

The Brain Needs Downtime

When you give your brain downtime, you’re not only improving mental health, you’re allowing ideas to incubate. Because we’re living in such a networked society, we’re at serious risk of becoming victims of information overload. The temptation to ‘just finish this off’ has become too great to resist, and reflection and introspection have become lost arts. But we should know better! Working harder doesn’t always mean working smarter, and sometimes the best thing we can do to improve our mental health and nurture our imagination is to set aside regular periods of time when we simply do nothing.

But then, it’s never really been acceptable to us to simply do nothing. We consider doing nothing as wasting our life, or with irresponsibility. If we’re not really busy we feel guilty, and when we are really busy we get a familiar buzz. We’re defining our lives with our busyness. Constantly checking our emails is a distraction-induced behavior – our brain becomes stimulated and our bloodstream becomes flooded with dopamine. We get such a rush from this that it makes it almost impossible to stop. What we don’t understand is that, without periods of uninterrupted thought, then we’re less likely to experience creativity, personal growth, and insight

Workplace Productivity

Unfortunately, in the workplace work addicts are usually encouraged, and even rewarded. But we know there’s no relationship between working hard and working smart: what we do know, however, is that a workaholic environment may well encourage serious mental and personal health problems, including depression, low morale, substance abuse, relationship breakdown, work harassment, and above average absenteeism. The most effective workers are those who are capable of both acting and reflecting: this means being able to unplug themselves from the compulsion to continue working.

Allowing Ideas to Grow

Having nothing to do, or forcing yourself to do nothing, promotes amazing opportunities to stimulate unconscious thought processes. We’re more likely to generate new and innovative ideas than if we were consciously focusing on trying to resolve a problem. Ideas take time to incubate, which means that the best way to resolve any complex issue is to take time away from the problem – do nothing – simply relax! Translators know this only too well! If you have a difficult source document to translate, or you’re stuck on a certain word or phrase, sometimes all that’s required is for you to step away from the problem and allow your unconscious mind to resolve the issue for you.