Actualmente las noticias relatan innumerables historias de empresas medianas y pequeñas con dificultades considerables que podrían llevarlas a la quiebra. Existe una tensión general que afecta a diversas esferas; ¿cómo se ve afectada la industria de las traducciones?
El área de traducción/interpretación había estado inmune a los diversos reveses de los ciclos económicos. Pero me pregunto: ¿En realidad existe una crisis grave o simplemente es un caos conscientemente planeado, analizado y ejecutado por los poderosos de las finanzas? La respuesta es dual: Sí, porque hay ciertas flaquezas en la economía mundial y No, porque los medios masivos han creado un monstruo aterrador exagerado para convencer a los incrédulos de que hay que hacer lo que los poderosos dicen.
Es innegable que la crisis global afecta absolutamente a todos porque las relaciones comerciales son interdependientes. El efecto dominó es evidente. No obstante, a pesar de lo severa que pueda resultar una crisis, siempre habrá ese amanecer promisorio y optimista para salir adelante y no desfallecer ante el pánico que esta palabra “crisis” infunde tanto en la gente adinerada como en cualquier otro ciudadano de a pie.
Muchos abrigamos la esperanza de que en el nuevo año se generen y propaguen masivamente nuevas oportunidades de trabajo.
Analicemos objetivamente
¿Ha recibido menos trabajos en esta época de crisis?
¿Las agencias han expuesto excusas para demorar los pagos?
¿Le han propuesto reducción de sus tarifas usuales?
¿Las agencias aducen tener presupuestos limitados, pero con intención de establecer una relación a largo plazo?
Si bien es cierto que hay muchos traductores/intérpretes, también lo es que muy pocos son verdaderamente profesionales. Porque cualquier persona bilingüe no puede considerarse traductor/intérprete, si no ha recibido una capacitación idónea. Además, esta oferta excesiva solamente se presenta en algunos pares de idiomas y en algunas áreas. Muchas agencias pagan tarifas bajas porque hay “profesionales” mediocres que las aceptan.
Factores influyentes a considerar
* Globalización: los avances tecnológicos (Internet y las comunicaciones), no permiten que los profesionales igualmente eficientes, pero trabajando desde países económicamente opuestos, puedan competir con las mismas tarifas.
* La calidad. Muchas agencias asignan los proyectos al licitante que ofrezca la menor tarifa, ignorando la experiencia o las calificaciones.
* Herramientas CAT: Algunas compañías de traducción utilizan las herramientas CAT para justificar la reducción de las tarifas por las repeticiones totales o parciales. Otras, les restan importancia a estas poderosas ayudas creyendo que una aplicación puede traducir con la misma precisión de un ser humano eficiente.
* Tecnología: El avance de Internet, las herramientas CAT, los diccionarios en línea, entre otros, han contribuido al incremento de los traductores y por ende a la productividad del campo de las traducciones. La tecnología fomenta la reducción de precios.
¿Qué deben hacer los profesionales de la traducción/interpretación?
No existe una solución mágica a este problema pero una aproximación generalizada es la forma como las empresas reaccionen ante la crisis y otra alternativa es el efecto salvador que los paquetes de ayuda internacional puedan tener para contribuir a apoyar a las pequeñas y medianas empresas.
Pero a nivel de traductores/intérpretes independientes y si el volumen de trabajo se ha reducido y tiene más tiempo libre, hay varias opciones para manejar esta situación:
* Si ha pensado en reducir sus precios, considere el impacto a largo plazo. Un cliente que está acostumbrado a una tarifa, no aceptará fácilmente un incremento.
* Actualice sus conocimientos. Tome un curso que ofrezca certificación para mejorar sus habilidades como traductor/intérprete. Con los programas certificados puede comprobar sus conocimientos organizados y al mismo tiempo mantenerse al día.
* Aprenda nuevas habilidades informáticas o actualice las que ya tiene (programas gráficos, vídeos, audio, redes, herramientas CAT, etc.)
* Investigue las áreas del conocimiento de alta demanda para traducciones/interpretaciones y luego especialícese en una. Recuerde que siempre hay alguien que busca lo que usted tiene, así como también hay alguien que tiene lo que usted busca.
* Cree un nicho. El solo hecho de haber traducido varias veces sobre un área particular, no lo convierte en un experto. Porque la especialización no se obtiene de la noche a la mañana sino que demanda años de estudio organizado y persistente.
* Una vez que se haya vuelto un experto en un área, contacte a empresas/agencias que puedan necesitar sus conocimientos en esa especialidad. Recuerde que los profesionales no aceptan trabajos que no pueden llevar a cabo con eficiencia.
* Combine recursos. Asóciese con colegas cuando tenga proyectos de grandes volúmenes.
* Complemente sus ingresos con trabajos de medio tiempo. Asista a talleres de capacitación sobre varias herramientas CAT. Esto le permite ayudar a otros y de esta forma recuperar parte de la inversión hecha para aprender dichas aplicaciones.
* Currículum Vitae. Vuelva a diseñarlo y dele prioridad a la calidad y no a la cantidad.
* Ofrezca sus servicios voluntarios a organizaciones filantrópicas o sin ánimo de lucro. Puede practicar sus habilidades lingüísticas y al mismo tiempo cooperar con una buena causa.
Conclusión
Las oportunidades nunca se pierden: otros aprovechan las que uno deja escapar. Pero esto no sucede al azar. Los que aprovechan dichas oportunidades son los que realmente las merecen, es decir, están preparados académicamente, hacen esfuerzos permanentes y nunca, pero nunca se dan por vencidos.
Los psicólogos más prominentes durante toda la historia de la humanidad, siempre han coincidido en que los fracasos o problemas hay que mirarlos como oportunidades para reflexionar y luego actuar haciendo los cambios respectivos. Los fracasos son otra forma de hacer las cosas y aunque nadie busca los errores, ellos son inevitables y por ende debemos prepararnos para afrontar con valentía, visión de futuro y entusiasmo cualquier vicisitud que tengamos, en vez de quejarnos por los golpes que recibamos.
Es innegable que las cosas suceden por causalidad y no por casualidad. Efectivamente: los accidentes o la suerte (vista como algo incontrolable) no existen. Cada quien recoge de lo que siembra y muchas veces en cantidades multiplicadas. Cada quien forja su suerte dependiendo de lo que piense y, obviamente, de lo que haga con dichos pensamientos.
El área de la traducción/interpretación no escapa a esta realidad y por consiguiente es más sensato sentarse a hacer un análisis profundo para empezar a avanzar por un camino diferente, pero hacia el mismo destino. Es cuestión de lógica simple considerar el hecho de que si “continuamos haciendo lo que siempre hemos hecho, podremos mantener lo que ahora tenemos.”
We usually hear clients complain that the translation company’s work fails to meet their requirements. In fact, some failures have taken place even before the translation project is to be assigned officially. The lack of communication of their cooperation leads to the client’s discontent on the translation result. What’s the cause of such discontent? The answer lies in some way of communication and cooperation between translation companies and the clients. This article shows some tips clients should pay attention to before contracting with the company.
First, before the client makes a decision to choose a proper translation company as his service provider, he’d better do a survey to investigate credit standing of translation companies, the number and qualifications of staff in the company, and what the most important is to make sure whether the company has the translators with the specialty that can meet his requirements. Take engineering translation for example, the translator who has professional engineering knowledge and the fittest expression ability for target language is an ideal candidate.
Second, once having chosen the company, the client had better provide some background information and references to the company as ample as possible, including the previous translation texts, technical terminology, communication purpose, target audience and so on. Because every profession has its particularity, the translation company isn’t able to be accomplished in every field. A well-defined original document will give the opportunity to guarantee a satisfying translation and make translators go directly on the right way such as context style, format, and typesetting. This can be trouble-saving if the client explains his requests of needs clearly to the translation company.
Third, the client should set up quality criteria together with the translation company for the client’s final review and approval of the translation work. The layout request should also be made clear to the vender according to its publishing situation. If the client has specific requests, he should clarify them and put forward to his vender at first. The quality criteria should include technical terminology, consistency, veracity of expressions and readability.
Forth, as to the pricing, there is general average pricing in the translation industry with varieties from one company to another. Some clients hold the view that the company charges high may produce translation with better quality. In some situations the client just compare different quotations makes them neglect the quality result that should be got by the client’s specific demands.
Fifth, the deadline is supposed to be fixed according to the agreement by both sides. If it is not in emergency, the client should give as much time as possible to the vender. Translation is a complicated and laborious work. Even for the most experienced translator, the workload of 2500 words per day is a limit for a good quality work. The client’s consideration can help the vender devote enough time and energy to the working process.
Sixth, the client is suggested to make clarification of the service responsibility on the translation vender. If the translation company cannot accomplish the work on time, or if the final work doesn’t meet client’s demand, what responsibility should it take? If upfront deposit has been paid, Should the client be refunded? All these need to be discussed by both parties.
All in one, a good communication at the very beginning is a guarantee to a qualified translation. It is highly suggested an agreement signed for the benefit of client. A detailed contract consists of the requirements of client for the translation work such as the layout, format, pricing, payment method, compensation for failure and the deadline.
The prevalence of online free translation benefit countless communicators who may be professional translators or merely foreign web page browsers whose English is not good enough to access the relative information. However, depending on the online translation too heavily sometimes leads you to the opposite direction. For example: when you feed the sentence: The insurance was invalid for the invalid. (这项保险对残疾人是无效的) into the Google translation box the counterpart version appears as 保险是无效的无效.
Anyone who has even the least knowledge about insurance will feel amused by the amusing translation.
Of course we can not fully deny that the translation software which can do something for the translation process. For example, Trodos is quite helpful. Here I do not mean to discuss or compare the advantage and the disadvantage between Trodos and some other online tools such as Google and Altavista. What I want to say is that any software no matter how powerful it may be, is of assistance in essence. However, the internet has changed translators’ mental habit when they work on a translation project. The contemplation that used to come naturally is becoming a struggle. I am worrying that the style of translating online which is to puts “efficiency” and “immediacy” above all else, may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading and translation. In this money-worshipping world, academic excellence seems to have been relegated to a role of secondary importance. The translator, a kind of intellectual, tends to become “mere decoders of information”, instead of weighing our words when we translate. And the hustling and bustling to routine life makes deep-reading and intensive study a kind of luxury.
Sometimes I really wonder that whether the fundamental reason that so many hardworking translators haven’t been replaced thoroughly by those stiff machines is the flexibility of human language or not. The complicatedly-built language structure therefore has to be decoded by the genuine masters. I never surrender myself to any machinery servant but to boost its utilization to the utmost. I used to proofread a Chinese- English translation project about cooking equipment brochure. In my opinion, decent product launch is the first step to success and an eye-attracting pamphlet with delicate pictures and stirring words is critical to publicize their products. The first translator completed the task with a dumbfounding speed and quality— 20,000 words within 3 days. You can hardly imagine how poor the translation quality it was, it was nothing but piling of English words throughout the pages. Another victim of auto-translation! Finally, I retranslated it at the cost of 5 long days. Actually, it is the incidence that made me pay much more concerning about the online translation. I have to say the online translation is like a double edged sward, and if you have the ability to link all the fragment information together or grasp the substance meaning from the strange-looking sentences, the online translation is okay. But to those more demanding customers, only human talent and the sense of responsibility will show their prowess in bridging culture and ideas.
Under the circumstances of globalization, doing businesses on a global scale, recruiting translation talents from all over the world and integrating computer-aided translation technology into the businesses are three important strategic decisions that can bring success to translation companies.
Nowadays, many businesses get onto the track of globalization, so do translation services. In the process of globalization of translation services, if translation companies want to run their businesses successfully, they have to do three things on a strategic level to meet the challenges brought about by globalization.
First, they have to expand the company on global scale; second, they have to recruit translation talents coming from all over the world; third, they have to integrate computer-aided translation technology into management.
In the past, many translation companies delivered services only to some local customers. Since the local translation market was not very big, translation companies were always forced to attract some other businesses like printing, card making, advertising, etc. By doing so, they could make small money, but they could never expect to run their business in a more professional manner and on a large scale. However, with the development of globalization, translation has become one of the most popular industries across the world, which may include projects from small ones like translation of driving licenses, score lists of the students to big ones like providing interpreters to international conferences, preparing various negotiations, translating scientific materials in many fields, and so on. As the market is growing，running the business locally can not meet the requirements of globalization any more. In order to expand the translation company on a global scale, the company has to narrow its business scope, enlarge its business platform, build offices in cities across the world and manage its business in the direction of specialization.
In addition to running translation business professionally on a global scale, translation companies also need to recruit employees from all over the world. In the past, since translation companies only receive clients at home, the language types they engage in are limited to only several most popular languages in the world, such as English, French, Russian, Japanese, etc. Under the circumstances of globalization, whereas, the language translation may involves many native language conversions in the world, so translation companies have to recruit proficient translators from all over the world.
Last but not the least, when the market is globalized, it is also very important for integration of computer-aided translation technology into translation management and control process of the company. Decades ago, most translators did translation sentence by sentence only with the help of their brain. Although they often met with very similar expressions in one project running hundreds of pages, they had to translate those expressions again and again since they didn’t have any computer-aided translation software. In recent years, the usage of software such as TRADOS, CAT, transit, etc. has improved the working efficiency of the translation greatly. Usually, these kinds of translation assistant software have memory function, electronic glossary bank and search engine. With the help of them, the translators can search and make a comparison of the translated sentences in a fast manner so that they never need to translate those identical expressions which appear on different pages of the same article repeatedly, they can save the time which was used to repeatedly consult dictionaries thus improve their translating speed by a large margin.
Of course, in the globalization process, if translation companies want to run its business successfully, doing the above-mentioned things is not enough and many new problems may also come forth, but these three things mentioned above do play a very important role for development strategy of a translation company and ensure the business success.
Under the circumstances of globalization, doing businesses on a global scale, recruiting translation talents from all over the world and integrating computer-aided translation technology into the businesses are three important strategic decisions that can bring success to translation companies.
Nowadays, many businesses get onto the track of globalization, so do translation services. In the process of globalization of translation services, if translation companies want to run their businesses successfully, they have to do three things on a strategic level to meet the challenges brought about by globalization.
Once translation is considered as a kind of business, the force of commercialization will show its prowess in many ways. Translation quality has now become a hot topic. In this paper we will first cast a sight on real problems that determine the translation quality in today’s translation industry. The ISO9000 and 14000 quality standards are recommended and regulation of the translation industry needs to be launched forcefully. Finally, some personal viewpoints are suggested to formulate guidelines for translation services.
English has always been the international language as an information vehicle despite the world language had been formulated for decades. Now the translation market is broadening its horizon at an amazing speed, bringing about more opportunities as well as generating more challenges like any other booming industry. At present, the gross global translation production has reached over $13 billion dollars annually. The translation industry therefore can be called one of the hottest industries in the world.
It is ideal for any customer that the price and the quality could go with a cost- effective principle and the translation process could be an automatic plug-in one in a shortest waiting time. But the human translation working is under such a high pressure that it becomes so dear resulting in high quality. Early in the 1990’s, Lixianlin, a linguistic master deemed the translation crises are caused by many reasons; one of the most important was the increasingly declined translation quality. It is undoubted that the translation quality is a problem that we can not obviate any more.
When a translation work piece appears below the normal standard, the first idea strikes our mind is the translator is lack of required certificate or the ability of understanding a foreign language instead of pondering over something deeper.
In the second, the inadequate sense of social responsibility makes the poor translation quality. The translator should place the customers’ benefit above anything else. For example the overseas market effects of the products to be introduced in a language which is popular in the target area are largely determined by the translation quality. This is what translators or translation houses should make clear. Furthermore, a few translation companies run their business under such a situation in which the project manager himself is a layman in translation supervision!
The translation industry guideline has not been imposed to be executed by all translation service body and some illegal behaviors such as deceiving and big quote difference are making wormy sores in this industry structure, which makes the industry standardization rushing. Some ratfinks assign the projects they get and have no mind to pay for their contemporarily employed translators’ work. Some translation companies quote the lowest one can’t imagine in order to grab large amount of deals. After getting
They either employ unqualified translators or dissect the whole manuscript into small paragraphs of hundreds of word and get the free translation from hundreds of different translators in the guise for a trial. At last the customer becomes the biggest victim.
