By Karen Elwis
21st October, 2004
Translation Company in London: Lingo24
The following genuine examples are an amusing reminder of what can happen when you don't use a professional translation company...
On menu of Swiss restaurant: "Our wines leave you nothing to hope for."
On the door of a Moscow hotel room - "If this is your first visit to the USSR, you are welcome to it!"
Useful advice on how to drive Tokyo style: "When passenger of foot heave in sight, tootle the horn. Trumpet him melodiously at first, but if he still obstacles your passage then tootle him with vigour."
Bucharest hotel lobby: "The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable."
In Austrian ski resort: "Not to perambulate the corridors in the hours of repose in the boots of ascension."
Shop entrance in Majorca: "English well talking. Here speeching American."
In a Paris hotel elevator: "Please leave your values at the front desk."
In a Bangkok dry cleaner's: "Drop your trousers here for best results."
On menu of Polish restaurant: "Salad a firm's own make: limpid red beet soup with cheesy dumplings in the form of a finger; roasted duck let loose; beef rashers beaten up in the country people's fashion." [Wonder if they ever caught the duck?!]
All goes to show - when it comes to translation, you need the professionals!
© Lingo24 Ltd
Translation services - Lingo24 is a leading provider of translation services between all major world languages. Based in the UK, the company also has full-time operations in China, Romania and New Zealand.
Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The language of business – how fluent are you?
By Karen Elwis
14th November, 2004
Translation Company in London: Lingo24
In an increasingly global marketplace, it's high time that UK exporters realised the importance of translating or localising their sales websites into foreign languages. Karen Elwis has found a quick test to ascertain readers' current level of expertise in European "commercial-speak".
Foreign languages and business culture can be major headaches for British exporters, yet surprisingly few companies employ in-house linguists and many have no system in place to deal with commercial enquiries in a foreign language. Of course, many British export managers claim that most business is conducted in English anyway. However, in the current global market such a myopic approach to international trade could cost them more than they think. For today the power of the Internet can allow exporters to reach previously unattainable customers in far-flung parts of the globe, and businesses who have had the foresight to have their website translated into the languages spoken in their target marketplaces or ' better still ' "localized" (translated AND culturally adapted), are reaping the benefits big-time.
To see how you measure up when it comes to foreign languages, why not have a go at the following quick multi-lingual quiz, first published in an edition of Director magazine.
FRENCH
Donnez-moi vos coordonnés et je vous l'envoie tout de suite.
1. Tell me your address and I will send you a whole set.
2. Give me your details and I will get it to you at once.
3. Give me your tailor's address: I envy you your suit.
4. Let's co-ordinate this and I'll send you the whole suite.
Nous respectons toujours les délais de livraison.
1. We always respect delivery delays.
2. We carry out our deliveries by relay.
3. We always meet our delivery dates.
4. We have late deliveries every day.
GERMAN
Wir liefern frei Haus innerhalb Englands.
1. We deliver free houses in England.
2. We run free houses in England.
3. We ran free around England.
4. We do free delivery within England.
Bei dieser Menge kann ich Ihnen einen guten Rabatt anbieten.
1. I can offer a good discount on that quantity.
2. In a place like that you can always find your way.
3. Would you like some good rabbit in that mixture?
4. I can get you a good rebate.
SPANISH
Les presento un equipo muy competente.
1. Let me present you with a very competitive piece of equipment.
2. I'd like to give you a very competent piece of equipment.
3. I'd like to introduce a very fine piece of equipment.
4. Let me introduce you to a very competent team.
Vamos a aprobar el acta de la reunión anterior.
1. We approve of the actions of the previous board.
2. Let us approve the minutes of the last meeting.
3. We are going to test the actions of the last meeting.
4. Let's go and act out the previous reunion.
ANSWERS: French 2,3 German 4,1 Spanish 4,2
© Lingo24 Ltd
Translation services - Lingo24 is a leading provider of translation services between all major world languages. Based in the UK, the company also has full-time operations in China, Romania and New Zealand.
Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia
14th November, 2004
Translation Company in London: Lingo24
In an increasingly global marketplace, it's high time that UK exporters realised the importance of translating or localising their sales websites into foreign languages. Karen Elwis has found a quick test to ascertain readers' current level of expertise in European "commercial-speak".
Foreign languages and business culture can be major headaches for British exporters, yet surprisingly few companies employ in-house linguists and many have no system in place to deal with commercial enquiries in a foreign language. Of course, many British export managers claim that most business is conducted in English anyway. However, in the current global market such a myopic approach to international trade could cost them more than they think. For today the power of the Internet can allow exporters to reach previously unattainable customers in far-flung parts of the globe, and businesses who have had the foresight to have their website translated into the languages spoken in their target marketplaces or ' better still ' "localized" (translated AND culturally adapted), are reaping the benefits big-time.
To see how you measure up when it comes to foreign languages, why not have a go at the following quick multi-lingual quiz, first published in an edition of Director magazine.
FRENCH
Donnez-moi vos coordonnés et je vous l'envoie tout de suite.
1. Tell me your address and I will send you a whole set.
2. Give me your details and I will get it to you at once.
3. Give me your tailor's address: I envy you your suit.
4. Let's co-ordinate this and I'll send you the whole suite.
Nous respectons toujours les délais de livraison.
1. We always respect delivery delays.
2. We carry out our deliveries by relay.
3. We always meet our delivery dates.
4. We have late deliveries every day.
GERMAN
Wir liefern frei Haus innerhalb Englands.
1. We deliver free houses in England.
2. We run free houses in England.
3. We ran free around England.
4. We do free delivery within England.
Bei dieser Menge kann ich Ihnen einen guten Rabatt anbieten.
1. I can offer a good discount on that quantity.
2. In a place like that you can always find your way.
3. Would you like some good rabbit in that mixture?
4. I can get you a good rebate.
SPANISH
Les presento un equipo muy competente.
1. Let me present you with a very competitive piece of equipment.
2. I'd like to give you a very competent piece of equipment.
3. I'd like to introduce a very fine piece of equipment.
4. Let me introduce you to a very competent team.
Vamos a aprobar el acta de la reunión anterior.
1. We approve of the actions of the previous board.
2. Let us approve the minutes of the last meeting.
3. We are going to test the actions of the last meeting.
4. Let's go and act out the previous reunion.
ANSWERS: French 2,3 German 4,1 Spanish 4,2
© Lingo24 Ltd
Translation services - Lingo24 is a leading provider of translation services between all major world languages. Based in the UK, the company also has full-time operations in China, Romania and New Zealand.
Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Hints for Translators
By Korina Hansel,
an experienced Germany-based freelance translator & author
and member of the Babelport SiteTeam
Leipzig, GERMANY
www.babelport.com/members/23
The translation market profited enormously from the globalisation, which took place over the past decades. How can you profit from this development?
The business of translation has become highly competitive. Prices are constantly decreasing due to the vast availability of service providers worldwide, which does of course depend on the language combination you are offering.
Clients who need the services of a language professional often do not value the work that is done and regard spending money on translation as a necessary evil, not taking into consideration that the text that needs to be translated (be it a manual, a presentation or business correspondence) also serves as an advertisement for their business, a sector which has had rising profits over the past decades.
Why not take some of this budget and put it into high quality translation that reflects the professionalism of the enterprise concerned? This, in turn, would put the translator in a much better position since his/her work would at last be valuated appropriately. It is, however, in the hands of the translators to stop complaining and start taking action. First, translators need to develop more self-esteem and pride in their profession. Second, translators need to develop and stick to strict business ethics. Last, get in contact with each other and share your experiences with your fellow translators.
Anyone who knows two languages to a certain extent can "translate", meaning that he can put words from one language (the source language) into another one (the target language). Yet there is much more to translation than just that and many people " those offering as well as those requesting translations " unfortunately, do not recognise this. Words are more than just meaning: words convey emotions and cultural concepts, which may exist in one language but not in another.
Thus it is the job of a translator to create target texts, which are truthful copies of the original but read as if they were originals in the target language. Translation is a demanding process that not everybody who knows two or more languages can master. A good translator loves languages and is totally dedicated to his/her job.
This includes the desire to constantly improve one's linguistic knowledge and to deepen the knowledge of his specialized field(s). Since the majority of required translations are "technical" ones, meaning translations in fields, which have their own specialized terminology, as opposed to literary translation, each translator is required to specialize in one or more fields (such as legal, financial, medical, IT-related, texts).
This means that one will have to stay in touch with the developments in these areas, even if one does not have translation jobs in one or more of his specialized fields for a while. Therefore, read as many newspapers, magazines and other publications concerning your specialization as you can. Try to organize your working day, which is especially important if you work from home. Let your clients know when they can reach you, and be available at those times, but do not forget that nobody can work 24/7. Leisure time is just as important as strict office hours are.
You should always be prepared that potential clients will ask for your rates, which you will have to know by heart. If you read the manual How to calculate your per word rate you will get an idea about what your minimum rate would have to be. Add a certain amount to this basic price since of course you are working in order to make a certain profit on top of only covering your basic needs. Let your clients know that.
Networking is the key to successful self-employment. This means that you should not only send your résumé to those agencies/clients that might benefit from your experience but also get in contact with your colleagues. You will probably profit from their experiences and be able to help them out when they need your advice.
Thus you are able to market yourself and gather useful information at the same time. Moreover, try to get in contact with freelancers working in other fields, such as marketing, web design etc. Who knows when they might need a language expert to translate their texts or websites into another language? And if you feel that you are not suitable for one job or another you will probably know someone you can refer to your client. Remember that it is most important to satisfy your clients. If you feel that you might not be able to satisfactorily fulfil your client's demand at one point or another let him/her know so and, if possible, refer the services of a colleague.
When it comes to dealing with agencies and direct clients be sure you settle all terms of payment, i.e. rate per source or target word/line etc., when and how payment will be received and so on, before even accepting a job. Make sure you have all necessary contact information at hand. An email address is not sufficient; if it has not been provided ask your contact person for his/her full name, postal address and telephone number.
The correctness of this information can easily be checked via the Internet, by calling that person and any other means available. Although the Internet provides a convenient, fast and easy means to get in contact with business partners anywhere in the world, it also comes in handy for those black sheep in the business who take advantage of the seeming anonymity of this technology.
Translation resources like babelport.com aim to minimize the risk involved in doing business via the Internet by establishing platforms where your customers can be rated according to your professional experience with them. So please make sure that you rate any agency or direct client you have worked for in order to help your colleagues.
Republished with permission by author and babelport.com - The translation industry information and project portal Visit http://www.babelport.com
Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia
an experienced Germany-based freelance translator & author
and member of the Babelport SiteTeam
Leipzig, GERMANY
www.babelport.com/members/23
The translation market profited enormously from the globalisation, which took place over the past decades. How can you profit from this development?
The business of translation has become highly competitive. Prices are constantly decreasing due to the vast availability of service providers worldwide, which does of course depend on the language combination you are offering.
Clients who need the services of a language professional often do not value the work that is done and regard spending money on translation as a necessary evil, not taking into consideration that the text that needs to be translated (be it a manual, a presentation or business correspondence) also serves as an advertisement for their business, a sector which has had rising profits over the past decades.
Why not take some of this budget and put it into high quality translation that reflects the professionalism of the enterprise concerned? This, in turn, would put the translator in a much better position since his/her work would at last be valuated appropriately. It is, however, in the hands of the translators to stop complaining and start taking action. First, translators need to develop more self-esteem and pride in their profession. Second, translators need to develop and stick to strict business ethics. Last, get in contact with each other and share your experiences with your fellow translators.
Anyone who knows two languages to a certain extent can "translate", meaning that he can put words from one language (the source language) into another one (the target language). Yet there is much more to translation than just that and many people " those offering as well as those requesting translations " unfortunately, do not recognise this. Words are more than just meaning: words convey emotions and cultural concepts, which may exist in one language but not in another.
Thus it is the job of a translator to create target texts, which are truthful copies of the original but read as if they were originals in the target language. Translation is a demanding process that not everybody who knows two or more languages can master. A good translator loves languages and is totally dedicated to his/her job.
This includes the desire to constantly improve one's linguistic knowledge and to deepen the knowledge of his specialized field(s). Since the majority of required translations are "technical" ones, meaning translations in fields, which have their own specialized terminology, as opposed to literary translation, each translator is required to specialize in one or more fields (such as legal, financial, medical, IT-related, texts).
This means that one will have to stay in touch with the developments in these areas, even if one does not have translation jobs in one or more of his specialized fields for a while. Therefore, read as many newspapers, magazines and other publications concerning your specialization as you can. Try to organize your working day, which is especially important if you work from home. Let your clients know when they can reach you, and be available at those times, but do not forget that nobody can work 24/7. Leisure time is just as important as strict office hours are.
You should always be prepared that potential clients will ask for your rates, which you will have to know by heart. If you read the manual How to calculate your per word rate you will get an idea about what your minimum rate would have to be. Add a certain amount to this basic price since of course you are working in order to make a certain profit on top of only covering your basic needs. Let your clients know that.
Networking is the key to successful self-employment. This means that you should not only send your résumé to those agencies/clients that might benefit from your experience but also get in contact with your colleagues. You will probably profit from their experiences and be able to help them out when they need your advice.
Thus you are able to market yourself and gather useful information at the same time. Moreover, try to get in contact with freelancers working in other fields, such as marketing, web design etc. Who knows when they might need a language expert to translate their texts or websites into another language? And if you feel that you are not suitable for one job or another you will probably know someone you can refer to your client. Remember that it is most important to satisfy your clients. If you feel that you might not be able to satisfactorily fulfil your client's demand at one point or another let him/her know so and, if possible, refer the services of a colleague.
When it comes to dealing with agencies and direct clients be sure you settle all terms of payment, i.e. rate per source or target word/line etc., when and how payment will be received and so on, before even accepting a job. Make sure you have all necessary contact information at hand. An email address is not sufficient; if it has not been provided ask your contact person for his/her full name, postal address and telephone number.
The correctness of this information can easily be checked via the Internet, by calling that person and any other means available. Although the Internet provides a convenient, fast and easy means to get in contact with business partners anywhere in the world, it also comes in handy for those black sheep in the business who take advantage of the seeming anonymity of this technology.
Translation resources like babelport.com aim to minimize the risk involved in doing business via the Internet by establishing platforms where your customers can be rated according to your professional experience with them. So please make sure that you rate any agency or direct client you have worked for in order to help your colleagues.
Republished with permission by author and babelport.com - The translation industry information and project portal Visit http://www.babelport.com
Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
