DO YOU KNOW 2017 TRANSLATION AND LOCALIZATION TRENDS ?

DO YOU KNOW 2017 TRANSLATION AND LOCALIZATION TRENDS ?

It’s that time of year when we take stock of everything that has happened over the past 12 months and turn our attention to the year ahead. So, what’s in store for the translation industry? We take a look at some 2017 translation and localization trends in order to let you know what’s around the corner. 

VIDEO TRANSLATION

Video content is booming. According to Statistic Brain, 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every single minute. The staggering figure is matched by equally impressive viewing numbers: 4.95 billion videos are viewed on YouTube every day, by 1.325 billion users. 

70% of YouTube visitors come from outside the US, many of them from non-English-speaking countries. This highlights the huge demand for video translation and localization, which will be a key trend for 2017 and set to rival the translation of text content.

APP TRANSLATION 

App translation will also be hugely important in 2017. As at June 2016 (based on figures compiled by Statista), more than 5.7 million apps were available for download from the five main app stores. App developers are increasingly seeking to cover their costs and boost their profits by making their apps available in multiple languages. This has been a growth area for the translation sector in 2016 and will continue to be in high demand in 2017. 

POLITICS AND TRANSLATION

With a growing trend for nationalist politics across the world, it’s likely that the numbers of those learning other languages could drop in 2017. The decreasing uptake of language courses may not have an immediate impact, but could well be the start of a longer-term trend that sees individuals turning away from language learning as countries become more insular. 

Nationalist politics play a strong role in both Hungary and Italy, for example, and it is no coincidence that these are the two most monolingual countries in Europe. The EU’s report on Europeans and their Languages found that 65% of Hungarians are monolingual, closely followed by 62% of Italians. The UK, which has set itself on a course to part ways from the EU after the ‘Brexit’ referendum earlier this year, comes third, at 61% (a position it shares with Portugal). 

Of course, an increase in monolingual individuals means more need for translation services, so it will be interesting to see how global politics impacts on the translation industry in 2017 and beyond. 

LITERARY TRANSLATION

On a happier note, literary translation is also set to increase in 2017, continuing the public hunger for literary fiction from overseas in 2016. Contemporary authors such as Haruki Murakami and Elena Ferrante have played a big role in the rise in literary fiction translation thus far and 2017 should see even more demand for the translation of the works of these authors and their contemporaries. 

MACHINE TRANSLATION

2017 will also see the big tech and social media players (Microsoft, Facebook and so forth) continue their attempts to perfect machine translation. However, it’s unlikely that machines will be able to rival human translators in the coming year, despite Google Translate’s invention of its own language within its neural network. 

Machine translation remains a trend to watch carefully, but those with anything more than a sentence or two to translate will still be seeking the skills of professional human translators in 2017. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

What other 2017 translation and localization trends do you think will emerge? 

Leave a comment to let us know. 

Translators: To Look Professional You Need Your Own Domain Name - Part 2

Prior to logging on to a registrar make a list of domain names that you would like for your translation business.

Follow the advice in this article and don’t take any chances: prior to logging on to a registrar make a list of domain names that you would like for your translation business; before you search for your domain name choose the registrar you want; don’t discuss your potential domain name with anyone; and once you find that your chosen domain name is available for purchase – buy it immediately!

• Purchase Your Domain Name

Purchase the domain name from a domain name registrar. There are several very good articles on how to go about registering your own domain name, so we strongly suggest you read up on this topic before you go any further. We’re certainly not endorsing any particular domain registrars over others. We should also mention here that your Internet service provider may also provide domain name registration services.

Registration of your domain name is not expensive, and this is not an area where you should try to save a couple of dollars.

• Purchase an Email Hosting Package

You may prefer to purchase an email hosting package so that your domain name can be used for email. Email access will probably come with your web hosting package if you want to put a website at your domain. You need an email hosting package if you’re just wanting to use your domain name for email. These packages are not expensive at all, and even the most expensive packages give you unlimited storage with up to 10 email addresses.

• Don’t Forget to Renew Your Domain Name

The most important thing to remember about having your own domain is that you must remember to renew your domain name. This is especially important if you decide to purchase your domain for only one year at a time. Make sure you understand how the domain name registrar will be contacting you regarding renewal – the last thing you need is to try to check your email and find that you’ve been locked out because you didn’t receive a renewal reminder. Of course, there is a way around this problem: simply purchase a multi-year domain name subscription, but you’ll still have to remember to renew the subscription when the due date arrives.

• Follow Instructions from the Domain Name Registrar

You’ll receive instructions from the domain name registrar on how to use your email, so follow these instructions carefully. If you choose to, you could probably use your registrar’s webmail if you purchase a hosting package with unlimited storage; or you may choose to use an email program on your computer. We believe you should be able to get instructions on how to do this from your domain name registrar.

So there you have it! If you want your freelance translation business to look professional, our advice is that you really should have your own domain name.

Translators: To Look Professional You Need Your Own Domain Name - Part 1

Translators: 

To Look Professional You Need Your Own Domain Name - Part 1

Domain names are very important, particularly for freelance translators who are running their own businesses and are dependent on email.

Domain names are very important, particularly for freelance translators who are running their own businesses and are dependent on email. Basically, there are three options when it comes to email, and these are –

• You can use your own domain name, like yourname@yourdomain.com;
• You can use a domain name provided by your ISP (Internet Service Provider, like yourname@EarthLink.net; at comcast.net, and so on; or
• You can use a domain name provided by a fee-based or free email service, like yourname@yahoo.com; at Gmail.com, and so on.

There are certain disadvantages to having your professional email attached to a domain that you don’t own –

• To start with, the domain owner can do whatever they please and you have no say in the matter. And if the domain owner decides to merge with another company or change its name, it could well affect your translation business.
• It makes you look professional when you have your own domain name. Somehow, receiving business emails from a Hotmail address invokes the same reaction as when someone hands you a business card with the printers advertising on the back. Remember that being successful in business has a lot to do with creating a professional image, and having cheap business cards and a Hotmail email address just doesn’t look professional.
• You don’t want to risk having to change your email address whilst you’re running your freelance translation business. When you work in a business like we do, probably 90% of our contact with clients is done by email, so it’s really important that we avoid having to change our email address - even more so if the old address were to become inactive. This could be devastating to our business.

Regardless of how professional we may be with our translation knowledge and skills, there are still many of us out there who are not very tech-savvy. Today we still see freelance translators who don’t understand just how easy it is to purchase and run their own domain, so below we’ll give you a very brief lesson. Perhaps after this, you’ll be able to get rid of your Hotmail account!

• Do Your Homework First!

The first thing you need to know is that you must do your homework prior to determining whether the domain name you really want is available. Don’t assume that a domain name is available just because there’s no website at a given URL (web address). There are several very good articles on precautions you should take before buying a domain name, so we strongly suggest you read up on this topic before you do anything.

Small Translation Projects or Large Translation Projects?

Some translators prefer to work on small projects, while others prefer larger ones.

Some translators prefer to work on small projects, while others prefer larger ones. Of course, there are issues associated with different project lengths, such as job satisfaction, income potential, and quality control.

Income Potential

When it comes to income potential, it’s up to you personally whether you decide to offer a discount due to the volume of the translation project; but, if you’re always pretty busy with your translation work then it’s not necessary to offer discounts. And perhaps that’s the greatest advantage of working on a large project; that you’re guaranteed to earn a large amount of money in one hit, rather than earning different, smaller amounts for smaller projects. With large projects, you also have some economies of scale; such as one client, one invoice, one glossary for the project, and so on. However, it seems that when the word count is high, there’s also a greater chance that your client will suffer from sticker shock when they discover the total price of the translation. It doesn’t seem to matter what the per-word rate is; for larger projects the final figure seems to shock some clients. For that reason, it’s sometimes easier to work on short documents and charge higher rates, than to work on larger documents and be forced to deal with clients’ reactions to the amount being invoiced.

Job Satisfaction

There’s nothing more exciting than landing a huge project on a topic that’s really interesting. You wake up in the morning knowing what your day’s agenda is and you’ll probably find there’s a little spring in your step because life looks pretty good. On the other hand, however, if you land a big project and things don’t go well, your days can be excruciatingly painful. Your project won’t be over in a day or two, or even a week or two, and you have to face this manual, or book, or another project that you wish you’d never heard of for the next month! So the job satisfaction aspect of winning a big contract could go either way.

Quality Control

It’s not always easy to manage quality control on large projects. Regardless of how great your memory is for terms, if you’re using CAT tools and you’ve been working on a project for a few weeks, you’re probably going to get that feeling of ‘haven’t I read this before’, and it can be difficult to locate the section of text you’re thinking about. And when it comes to abbreviations, like (say) PO or Purchase Order, which way did you decide to go? Did you decide on abbreviations or was that just something you were thinking about?

So, large translation projects can be really great if they’re interesting, they generate a decent invoice, and they’re not so long that you get bored and lose the enjoyment of your work.

The Secrets of Highly Paid Translators

The Secrets of Highly Paid Translators

The translation industry is certainly not suffering, and that’s largely due to the fact that we’re living in such a connected world today.

If you’ve been struggling to get your freelance translation business off the ground, or perhaps you’ve been away from your business for some time and now you’re trying to revive it, or maybe you simply just don’t have enough work, there are various ways to get your business up and running again. These methods will range from applying to every translation agency you can find right through to preparing some really creative marketing materials and making sure you attend every trade fair for your target industry.

The translation industry is certainly not suffering, and that’s largely due to the fact that we’re living in such a connected world today. Most translators will say that they’re very busy. For the purpose of this post we’ll assume that you’re interested in increasing your marketing efforts because you really want to attract some high-paying direct clients, so let’s have a look at some ideas on how you can achieve this –

Approach Potential Clients and Request an Interview

We understand that this sounds very daunting, and there will be those translators out there who won’t have the confidence to take this step. However, asking potential clients for an informational interview on their particular business and how translation fits into their industry, can provide some interesting leads. Businesses you might contact include local translation agencies, association presidents, direct clients and so on. Suggest that they may like to join you for a cup of coffee and remember that this is an informational interview – it’s not meant to be high-pressure sales. These kinds of people are decision-makers, so go to them direct – don’t depend on meeting them at networking events.

Offer to Write Articles

You’re looking for direct clients, so offer to write articles for publications associated with your target industry. Of course, writing articles for translation industry publications is extremely worthwhile as well. A simple article titled ‘Best practices for purchasing translations in the legal/financial/pharmaceutical/automotive/building/whatever industry’ could well place you in the position of being an expert in that field, and we all know that there are publications out there for every imaginable area of specialization so your target industry will almost definitely have their own publication.

You’re the One Who’s Always Available  

Market yourself as the translator who’s always available during those times when no-one else is: by this, we mean weekends, nights, holidays (particularly the period between Christmas and New Year’s) and so on. We know that international business never stops, and people of different countries and religions observe different holidays, so there will always be an opening for translators who are prepared to work the hours that no-one else wants to.

Visit Your Source Language Country

Put this one down to ‘a marketing trip’ - there are various services, such as Payment Practices, that can assist in finding good overseas clients. Contact the agency’s listed on these sites by email requesting an informational interview (this means a coffee or lunch at your expense), find yourself a cheap airfare, and set yourself up to achieve!

So the point here is, if you’re trying to grow your business you need to try something that other translators aren’t doing, and you’ll definitely reap the rewards. Yes, we understand that some of these strategies cost money, while others don’t. Some take a lot of courage, while introverts will have to find different ways of attracting new clients.

Escaping the Low-Rate Translation Market - Part 2

Don't continue searching for work in the same areas where thousands of other translators are searching for work.

Changing Your Business Skills

If you continue searching for work in the same areas where thousands of other translators are searching for work, you’re going to break your heart. When a translation client has such a wide choice – let’s say between you and 500 other translators - the decision is obviously going to boil down to ‘Who can do this work the cheapest and quickest’? Unless you’re translating a very unusual language or you have an unusual specialization, forget about translation job boards. What you need is an attractive, professional website! It only needs to be very basic, and you can create your website yourself on SquareSpace or WordPress.

Tips for Finding Better Clients

• No longer will your selling point be low rates. Seriously, would you trust the cheapest surgeon or accountant? Of course not!
• Don’t have business cards with ‘Free business cards available at…’ on the back: and don’t use ‘print-at-home’ business cards. And don’t alter old business cards – get new professional business cards made specifically for your business.
• Respond to inquiries from potential new clients immediately, and make sure that people find you easy to work with. Keep in mind that price is not always a client’s main concern: there are many good clients out there who are happy to pay good money for a translator who’s responsive, competent, constructive, pleasant, and all the other positive traits that you possess.
• Look for translation work where other translators aren’t looking. Make sure you attend conferences for your specialization. Even more, be the translator who asks a really clever question during the Q&A session. If finances don’t allow for you to attend these types of conferences, make sure you’re at least on their LinkedIn group.
• Start hunting! Actively search for the kind of work that you not only like to do, but the kind of work you know you’re good at: work LinkedIn, send warm emails, follow your prospective clients on Twitter, and attend conferences. When they’ve achieved something great, send them a short email with your congratulations – basically, just get in their game!

Improving Your Translation Skills

• Help your clients out! Help them say what they really meant to say and not what was actually written. There will be many times when you read something in a client’s document that’s utter nonsense, so don’t simply accept that and translate it. Flag the error for the client and make your suggestions for alternatives. Your client will really appreciate your help!
• We also strongly suggest you enroll in one or more continuing education classes for your specialization: this will help you understand the concepts you’re translating, in addition to how to translate them.
• Make sure you’re open to constructive criticism of your translation work. If and when an editor finds an error in your work, remember that your goal is to become a better translator. This means that whenever your work is edited by a good translator, it’s just another opportunity to improve your skills. Accept criticism gracefully, because it’s just another opportunity to learn and grow.
• Slow down! No-one can produce engaging, dynamic, flowing translations by consistently translating 4,000 words each and every day. Perhaps you might get 4,000 words of meaning across, but it’s not going to be high-quality work. You need your client to say ‘That’s exactly how I wanted this translation to sound,' so ‘quality, not quantity’ is the order of the day!

Does Gender Play a Role When Evaluating Translations?

We’re not advanced enough as a race to end prejudice based on things like sex, so the question remains: Does the sex of a translator impact how the translation is received?

No matter how far we proceed through history, supposedly becoming more sophisticated and tolerant as the race ages – much like most people become more tolerant and smarter about life as they get older – some things remain fundamental. While I stipulate that men and women possess, in general, equal potential in life (in other words, I do not believe either sex is specifically superior to the other) the fact is that there are obviously differences between men and women.

Some of those differences are physical, obviously, but others are mental or emotional. Regardless of discussions of equality, most men and women are raised differently by their parents, if only subconsciously. Parents simply have an instinctual bias towards the sexes, and will apply different attitudes and lessons to boys and girls.

More interesting is whether or not these differences show up in the work people do – specifically, of course, the language translation that male and female professionals do. Could you tell if something were translated by a woman or a man? Would it make any difference in how the translation was received?

Potential for Difference

Note that I’m not implying in any way that the work done by either sex would be less accurate or useful. The question simply is whether it would make a difference in how it was perceived – for example, if male reviewers somehow detected some sort of “feminine” tone to the translation, would they (possibly subconsciously) have a lesser opinion of it, or judge it more harshly? This isn’t crazy; I’ve been shocked from time to time by people who attach negative opinion to anything done by a specific sex in a specific scenario. Sexism is alive and well, and the sad part is, most of the people who perpetuate it aren’t self-aware enough to know what they’re doing.

No Evidence

The good news is, in studies conducted at the Maritime University of Chabahar that tested these ideas, no evidence was found of any sort of impact determined by the sex of the translator. Reviewers of both sexes had similar opinions of translations of a specific text performed by both men and women. This means that no matter what the attitude and beliefs of the people reviewing the work might have been when it comes to sex roles, they were not able to determine who was doing what.

If you’re a freelance translator, this might argue for a sex-neutral company name or professional name, to remove any possibility that a review or client might read your work more harshly simply because of your sex. Of course, if you haven’t experienced any sort of discrimination or trouble stemming from that sort of prejudice, you may not need to worry about it. In any event, it’s always good to have the best hopes for your fellow humans and professional peers proved. Gives you hope for the whole industry!