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Translations: Get them right from the start

(c) 2013 by Lucy Brooks, FCIL, MITI

How to avoid disasters like these…
 “This cat food does not contain conservatives” 
“If the front is closed please enter through the backside”
“Let part D screw in to the posterior of part C”
If you do business outside the UK, or want to publish your website and publicity material in other languages it is essential to get the translation right from the outset. Choosing the wrong translator can be expensive and damaging to your business. We laugh at the three examples above, but can you be sure that you might not be causing hilarity, or worse, offence, to readers in other languages?
Here are my twelve golden rules for choosing the right translator.

1. Before commissioning a translation take another look at what is to be translated. Is it very oriented to the home market? Does it contain references to British culture that would not be understood in, say, Japan? Consider having it rewritten to suit an international audience.
2. When you are ready to commission your translator you are faced with many options. While it might be tempting to find a language student or a local teacher this can be the route to disaster. Apart from the confidentiality issue, teaching language demands a special set of skills. But these skills are rarely the same as those needed to produce a smooth, stylish translation. The risks are even greater if you opt for student translators. Think about it! Would you get your company accounts prepared by an A-level student? Or allow a medical student to remove your appendix?
3. Your translator should hold a translation qualification. In the UK he or she should be a member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) or the Chartered Institute of Linguists – the two major professional bodies in the UK. Similar professional standards exist in most European countries.
4. Make sure that your translator will be working into his or her mother tongue. That is the only way to obtain a smooth, flowing text that sounds as if it had been originally written in the target language. Be aware that there is often a huge difference in regional variation. For example, do not get a Portuguese translator to translate a document aimed at Brazilian customers.
5. Your translator should be experienced in your business or industry and be able to show this by providing references, evidence of continuing professional development or samples of work.
6. Get to know your translator. He needs to have as much background about your company as possible. For example, if you work with an agency in France allow the translator to consult with them for terminology. You could even invite him to tour your premises.
7. Tell your translator the purpose of the translation. Translating a contract is very different from translating website marketing copy for maximum sales impact. The more information your translator has about what you are aiming for the better the results will be.
8. Finalise the text before the translation work begins. Translating a work-in-progress is always more time-consuming and thus more expensive. Having multiple versions can lead to misunderstandings between you and the translator.
9. Provide glossaries in your language to explain complex technical terms that might not be readily available to your translator.
10. Allow your translator to ask questions and seek clarification of your text. A good translator analyses every element of every sentence and may well help you to improve your original.
11. Never use Google Translate or Bing. Results are just about OK to get the gist of an email sent to you by a client. But publish the results at your peril!
12. Allow your translator to proof-read the final version before publication to check for correct hyphenations, headings, captions, etc. Do not let non-native speakers ‘fiddle’ with the text. Remember the posters in Arabic at the London Olympics? The translation was fine but the typographers printed it back to front.

Finally, how do you find a translator? The two institutes I mentioned above have online directories. The Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) and the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIoL). Simply enter the language combination you want and search.
If your project consists of several languages at once you may be considering finding a translation company. My advice here is to research potential translation agencies. The best way to do this is simply to Google ‘translation companies’ + ‘your industry’. You might find that you can relate to a small to medium-sized company rather than a huge international one. Small language service providers are much more likely to use the same translator for your work. Such an arrangement ensures consistency and that your translator is always familiar with your products.
Follow these simple rules and avoid the pain, expense and trauma of the disastrous howlers shown at the beginning of this article.

In my last post I suggested that a quick visit to the Code of Conduct buried somewhere in your office could prove beneficial.
Here are some posers for you.

Should you, as a freelance translator, sub-contract work to another translator. Indeed, is it permissible at all to do this, and in what conditions? What safeguards should you put in place?

In some circumstances you might find yourself accepting a job that requires particular specialist skills and knowledge. You find yourself slightly outside your comfort zone. What should you do?

I’d be very interested to hear what you think.

I'll prepare some answers of my own for next time.

We have moved to: http://www.ecpdwebinars.co.uk/blog/. Why not bookmark the new page now?
Thanks for your interest.

We're moving. Wir ziehen um. Nous déménageons. Nos trasladamos

I have decided to move this blog to a new host at the eCPD website and to bring in the company blog previously written by Sarah Dillon to the same place.

To see our new home, simply click this link 

I intend to continue posting articles here, but eventually will move everything over to our new home.

Dusting off the Code of Conduct

When I became a Chartered Linguist five years ago I attended a gruelling interview at which, among other searching questions, I was presented with an imaginary* ethical dilemma for a translator and then asked to tell the interviewers what I would do in the circumstances of the scenario I was given.


I cannot remember the scenario now, and probably wouldn’t divulge it or my answer, even if I could remember. I was given five minutes to think about the dilemma and how I would deal with it. To prepare for the interview I had studied the Chartered Institute of Linguist’s code of conduct. I read it and re-read it, and dissected every clause in my mind. I practiced scenarios and dreamed up ever more unlikely situations in anticipation.
In my own working life I have been presented with few real ethical dilemmas. The majority of the work that comes my way was and continues to be bog standard commercial stuff, raising no problems with my conscience. And my clients are all bona fide businesses, trading correctly.

But dilemmas do happen, and that’s why we have a code of conduct to help us solve them.

Read this example of the kind of thing that we might come across as translators:
Ethical dilemmas from the Translation Times
Or this more recent posting from the same source.

Of course if you are an interpreter, especially working in the public sector or community, you will come across dilemmas on a daily basis: the defendant who asks for legal advice, the client who insists on giving you a gift.
At eCPD webinars we ran a webinar with Sue Leschen, a solicitor and highly qualified public service interpreter (known as community interpreter in the US), on ethical dilemmas faced by public service interpreters. It is still available on demand at this link.

If you belong to a professional association you will have signed up to its code of conduct. So here’s my CPD advice tip for today: Dust off your copy and read it through again. Think about every clause and verify that you really do adhere to the code you signed up to.

And if you don’t yet belong to a professional association, I recommend doing so as soon as you can. See my earlier post on this topic.

*Actually it was probably not so imaginary. I’m sure it had happened to someone, somewhere. And for the interest of accuracy, I am no longer a chartered linguist since I no longer translate a sufficient number of words to satisfy the scrutinising committee, but have since become a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Linguists.

Proof-reading – editing – revising: the essentials

Today, I want to talk a little bit about a term used by work-providers and which greatly irritates many translators: that term is ‘proof-reading’. I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked to ‘proof-read’ a text, only to find that what is actually meant is something else entirely.

A sample of texts I have been asked to check includes instruction manuals written in (poor) English by a non-native speaker of English, translations sent to me without the source language text and performed to varying degrees of competence by other translators, as well as translations accompanied by their source text (often still in bilingual format) for a full check of translation quality.

However none of the above is truly proof-reading. Proof-reading is what it says on the tin: reading the proofs that have been prepared ready for a print-run. Such a check is the final step on the road to publication and, provided that all other checks have been made beforehand, should really only throw up issues such as incorrect hyphens, incorrect placement of text by the typographer and other minor issues not connected with the translation itself.

If you are asked to ‘proofread’ you need to know EXACTLY what is required. Ask if your client does not tell you. You also need to negotiate the terms on which you will get paid. in 99% of cases you can only do this after you have had an opportunity to study the text fairly closely. Whether paid by the hour or by the word, you need to be clear with your work provider exactly what you are going to do and have formed an idea as to how long it will take.

Editing: When editing a text, you are not necessarily required to go back to the source language text, except perhaps to check on something that may puzzle you in the target. You are not checking whether the translation is true to the original, but you are checking for style, punctuation, sense and readability.

Revising: Revising a text is the most intensive form of editing. Here you are checking the target against the source and checking that there are no mistranslations or missing phrases, and that terminology is correct. You also have to perform the editing tasks I list above.

Personally, I am not keen on editing/revision work, and generally restrict my activities in this area to a final proof-read of ready-to-print material that I translated myself.

However, if you are keen to learn more about this demanding but potentially rewarding field, you could do worse that check out these FAQs from the Society for Editors and Proofreaders.

At eCPD earlier this year we held a webinar explaining just what editors and revisors do, with distinguished speaker Sarah Griffin Mason. It is available on-demand for just £21 from this link.

The Mediterranean Editors and Translators Meeting this year will be in Venice in November. The programme looks very interesting, especially the workshops on the first day.

A forum I follow recently had a lively discussion on the use of “they” as a singular pronoun as in this example: “The telltale sign of a right-winger: they can’t write in English to save their lives.”

My own view is that as translators we should try to avoid using ‘they’ and ‘their’ to accompany a singular noun by rewriting the sentence. But I accept that in certain cases it might be impossible to do so. For more discussion on this and other subjects, have a look at the debate at the Chicago Manual of Style.

What do you think about the plural pronoun issue?

Will on-line webinar* training ever replace face-to-face seminars?

The short answer has to be a firm “no”. When I started running webinars* over three years ago now, it was never my intention to usurp the important role played by training and information sessions in a classroom, seminar room or conference setting. Nothing can replace the immediate interaction with the speaker, the lunchtime chats with colleagues, or that exchange of views (and business cards) over a coffee at break-time.

But there was a definite and crying need for an extra arrow to add to the quiver of good continuing professional development (CPD) offered by professional institutes, universities, and commercial enterprises.

Translators are a mixed lot. Many of us work from home because we love the independent life-style that free-lancing provides. Some live a long way from any city centre; many care for children and/or elderly relatives. Family commitments and too much work often make it difficult to get away from the office.

Webinars are a quick and easy way of keeping totally up to the minute on every aspect of a translator’s life without leaving home or office. The only equipment needed is a reasonable PC or Mac and a good broadband connection. Many events, such as those provided by CAT tool vendors, are free. Professional organisations such as ITI and ATA have been putting on webinars (through eCPD) at reasonable cost for a couple of years now, and since 2010 eCPD Ltd (my company, I declare an interest here) has run dozens of webinars for translators and interpreters. We have covered subjects from Terminology Management to PDF files, from Translation Techniques to Chemistry for Translators. For a full list of webinars coming up later this year see this link, and most of our past webinars are now available on demand. Some eCPD webinars are free. For the sake of fairness, I mention also that ProZ offers a programme of training webinars too.

Seats at a webinar are very reasonably priced, usually at £20 (about $31 or €25), and anyone worried about not being able to make the live session can be assured that a recording will be made available afterwards for viewing as often as desired@ at no extra charge.

Once they have got to grips with the fact that they cannot actually see their audience, our speakers have reported that they have greatly enjoyed the experience of talking to attendees who may be logging in from Peru, Australia, Russia, or Taiwan. They find it exciting and exhilarating. Webinars also make it possible to draw on the expertise of experts based in many different parts of the world, the USA, Australia, France and Spain, for example.

Attendees appreciate the fact that we try to keep the cost of webinar places as low as possible. At eCPD Webinars we are translators ourselves and know that the translators budgets for CPD are often tight. My colleagues and I are aware of what translators and interpreters are asking for and try to provide training and information on topics that translators want.

Some of the most popular webinars have been the “Specialising in … “ series. These include sessions on financial translation, legal translation, medical translation, sub-titling and many others. We are currently planning a session on “specialising in technical translation” for the new year.

This autumn sees a new venture – a series of language-specific translation workshops (German, French and Spanish in both directions). If these prove popular (and seats are strictly limited to ensure that we can keep to the workshop format), we will try some other language combinations.

I make no apology for promoting eCPD Webinars in this blog. I strongly believe that attending webinars – from whichever provider you choose - forms an important part of a translator’s portfolio of reasonably priced continuing professional development (continuing education) – especially when travelling to on-site training is difficult. After all, that’s why I started eCPD Webinars in the first place!


And remember: "It's what we learn after we know it all that really counts." (Quips and Quotes by E.C. McKenzie ).

* Webinar: a seminar presentation or workshop made available via the Internet.

·      @ For a minimum of 90 days

Conference on education and CPD for translators and interpreters - and some excellent blog links for new translators

When I started this blog I decided to aim it principally at new translators as well as at those practising translators who are looking for some low-cost ideas to brush up their language and technical skills.

Today I have news of a translation conference to be held this November at Portsmouth University (on the south coast of England). This annual conference often deals with pretty academic topics, but this year’s conference, the 12th, is on a much more practical (for me anyway) level. Presentations are likely to include talks on CPD, online training, training the trainer, the role of professional organisations, and of professionals within the translation industry, educating the client, and many more. All are topics very close to my heart. The title of the conference is 'Those Who Can, Teach': Translation, Interpreting and Training. The date is 
10 November 2012 and it will take place in the Park Building in the centre of Portsmouth. Registrations are not yet open so I cannot tell you what the cost will be but I can say that in the past it has always been very reasonable. (Last year the fee was £40 for a very full day of presentations, with generous discounts for students. It even included lunch!) The conference is sponsored by Routes into Languages among others.

One of the sessions is entitled Progressing your Career without Breaking the Bank and it will cover the need for CPD, keeping CPD records, finding good quality, yet low cost, CPD that works, and the need to reflect on achievements. The speaker will be … me.

That brings me neatly to ways in which very experienced practitioners can add valuable points to their own CPD records. CPD is not just about absorbing information, but passing it on too. Many of my colleagues throughout the world are more than generous with their advice and help. They dedicate hours of time to writing blogs and researching information which they willingly pass on to colleagues. That time is entered onto their annual CPD records.

Here are some wonderful such blogs and websites for new translators to get started with:

Thoughts on Translation. This blog, by translator Corinne McKay in the USA, concentrates on translation and the translation industry. She has also devised an on-line course on Getting Started as a Translator.

From Words to Deeds. This is a great blog if you specialise in legal translation. It describes itself as “building bridges – between academia and practice and between translators and legal professionals” and it is full of information about legal practice and the art of translation within in.

The eCPD Webinars blog contains a number of reviews of past webinars. For future webinars, don’t forget to check out the main eCPD website for future CPD training webinars and workshops, at deliberately low cost for high-quality presentations.

There’s Something about Translation. Sarah Dillon, the author, has been on maternity leave recently so hasn’t been updating her blog. But there is a wealth of valuable information relating to CPD in the archives.

Signs and Symptons of Translation. This is a relatively new blog by colleague Emma Goldsmith. Her particular niche in the overcrowded blog scene is medical translation, Spanish language terminology and pharma regulatory news.

About Translation.  This blog contains many useful technical tips such as advanced searching in Word and making the most of Google searches.

Translation Times. With her twin sister Dagmar, blog author Judy Jenner wrote and published the Entrepreneurial Linguist.

If you haven’t decided on a CAT tool yet and are wondering what they actually do, visit Translators Training. This website, maintained by Jeromobot, aka Jost Zetzsche, contains 3 hours of free video showing how 20 different tools translate the same Word document.

Lastly, don’t let this blog about Mox – a young and brilliant translator - put you off translation. But this cartoon blog is a lovely way of raising a smile at the end of a busy week.

I hope to see some of you at Portsmouth.

More tips soon.