企业标语的诞生

方莺吟
董事
译力双语服务私人有限公司

记得2000年开始在新加坡当翻译员的时候，我的老板兼师父说了一则香港国泰航空企业标语的故事。当时，国泰的英文标语是‘Arrive in Better Shape’。顾名思义，当你乘坐国泰航空，下机时准不会让灰头土脸。可是这样一句很‘英文’的标语，如何以几个中文字将整个形象表达出来，而又不失文采呢？

这当然不是件容易的事，不然国泰航空也不会重金征集佳句了。后来一位老先生以一句‘航行万里，神采飞扬’捧走丰厚奖金。相信他在领取奖金的时候，肯定也神采飞扬，笑不拢嘴。

成功的企业标语不但深入人心，而且寥寥数字所展现的神韵，确实能为企业形象起着画龙点睛的加分效用。

跨国公司，尤其是以消费群众为诉求对象的企业，不但在选用企业标语时要慎重其事，费尽心思（甚至是大洒金子），而且还要找一个能跟英文版匹配的中文标语，才能旗鼓相当，互映生辉。比如汇丰银行的‘The World’s Local Bank’，中文版为‘环球金融，地方智慧’，堪称是这几年较为知名的精彩译文标语经典。

有些人会说，哇，才想几个字就能赚这么多钱，很好赚哦！其实好标语都得惜字如金，既要简单明了，又要耐看耐读，而且要做到‘说得更少，寓意更深’，如同大师挥毫一样，寥寥数笔就能把一个人物的形和神跃然纸上，真的很考功夫呀！如果一个不小心翻得不好，对企业来说可谓得不偿失。企业的品牌价值，何止千金。想一想，如果我们把花旗银行的‘Citi Never Sleep’翻成‘花旗不睡觉’，肯定会让人笑到喷饭。当然，这种事也不太可能发生（正确答案是：花旗从不歇息）。

以前当个看热闹的门外汉，读到一些经典的企业标语，总觉得：嘿，这么简单，我也可以翻得出来嘛。所以在3年前创立译力双语服务公司的时候，就拿自己的公司来开刀，想了一个自认为不错的标语：‘译出飞扬神采，展现企业魅力’，刚好把‘译力’两字镶在头尾，将创立语言服务的使命放在中间。

自从听闻那一则国泰航空的标语故事后，整整过了7年，才终于让我有机会为一家本地银行的企业标语抄刀。这家在新加坡拥有超过百年历史的银行，要展现一种‘始终在您身边’的亲切老邻居形象。当时他们的英文标语是‘Your Bank and More’。但是自己的功夫还是不到家，墨水也不够，所以绞尽脑汁也没法交出佳句。后来，还是客户自己想出一个相当不错的标语‘伴您成长，与您相随’。

看到最后出炉的标语时，坦白说，我真的心服口服。虽然中英两句并排放在一起，只有‘您’字对得上号，而More字则大有文章。它包含着‘陪伴’和‘相随’，既亲切又诚恳，完全是一种柔性而没有傲气的诉求。搭配这个标语的，是一个身穿金色制服且笑容可掬的年轻女职员，完全契合该银行的‘邻里银行’定位。

丢失了第一个机会，第二个机会来得比我想象中还快。半年之后，这家银行又换了第二个标语：Neighbour First, Banker Second。直译起来，就变成‘邻里第一，银行第二。’当然，这种口号式而老套的标语，根本不会被看上眼。有了前车之鉴，我基本上也大致摸清客户的诉求和风格。
在当时呈上的文案中，有一些是自己不甚满意，但也只能拿来凑数的几个标语。

邻里优先，银行为次。----- 意思最接近，但没有很强的Feel。
心系邻里，服务优先。----- 缺少感动人的元素。
邻里优先，贴近您心。----- 这些词都有点老了。

一个月后，偶然间到该银行办事，随手拿起最新的宣传册，打开一看，当初的其中一个标语就静静地列在左下角 – 深耕邻里，伴您同行。那一种成就感，我到现在还记得。

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia

Translation Prices: Cost of Translation and Localization Services

by: Argos Multilingual

No, it doesn’t start with an "S” or an "F” and there is no "Q” in it. This word in our industry is ‘cena’ and it is the Polish word for"price”. Translation prices is exactly what we’ll be examining here. Price is usually, as anyone and everyone knows, the defining factor for customers on whether to purchase, and the defining factor for producers on how to target their products to the client base.

What horrible secrets about Eastern European translation pricing will be revealed in this article? Probably nothing too revolutionary. Hopefully this article will expose some common sense responses to issues with pricing, and probably address several universal problems shared by all translation companies and localization service providers in the rest of the world.

1. ROI – ‘Don’t bother localizing if you can’t make a profit’

There is plenty of talk about localization ROI and how it affects pricing. The decision of whether it pays to localize something before you decide to enter a market sounds obvious. Why then do we see companies complaining about localization costs in the context of their ROI?

The underlying issue here is that companies are complaining about their products’ lack of competitiveness. It happens, there’s no shame in that. No matter how you slice it, it comes down to money. And if there is not enough demand backed by money for a product, then localization, in the eyes of management, doesn’t seem to pay off. If an application is designed for Eastern European end users, then it either has to be relatively inexpensive or should be tailored to a specific niche market where lower sales volumes give an acceptable return. The Eastern European software market will not usually generate huge sales based on its size alone anyway.

As such, localization decisions are often put on a back burner, and investment decisions are based on poor information about the market. The result - a company finds itself in Eastern Europe before it has properly estimated sales potential. Then, normal business processes come into play; managers are pressed to make a profit, and we see the localization problem handed over to the local distributor.

All of a sudden, a company that specializes in software distribution is responsible for the software publisher’s image and quality in the local market. Local distributors are often very small, with little infrastructure, inadequate resources and small translation budgets (coming out of their own small pockets). Nonetheless, localization responsibility for the product is suddenly literally dumped upon them. This imposes additional problems on the distributors not only associated with added incurred translation costs, but also the problem with answering questions such as: ‘how to localize’, ‘what agency to hire’, ‘how to go about adapting the product to this region’…

It all boils down to one simple fact, distributors usually lack the experience in localization, and that lack of experience will further result in declining sales numbers and added costs.

Software publishers fool themselves into thinking that it is so much in the distributor’s interest to do a great job localizing the product (ergo, the distributor will have an easier time selling the product) that they, themselves, don’t need to worry about it. However, distributors usually don’t understand the complex issues connected with localization. Even if a distributor does recognize what’s involved, the "simple, low-value added service” attitude toward localization services prevails. The real world consequences are poor-quality localization and serious harm to the software publisher’s image and brand.

2. What’s going on among the bigger buyers of translation/localization services?

What are the organizational structures of larger buyers of localization services, and how do they affect the price of translation? It seems as if Microsoft is getting its act together by limiting the number of vendors and giving the remaining more work. IBM and Oracle also seem to be well-organized in this respect. Unfortunately, there are other large buyers of translation and localization services that have not addressed the issue of centralizing or streamlining costs.

It is quite remarkable how some large buyers deal with this problem. Our translation company, Argos Translations, works with one particular client directly through two different offices and indirectly through three other localization companies. Of course, we are paid different rates, negotiated completely independently with each of these channels. And now the punch line: the rates we receive working through one localization company are 50% higher than what we receive working directly for the client. So where are the client savings? Where is the streamlining? What about consistent terminology? The value of working through a limited number of MLVs is understandable, but what is the point of doing it a little this way and a little that way?

How the biggest clients deal with their translation and localization is only one issue. Another question is how far these companies are willing to go to lower localization costs. Last year, our company was in negotiations with a very large global company to take over a large portion of their Slovak localization work. I am not going to name any names here, but suffice it to say that this is one of the elite, with over $50 billion in annual global sales. Since this was a large, long-term client, and there were significant volumes involved (mostly documentation), we decided to quote this client the extraordinary attractive localization / translation price (at that time) of Euro 0.12 per source word.

The company got back in touch with us to tell us that they really liked our experience and wanted to choose us, but they had an issue: price. We asked whether it was a question of 1 or 2 Euro cents, and they made it clear that the price would have to be "significantly” lower. It was obvious that we weren’t even close to their price expectations. They were looking for Euro 0.07-0.08! How is it possible that the rates being paid by this particular global giant were so low? How does this reflect upon our industry? The only answer I can offer is that such clients receive low translation prices at the expense of similarly low level of quality that they obtain.

3. Quality: does anybody really care?

I was recently dozing through a translation conference as one of the speakers, a professor of linguistics, was discussing the ethical importance of a high-quality translation. I was suddenly jolted awake by a statement he made along the lines of "it is the translation vendor’s ethical responsibility to ensure the highest-quality translation.” When question time arrived, I duly asked what we should do if our client does not give us enough time to do the job in an "ethically responsible” manner. The gentleman told me that it was our moral responsibility to ask for more time.

As good and applicable as his reasoning is, unfortunately it almost never applies in the real world. I tried to imagine the response that I’d receive if I were to call my client and suggest, "Listen, I know this is a 1.2 million-word project, but you really should have met your development schedule. And I know that your priority was to ship FIGS first, but this was delayed. And now, on top of all that, you want us to use this outdated TM software because this is what your previous version was in, yet the TM database we have received is full of inconsistencies that need to be removed before we start translating the new version. What it really comes down to is that we are only going to have time to do the translation and have it reviewed independently TWICE. This won’t be enough to maintain our ethical language standards.”

Unfortunately, the truth is (maybe I shouldn’t be saying this too loudly) that our business is full of concessions. It is a humorous concept, really, when you take into consideration that we are supposed to offer incredibly high-quality, incredibly fast turnaround times at incredibly low rates. Obviously, something has to give here, and I believe that the way localization services providers handle this contradiction is by diminishing the definition of excellence in our industry.

The best companies in our industry are the ones that have the best systems in place to provide the highest quality possible while trying to maintain costs at a level that does not hinder such quality, according to "real world” business conditions. Otherwise, we’re all familiar with the concept of ‘garbage in, garbage out’. It is that simple, really.

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia

To Be a Good Translator

By Leila Razmjou
BA in English Translation
MA in Applied Linguistics (TEFL )
Iran
leilarazmjou@yahoo.com

Source: Translation Directory

Paper presented at the Second International Conference on "Critical Discourse Analysis: the Message of the Medium" in Yemen, Hodeidah University, October, 2003

In addition to being a member of our country, we are members of the world community, and this gives us a global identity. Therefore, it is quite natural for us to think about world affairs and cooperate in solving the world's problems. To do so, the first and most important tool is "language," which is socially determined. Our beliefs and ideologies are always reflected in our way of talking, although the connections are hidden and only "critical language study" reveals these hidden connections in discourse.

Furthermore, we know that a nation's culture flourishes by interacting with other cultures. Cultural variety opens our eyes to human rights, but cultural variety can only be recognized through discussions, which leads us back to the major tool for discussion: "language."

The role of language in the developing world is materialized through "translating," and since critical language study is concerned with the processes of producing and interpreting texts and with the way these cognitive processes are socially shaped, it can be considered as an alternative approach to translation studies.

The world is becoming smaller and smaller as the systems of communication and information are developing and becoming more and more sophisticated. In the process of such a rapid exchange of information and for the purpose of improving cultural contacts, one thing is inevitable, and that is "translating." This is why there is a need for competent translators and interpreters.

As mentioned earlier, the whole world is undergoing complex changes in different areas such as technology and education. These changes necessarily have an important bearing on systems of higher education, including translator training programs.

According to Shahvali (1997), theoretical knowledge and practical skills alone are not adequate to prepare students to face the developments in the field. There is a need for ability to adapt; therefore, it is necessary to focus on students' self-updating and to develop their relevant mental, communicative, and planning skills.

Training translators is an important task which should be given a high priority. The service that translators render to enhance cultures and nurture languages has been significant throughout history. Translators are the agents for transferring messages from one language to another, while preserving the underlying cultural and discoursal ideas and values (Azabdaftary, 1996).

The translator's task is to create conditions under which the source language author and the target language reader can interact with one another (Lotfipour, 1997). The translator uses the core meaning present in the source text to create a new whole, namely, the target text (Farahzad, 1998).

Bearing these facts in mind, the question is: what skills are needed to promote translating ability? And how can one become a good translator?

The first step is extensive reading of different translations of different kinds of texts, since translating requires active knowledge, while analyzing and evaluating different translations requires passive knowledge. Therefore, receptive skills should be developed before the productive ones; i.e. by reinforcing their passive knowledge, students will eventually improve their active knowledge. Receptive skills improve the students' language intuition and make them ready for actual translating.

A good translator is someone who has a comprehensive knowledge of both source and target languages. Students should read different genres in both source and target languages including modern literature, contemporary prose, newspapers, magazines, advertisements, announcements, instructions, etc. Being familiar with all these genres is important, since they implicitly transfer culture-specific aspects of a language. Specialized readings are also suggested: reading recently published articles and journals on theoretical and practical aspects of translation. The articles will not only improve the students' reading skill in general, but also give them insights which will subconsciously be applied when actually translating.

"Writing" skills, i.e. the ability to write smoothly and correctly in both source and target languages, are also important. Writing is in fact the main job of a translator. Students should become familiar with different styles of writing and techniques and principles of editing and punctuation in both source and target languages. Editing and punctuation improve the quality and readability of the translation (Razmjou, 2002).

Moreover, translation trainees should have a good ear for both source and target languages; i.e. they should be alert to pick up various expressions, idioms, and specific vocabulary and their uses, and store them in their minds to be used later. This is in fact what we call improving one's "intuition." Intuition is not something to be developed in a vacuum; rather, it needs practice and a solid background. It needs both the support of theory and the experience of practice. Language intuition is a must for a competent translator.

One of the most important points to consider in the act of translating is understanding the value of the source text within the framework of the source-language discourse. To develop this understanding, the translator must be aware of the cultural differences and the various discoursal strategies in the source and target languages. Therefore, the hidden structure of the source text should be discovered through the use of various discoursal strategies by the translator.

A good translator should be familiar with the culture, customs, and social settings of the source and target language speakers. She should also be familiar with different registers, styles of speaking, and social stratification of both languages. This socio-cultural awareness, can improve the quality of the students' translations to a great extent. According to Hatim and Mason (1990), the social context in translating a text is probably a more important variable than its genre. The act of translating takes place in the socio-cultural context. Consequently, it is important to judge translating activity only within a social context.

After developing a good competence in both source and target languages, actual translating may begin. But there is a middle stage between the competence-developing stage and actual translating: becoming aware of various information-providing sources and learning how to use them. These sources include: different monolingual and bilingual dictionaries, encyclopedias, and the Internet.

Using dictionaries is a technical skill in itself. Not all students know how to use dictionaries appropriately. Words have different meanings in different contexts, and usually monolingual dictionaries are of utmost value in this regard. Students need a great deal of practice to find the intended meaning of words in a particular context, using monolingual dictionaries.

Translation trainees also need to be familiar with the syntax of indirect speech and various figures of speech in the source language such as hyperbole, irony, meiosis, and implicatures. Awareness of these figures of speech will reinforce students' creativity and change their passive knowledge into active skill.

While there is a strong emphasis on developing source and target language competencies, the ways in which students can develop them should not be neglected. Group work and cooperation with peers can always lead the translating process to better results. Students who practice translation with their peers will be able to solve problems more easily and will also more rapidly develop self-confidence and decision-making techniques (Razmjou, 2002). Although there is a possibility of making mistakes during group work, the experience of making, detecting, and correcting mistakes will make the students' minds open and alert.

Another important point is that successful translators usually choose one specific kind of texts for translating and continue to work only in that area; for example a translator might translate only literary works, scientific books, or journalistic texts. Even while translating literary works, some translators might choose only to translate poetry, short stories, or novels. Even more specific than that, some translators choose a particular author and translate only her or his works. The reason is that the more they translate the works of a particular author, the more they will become familiar with her or his mind, way of thinking, and style of writing. And the more familiar is the translator with the style of a writer, the better the translation will be.

Translation needs to be practiced in an academic environment in which trainees work on both practical tasks under the supervision of their teachers and theoretical aspects to enhance their knowledge. In an academic environment, recently published articles, journals and books on translation are available to the trainees, who thus become familiar with good translators and their work by reading them and then comparing them with the original texts. In this way, trainees will develop their power of observation, insight, and decision-making, which in turn will lead them to enhance their motivation and improve their translating skills.

Therefore, translation studies has now been recognized as an important discipline and has become an independent major, separate from foreign-language studies, in universities. This reflects the recognition of the fact that not everybody who knows a foreign language can be a translator, as it is commonly and mistakenly believed. Translation is the key to international understanding. So in this vast world of communication and information overload, we need competent translators who have both the theoretical knowledge and practical skills to do their jobs well. The importance of theoretical knowledge lies in the fact that it helps translators acquire an understanding of how linguistic choices in texts reflect other relationships between senders and receivers, such as power relationships, and how texts are sometimes used to maintain or create social inequalities (Fairclough, 1989).

Finally, it is important to know that it takes much more than a dictionary to be a good translator, and translators are not made overnight. To be a good translator requires a sizeable investment in both source and target languages. It is one of the most challenging tasks to switch safely and faithfully between two universes of discourse. Only a sophisticated and systematic treatment of translation education can lead to the development of successful translators. And the most arduous part of the journey starts when translation trainees leave their universities.

Works cited

Azabdaftari, B. 1997. Psychological Analysis of Translation Process. Motarjem Journal, Mashhad, Iran. 21 & 22: 7-12 (Translation).

Fariclough,N. 1989. Language and Power. London, Longman.

Farahzad, F. 1998. A Gestalt Approach to Manipulation in Translation. Perspectives: Studies in Translatology, 6 (2): 153-233.

Hatim, B. & I. Mason. 1990. Discourse and the Translator. London: Longman.

Lotfipour, S.K. 1985. Lexical Cohesion and Translation Equivalence. Meta, XLII, 1, 185-92.

Razmjou, L. 2002. Developing Guidelines for a New Curriculum for the English Translation BA Program in Iranian Universities. Online Translation Journal, V. 6, No.2 http://accurapid.com/journal/20edu1.htm

Shahvali, M. 1997. Adaptation Knowledge, the Passage of Success and Creativity (Translation).

This article was originally published at Translation Journal (http://accurapid.com/journal).

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia

How many words per day?

© By Anita Karlson Henssler
A freelance translator (English, German and Danish into Norwegian).
Join PolarZone - her Free Newsletter for the Freelancer.
CH-4313 Moehlin, Switzerland
akarlson@polartext.com
www.polartext.com

One topic most freelance translators just starting up their business devote some thought and calculations to, is this: How many words am I supposed to translate per day?

Well, it is a tricky question - and it doesn't really have an answer! We all have different working approaches, different speciality fields, different software etc. This makes it very difficult to generalize. You will soon notice yourself; two texts of equal length will take you different long to translate.

The main factors involved in deciding how many words you can translate per hour or per day are:

Text format - When you are working from hardcopies it takes longer than when you are working on electronic texts. It will also go quicker if you are working in a program you are very familiar with as opposed to a program you have just bought and are unfamiliar with.

Available dictionaries - Looking up words you don't know will go quick if your dictionaries are good. If you have to search for words - be it on the Internet or at the library - you will loose a lot of time.

Use of CAT-tools - If you are using a CAT-tool, the translation process will go quicker, especially if you are working on a repetitive text.

Speciality topic - The more familiar you are with the topic, the quicker the translating will go.

Style of the source text - Another factor is the style the author of the source text has used. If you compare two texts within the same topic you might find that one text will consist of floating and poetic sentences whilst the other will have short and hard sentences.

Typing speed - How quick can you type? This is also one factor determining how many words per day you get through.

Motivation - When you are having a bad day and not feeling too good, it will also be very difficult to get your work done. The more motivated and focused you are, the quicker you can translate.

Then you also have to calculate the time it will take you to edit and proofread your work. The translating job does not consist of just translating - you also have to check and double check your work!

The average translator will tell you that he or she can translate 100 words per hour working on a complicated text where he or she is not familiar with the topic and needs to do a lot of research. On the other hand the same translator will tell you he or she can do 500 words per hour working on an easy text in his or her speciality field.

When working on a project requiring extra effort an average translator will do up to 4000 - 6000 words per day. But this workload cannot be maintained over longer periods of time. An average translator will do between 2000 and 3000 words per day, working at a comfortable speed and also having time to revise and proofread his or her work properly.

Consider the following two translations: Translation 1 is a PowerPoint presentation consisting of 1200 words and the text is an environmental report. Translation 2 is a software manual of 3000 words written in Word. If you asked several translators to perform these two translations and then asked how long each translation took them, you would not get the same answer from any of them.

I would use about six hours for the first job and about seven hours for the second job, that is including editing and proofreading, not counting breaks. Even if translation 2 has over double the amount of words, I do not need much more time on that than the first translation. I am not very familiar with the topic environment. I would have to spend relatively much time researching the terminology and looking up words. In addition, I am not very familiar with PowerPoint either. Even though this is a relatively easy program, I am bound to run into a problem or two. A software manual, on the other hand, is right up my street. This is a subject I don't need to do a lot of research on, as I am quite familiar with the terminology used. In addition Word would not cause me any problems.

So basically you have to set your own standards. To do this you can time yourself. See how much you can translate of different types of texts in one hour. This way you get an idea of how much you can expect to do in a day of a certain type of text. You learn as you go - and soon you will be able to predict very accurately how long it will take you to translate any given text.

Copyright © 2003 Anita Karlson Henssler

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia

Major mistakes when responding to job offers

By Natasha Cloutier
Chez Natasha
www.cheznatasha.nl

Wondering why you never got an answer to your e-mail? Sometimes potential clients do not have the time or simply do not need your services. Other times, it could very well be that your message is the real reason. Have a look at the following mistakes to see if any of them sound familiar and find out how to avoid these mistakes in the future.

Always check your spelling

Mistakes are unacceptable when selling language services.

Solution: Use a spellchecker and proofread your message.

Reason: It looks unprofessional and does not instil confidence.

Actually… It makes selecting potential candidates much easier.

Answer the client’s questions

Potential clients should never have to search for answers.

Solution: Make sure you actually answer their questions.

Reason: It looks like you haven’t read their job offer.

Actually… Who wants to work with someone who can’t communicate?

Resist applying for a freelance job following an in-house job offer

A potential client knows what they need better than you do.

Solution: Read the posting carefully.

Reason: It looks like you don’t care what your client needs.

Actually… It can look desperate.

Avoid using ‘Dear Sirs’

Reason: Using ‘Dear Sirs’ means you are making assumptions that could offend.

Solution: Use ‘Dear Sir or Madam’.

Actually… Women throw these ones out and men find them impersonal.

When answering per e-mail:

Do not send your résumé as an attachment unless asked

Solution: Paste your résumé into the body of your e-mail.

Reason: People will regard your e-mail as a virus and throw it out.

Actually… It’s quite irritating.

Do not automatically hit the reply button of your e-mail programme

Solution: Put the right e-mail address in your reply before writing.

Reason: You may need to send it to a different person.

Actually… You come off inexperienced and sloppy.

Sending e-mail to several people with their addresses showing

Reason: People respond better to anything addressed to them personally.

Solution: Test your e-mail by sending a message to yourself.

Actually… It shows a lack of confidentiality.

Other things to avoid

Writing in capital letters.
Actually… It looks and feels like screaming.

Sending an e-mail message with nothing but “see attachment”.
Actually… It looks like spam, it’s impersonal, and will be thrown out.

Applying for a job offer that does not match your qualifications.
Actually… It can look desperate and it is a waste of time.

Using a tone that is either too humble or too overbearing.
Actually… It sets a bad tone for any future dealings.

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia