Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Off topic: Why are translations used by big businesses so poor? Thread poster: Eng2Span
| Eng2Span United States Local time: 09:54 English to Spanish + ...
Hi everybody! First of all, just wanted to say that I started visiting Proz a couple of weeks ago and have just been thrilled with this place! The subject of my post is a bit of a rant to big businesses here in the States... seeing how exceptional the translations are from just about everybody on this site... forces me to wonder where do the big companies here get their translators? If you live in the States, you know what I'm talking about... the phone company, banks,... See more Hi everybody! First of all, just wanted to say that I started visiting Proz a couple of weeks ago and have just been thrilled with this place! The subject of my post is a bit of a rant to big businesses here in the States... seeing how exceptional the translations are from just about everybody on this site... forces me to wonder where do the big companies here get their translators? If you live in the States, you know what I'm talking about... the phone company, banks, even McDonald's reaching out to Hispanics... yet plagued with really poor Spanish. Maybe we should send these guys a link... KudoZ to all! Take care, Jesse (Eng2Span) ▲ Collapse | | | Sol United States Local time: 09:54 Spanish to English + ... bad translations in the U.S. | May 7, 2004 |
Eng2Span wrote: If you live in the States, you know what I'm talking about... the phone company, banks, even McDonald's reaching out to Hispanics... yet plagued with really poor Spanish. My theory is that they are not willing to pay for it. They probably get the same kids that work in their restaurants for minimum wage to do it.
[Edited at 2004-05-08 22:14] | | |
they want to sit in the front row for peanuts or even for free if possible. As someone said, perhaps they have the kids that work in the restaurants translate the signs instead of having a professional do it. The fees that they are willing to pay are just so much lower. You get what you pay for. Cheers! Lucinda | | | Rosa Maria Duenas Rios (X) Local time: 09:54 Part ignorance, part economics, but not everywhere! | May 7, 2004 |
I think that part of the problem is due to the fact that a lot of respectable business people here still believe that any bilingual person can do translations, so they just give the jobs to their secretaries, waiters and the sort. These same business people also react with surprise when confronted with the rates of a professional translator, since they never thought about it as a profession similar to others like graphic designer, librarian, etc. Thus, there is a certain tendency to try to save ... See more I think that part of the problem is due to the fact that a lot of respectable business people here still believe that any bilingual person can do translations, so they just give the jobs to their secretaries, waiters and the sort. These same business people also react with surprise when confronted with the rates of a professional translator, since they never thought about it as a profession similar to others like graphic designer, librarian, etc. Thus, there is a certain tendency to try to save money on this field. However, in my experience, MOST of the business people here mind a lot about the QUALITY of the services/attention they offer their customers, and the ones that realize that good language standards constitute an essential part of their business, look for professional translators and are willing to pay the price. Several of my clients are an example of this. I guess some fast-food companies are just more interested in catering to the buds, rather than to the eyes, of their Hispanic clientele. My two cents. [Edited at 2004-05-07 20:01]
[Edited at 2004-05-09 00:22] ▲ Collapse | |
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The problem is not confined to the USA alone | May 8, 2004 |
It is seen everywhere. The problem is, translation is not recognized as a serious economic activity. If you see the bar chart of an organization dealing with its clients' projects, whose language is different, there is no provision in the bar chart for the time required for the translation. Nor is there a separate allocation for translations in the budget. The attempt is always there to accommodate this expenditure in the 3% contingencies. As a result, a client coming to a translator always sets... See more It is seen everywhere. The problem is, translation is not recognized as a serious economic activity. If you see the bar chart of an organization dealing with its clients' projects, whose language is different, there is no provision in the bar chart for the time required for the translation. Nor is there a separate allocation for translations in the budget. The attempt is always there to accommodate this expenditure in the 3% contingencies. As a result, a client coming to a translator always sets unreasonable deadlines and is painfully surprised to hear the prices demanded. The tendency is always to make do with a cheap translation done in haste. And the funny translations abound. There are quite a number of Proz threads citing such translations. Regards, N.Raghavan ▲ Collapse | | | Money makes the world go round (or stay put) | May 8, 2004 |
I was recently approached for one of the best projects I have ever been offered and it was for a long term collaboration paid by the hour with a certain number of hours per week. Well I offered my fees and they offered theirs, and then I offered something inbetween and they came back to me saying they would pass the job to their branch in the States since they knew it was going to be so much cheaper.... I don't regret it. Cheap labour is something of the past. | | | Pablo Roufogalis (X) Colombia Local time: 08:54 English to Spanish
In many cases, translations for secondary markets are done to meet an internal or external requirement, not because there's a manager who feels it is important to provide a good document. A known provider that delivers in time is probably all they need. Why risk it if nobody cares? | | | Lincoln Hui Hong Kong Local time: 21:54 Member Chinese to English + ... Checking off a compliance box | Feb 27, 2021 |
They're bad because they're just checking off a box that says "Have a translation". They suddenly pay a lot more attention if they're actually selling products to people speaking that language. | |
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3089491 (X) Luxembourg Local time: 15:54 I'm impressed | Feb 27, 2021 |
Lincoln Hui wrote: They're bad because they're just checking off a box that says "Have a translation". They suddenly pay a lot more attention if they're actually selling products to people speaking that language. On the other hand, corporations tend to use multilingual vendors with high quality (sometimes, even certified) processes. If the quality of the processes is so high, how can be the final result (i.e. the translation) so bad? | | | Sem Ha Spain Local time: 15:54 English to Dutch
I went on a two day walk to businesses in my city, to look for nice projects. Nearly everybody had a google translation on their website three months later. Well, for me a website with a google translation is worse than a website with no translation. | | | Lincoln Hui Hong Kong Local time: 21:54 Member Chinese to English + ... Certified processes | Mar 2, 2021 |
Mihai Badea wrote: Lincoln Hui wrote: They're bad because they're just checking off a box that says "Have a translation". They suddenly pay a lot more attention if they're actually selling products to people speaking that language. On the other hand, corporations tend to use multilingual vendors with high quality (sometimes, even certified) processes. If the quality of the processes is so high, how can be the final result (i.e. the translation) so bad? I don't know that ISO processes have any necessary relationship with translation quality. | | | Why are translations used by big businesses so poor? | Mar 3, 2021 |
My guess is that they prefer hiring employees who are bilingual than hiring a professional translator just to save money. | |
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Adieu Ukrainian to English + ... | That's why -- straight from my Inbox | Mar 4, 2021 |
Received on March 4, 11:31 am GMT ----- Hello dear linguist, I am really sorry for the mass email, I have found you on Proz.com I have a translation project. Around 100 words that must be translated from Russian into English. Main job details: JOB TYPE: Translation LANGUAGE PAIR: Russian into English DEADLINE: March 4, 1 pm GMT or your best time RATE PER WORD: 0.03$ SUBJECT: Legal form SOURCE FI... See more Received on March 4, 11:31 am GMT ----- Hello dear linguist, I am really sorry for the mass email, I have found you on Proz.com I have a translation project. Around 100 words that must be translated from Russian into English. Main job details: JOB TYPE: Translation LANGUAGE PAIR: Russian into English DEADLINE: March 4, 1 pm GMT or your best time RATE PER WORD: 0.03$ SUBJECT: Legal form SOURCE FILE: pdf If you are interested in this job and want to take a part in it, please send me your CV and link to your proz account. Please be ready to sign NDA. ----- Well, 100 words in a legal form within 90 minutes at $0.03 per word. You are expected to review and sign their NDA before that. Is $0.03 per source word their rush rate?
[Edited at 2021-03-04 11:51 GMT] ▲ Collapse | | |
Many companies would ask their internal bilingual employees to do the translation. To save money. And sometimes the translations are not professional. | | | Pages in topic: [1 2] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Why are translations used by big businesses so poor? Protemos translation business management system | Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!
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