Test Translations-an Update

by Andrei Gerasimov, Ph.D.

n April 2001 (Volume 5, No. 2), TJ published my article entitled "Test Translations-To Do or Not to Do?". This publication generated quite a lot of feedback from all over the world, with all correspondents and freelance translators supporting my idea that test translations are practically useless and should be ignored. The conclusion substantiated in my article was based on my first nine months of marketing my translation services worldwide.

However, after three years of active translation for the worldwide translation market, I have had to revise my initial unconditionally negative attitude to tests. I would now like to share my new vision of the issue with my colleagues. My new approach may be of interest to them, particularly since it has enabled me to win such customers as Volvo Cars Russia, Philips France, Ford Motors Russia, Babylon.com, and Ericsson (Mobitex) as long-term clients.

There two main points I would like to emphasize:

1. There are two kinds of test translations. A translator should learn to differentiate between them and respond accordingly.

2. When you choose to do a test translation, it is necessary to use a quality assurance system guaranteeing the best results.

Let me explain what I mean.

Some test translations are sent to translators as a response to their application letters (sometimes with a CV attached). Many translation agencies respond in a knee-jerk manner-they send a test translation. This is done even if the agency in question does not work with the language pair of the applicant, or if the agency has a huge database of translators working in this area. In both cases, your chances of getting a real job are non-existent, even if you do not know it. Consequently, I throw such tests-which are not related to a real project-in the trash basket as soon as I detect them in my mail box.

Some examples: Softitler (Italy), Xerox translation department (GB), Wordbank (GB). Even though my test translations were evaluated positively, I never received a real job from these companies.

Tests of another kind are sent to freelance translators when an agency has already won (or trying to win) a real project from a customer and is looking for the subcontractor most suitable for the job. In this case, a test text is a part of the translation project. In such cases, I usually try to do the test using my own quality assurance system.

Here are the principles of this system.

1. Do the test translation as soon as possible.

2. Understand who this translation is meant for, i.e., the end user, and base your terminology research on this information. E.g., if you (let’s say, a Moscow-based translator) receive a test from Belgian agency containing some technical documentation of Yamaha, find your local (Moscow) Yamaha representative, distributor or dealer, visit the office or showroom, and get as many reference materials as possible. My motto is: the best translation (from the customer’s point of view) is the one containing terminology mistakes the customer is already used too ;-))). This is joke, of course, but only partially, since it reflects a sad reality. Usually, the customer uses its local office for evaluating test translations. Therefore, let the evaluator see what he/she wants to see in your translation.

3. Have your translation proofread by one of your colleagues specializing in the subject of test translation (make sure he is a real friend!). You may establish a long-term cooperation of this kind, which will be a mutually beneficial two-way help. This way you will avoid typical mistakes such as omissions, etc.

4. Next, have your translation proofread by a local expert in the relevant field of knowledge-engineer, marketing manager, etc. You may find such a person easily through the Internet. Don’t forget to pay him-you may need this person’s terminological advice in the future, after you win the translation project.

5. After that I usually do my own final proofreading using the DejaVu Database maintenance interface (a DejaVu tool designed for alignment of source and target files)-this is actually a table letting you to compare each target sentence against corresponding source sentence.

Only then is the test translation ready to be submitted to the agency or direct client.

My business results for 2002, my third year of distant translation practice, prove the efficiency of this approach to test translations-in total I received a workload of about 750,000 words of source language (English) from the customers mentioned above and several others. In many cases, I won these clients through test translations. And of course I was able to do this huge workload only thanks to daily use of Wordfast, my favorite translation memory tool, which, unlike Trados, never hangs my computer.

South African trade with France

France and South Africa have strong relations in the areas of trade and industry, arts and culture and science and technology. France supports Nepad and the AU, particularly in the context of the G-8. It has hosted several summits, and meetings supportive of African development and emerging economies in Africa. South Africa signed an agreement on technical assistance with France in 2003.

While the structure of the French-South African exchanges has remained stable since the early 1990s, the performance of French business in South Africa has shown clear progress over the past decade. French exports to South Africa reached R8-billion in 2000, compared to R5.5-billion in 1991. South Africa is now the leading outlet for French companies in sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, South African exports to France have increased from some R44-million in 1991 to around R57-million in 2000.

Collection

The objective of this article is to improve communication between freelance translators and translation agencies on various payment issues.

It is based on my first-hand experience in freelance translation from English to Russian and vice-versa for 45 translation agencies in 12 countries (USA - 11, UK - 7, Russia - 5, Japan - 4, Belgium - 3, Czech Republic - 3, France - 3, Germany - 2, Hong Kong - 2, Israel - 1, Netherlands - 3, Sweden - 1) and 20 direct clients from four countries (Russia - 14, France - 1, Israel - 1, USA - 3) from July 1999 to July 2003, with an approximate total word count of 2 million source words.

Practically all freelance translators are familiar with the frustration of spending too much time and effort collecting fees for translation. The optimization of this process may therefore be of interest to many of my colleagues.

This problem can be approached in two ways:

1. Thoroughly check the client’s payment practices BEFORE accepting a job

2. Professional debt collection AFTER the job has been completed and delivered to the client.

If the first step is implemented well enough, the second step will be unnecessary. See Fig.1. Chart

Fig. 1

Let’s focus on the first step.

When you are approached by a new agency, the first thing you need to do is check its payment practices on all current payment practice databases. I know of five of them: www.proz.com/blueboard, www.tcrlist.com, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pp_dist, and the lists regularly e-mailed to subscribers by www.translationdirectory.com and http://www.topica.com/lists/transpayment/. The last three information sources are free. The first two charge a little bit, but the information is well worth it.

Then you should visit the agency’s website and see if it provides all necessary contact info (full street address, phone, fax, e-fax, mobile, e-mail address) and a list of the agency’s clients and client testimonials, preferably with contact info. If the agency has no website, this is a bad sign (for example, the notoriously non-paying Polylingua from the Czech Republic). Another bad sign is a free e-mail address.

Pay attention to the agency’s memberships in professional associations, such as ATA for USA agencies and ITI for UK agencies. An agency should be registered with its national chamber of commerce and have a registration number.

You can ask the potential client to provide you with this information if it is not published on its website. A client with good intentions and a first-class reputation will be happy to cooperate. I recommend asking for this information immediately after receiving a P.O. or contract. Some other important pieces of information to be collected include: How long has the client been in business? How long have they been at their current location? Who owns the business?

If the agency has positive payment practice records in the above databases and willingly provides the information you need, you can accept the job without worry. Most probably you will have no problems with collection.

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Now let’s focus on the second part of your task-professional debt collection from problem clients. It is most important to learn to differentiate between "non-malicious" and "malicious" delays of payment. The typical reasons for "non-malicious" delay are usually as follows:

1. Poor organization at the translation agency. Usually one person is responsible for placing translation assignments, another for approving payments, and a third for executing payments via a bank. In most cases you will never contact persons #2 and #3, but they are key figures in the payment process. It often turns out, as the Russian saying goes, that "the right hand does not know what the left is doing."

2. Poor communication: You send a reminder to your translation manager. He forwards your reminder to the accountant. You receive no response from either one (the translation manager thinks payment is not his area of responsibility; the accountant never communicates with freelance translators because this is the translation manager’s responsibility). Poor communication undermines trust and robs time from both parties. In fact, poor communication is a result of poor organization.

3. Mistakes in the bank application for a wire transfer. For example, several of my direct clients and some of the agencies I’ve worked with have been confused by such terms as "correspondent bank" and "beneficiary’s bank," and sent the funds to the wrong bank. This resulted in time lost for both parties and delay in payment.

In my four years’ practice, non-malicious delays for periods exceeding one month were caused by five agencies; mistakes in banking details accounted for five further cases; receipt of a smaller amount than promised without explanation occurred in only one case (World Link Technologies, USA).

Do not mistake poor communication and organization and banking mistakes for an attempt at non-payment. Never be too harsh on non-malicious non-payers. They are probably working as well as they can and a harsh tone will not help the situation. In fact, you may offend someone and lose a good client. Late payment is better than no job at all. If you cannot differentiate between non-malicious late payers and malicious non-payers, you could lose a valuable client by being too harsh during the collection process. The trick is to collect the debt in such a way that your professional relationship is not damaged, so you can remain partners for many years to come.

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"Malicious" delay means the agency is seeing if it can get away without paying you. The agency may be testing how far you are ready to go to collect the payment and how professional you are in debt collection. This situation is typical in uncivilized business environments such as Russia and Eastern Europe, but there are malicious non-payers among USA and UK agencies, as well. This is exactly how STB (UK) operates.

The key words here are "politeness" and "persistency." You should make the client understand that they have no chance of getting away with non-payment. I use the following practices:

1) after a 3 day delay of payment-a polite reminder by e-mail

2) 10 day delay-a polite reminder by fax

3) 20 days-a telephone call

4) 30 days-a fax/snail-mail with a polite promise of exposure on the worldwide translation scene and legal procedures.

Signs indicating an attempt at malicious non-payment include:

1. The agency does not respond to your repeated e-mail or fax reminders

2. The agency suddenly stops answering your phone calls

3. The agency says the payment was made, but does not provide banking confirmation of the fund transfer when you request it (this is a standard banking document containing fund transfer details, with a unique reference number. Depending on the country, it is called a SWIFT copy or an advice of funds transfer).

When you are sure you are facing a case of non-payment (usually confirmed by complaints of other translators published in some of the above-mentioned payment practice databases), you should send a politely worded list of further actions you will take for collection. This list is a very effective collection tool, but you should use it only if you are 100% sure of the malicious nature of the problem. This is your ultimate weapon, so use it discreetly.

This list of collection actions can include very polite assurances (not threats!) to expose the non-payer before:

1. its clients

2. its national chamber of commerce

3. its national association of translators/translation agencies

4. the ITI or ATA

5. The five payment practice databases.

You should also assure them you will file a lawsuit through a local lawyer, hire a local debt collection agency, and contact the local chapter of the Better Business Bureau, if the problem occurs in the USA.

If the agency does not react, start to implement your exposure plan-one action a week, with notifications sent to the debtor.

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My statistics after four years of active freelance translation are as follows. Among 45 translation agencies in 12 countries, and 20 direct clients from 4 countries, I met only one malicious (and notorious) non-payer-Polylingua (Prague, Czech Republic), which is managed by Marta Cettlova. I accepted two small jobs from Polylingua during my second year of work without properly researching the agency. Only after completing the jobs and encountering a payment problem did I discover that the agency had been exposed by my colleagues on the aforementioned databases! Luckily, the lost amount totaled only 0.4% of the fees I earned during these years.

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Conclusions:

1. Concentrate your efforts on checking the reliability of a client (AFTER receipt of a contract or PO, but before doing the job), not on collection after problems begin.

2. When collecting your debts, be polite, flexible and persistent. To preserve your share of the market, do not call in the big guns unless absolutely necessary.

3. Poor communication and organization of the payment process are much more common problems in translation agencies than malicious attempts at non-payment.

Marketing Your Translation Services:

by Andrei Gerasimov http://www.accurapid.com/journal/16tests.htm

rom the moment my first translation was published in the popular Soviet literary magazine Znamya (The Banner), my desire to become a professional translator has dominated my life. The year was 1981 and I was a recent graduate from Moscow State University. However, due to Russia’s ideological and economic climate, it was only in 1989, after having received my Ph.D., that I had a chance to become a full-time, freelance literary translator. And I did not miss this chance.

A test translation tells nothing about the actual translator’s qualifications because any rookie can hire a seasoned ace to do or edit the test translation. In nine years, I translated 56 books-works of Irwin Shaw, William Styron, John Irving, Jackie Collins, Jacqueline Susann and many others. The total print run, due to numerous reprints, exceeded 10 million copies. I enjoyed my work and creative freedom. The pay was also good-by Russian standards, of course.

The notorious economic crisis of 1998 in Russia, provoked by Russian financial tycoons, put an end to this happy period. The book market suffered a dramatic decline. Even now, a book is considered successful in Russia if its print run exceeds 5000 copies. The best literary translators are paid a ridiculous rate of US$ 1.00 per page-at a time when there are more Mercedes 600s in Moscow than in any other capital of the world.

But these low rates were not the main reason that made me flee the Russian literary/publishing scene. At the beginning of my translation career, I could choose the best American books for translation, and all the books I translated were commercially successful. However, by the late nineties, the Russian market became interested only in so-called "novels for maids"-pulp fiction of the lowest quality. I believe a literary translator should translate only works he admires and reject those he despises.

So, by the beginning of 1999, I decided to focus my attention on technical and advertising translation for foreign companies. This was an obvious choice, since I have a Ph.D. in technical sciences and nine years of engineering experience. Besides, I found that advertising translation has a lot in common with literary translation.

Why foreign companies, you may ask. I soon found that most potential clients in Russia are not interested in high-quality translations at all. In many cases, they prefer to hire a college student eager to translate at the rate of US$ 0.01 per word or even less. In other companies, translations are done by secretaries-long-legged girls hired by so-called "New Russians" as "maids for all duties," possibly with a diploma from a three-month-long English course.

After several weeks of Internet searching, I found and bought three databases of foreign translation agencies. One of them was compiled by Alex Eames (www.translatortips.com). I would rate this database as the most valuable one, since it was the only one that actually brought me clients. A fourth database of reputable translation agencies, compiled much later by Karin Adamczyk (www.macroconsulting.com) is also very helpful; it now includes over 800 e-mail addresses.

Since literary translation for Russian publishers (my previous experience) is not the same as translating for western corporations and translation agencies, I did my best to adjust my qualifications, software and hardware to the new requirements. I completed courses in MS Office 97 (all applications), courses in DTP (QuarkXpress, PageMaker), installed these applications plus the most popular Translation Memory tools, bought a Macintosh in addition to my Intel Celeron 466, acquired the most modern means of telecommunications (everything but a satellite phone), added up-to-date specialized dictionaries and encyclopaedias and ensured round-the-clock connection to the Internet from the best Russian ISP.

Only after that did I prepare my resume/CV, attach letters of recommendation from top Russian publishers and launch my self-marketing campaign. Soon, I began receiving numerous forms, questionnaires, and links to on-line registration forms. I completed all of them in good faith. Some companies sent test translations. On the whole, I did about 20 free tests, the lengths of which varied from several lines to several pages. At that time, I was eager to conquer a completely new market at any cost, although I was not familiar with the actual rules of the game.

The list of companies that sent me the tests included the Xerox company (UK), Softitler, Lionbridge and many others. It’s a pity I do not remember all the names. Some of them obviously did not bother to read my resume since they offered me tests in accounting, pharmaceuticals, geology and other areas which have nothing to do with the areas of knowledge clearly specified in my resume. A Russian translation agency sent me a test with typos and grammatical mistakes (in English!) which I revised (free of charge) and returned to the sender untranslated. They thanked me profusely.

In general, my approach to doing these tests was as follows: I did the tests only in my fields of knowledge (electronics, IT, automotive, advertising, marketing, PR). After having translated a text, I proofread it three times. After that, I sent the test translation to a Russian expert in the respective area who I knew had a good knowledge of English-mainly to check special Russian terminology. After that, I sent the translation to my friend, a translator with over 20 years of experience, for final proofreading. In most cases the revisions suggested by my editors were minimal, but I took all this trouble just to be sure that my test translations were perfect.

The results were as follows: only one company, Softitler, informed me that I had passed their test and that they had included me in their database of translators. I am still waiting for the first job from this company. I received no feedback regarding my tests from other companies. When I asked about the results-after waiting for about 6 months in each case-they politely answered that I had passed their test, but they had no jobs in my language pair (English-Russian). In response, I asked why they had sent their tests. Their reply: Sending a test translation is their standard response to any application.

I thought a lot about this situation and the use of test translations as a tool to assess the professional level of a new applicant. Obviously, an agency or client needs to evaluate an applicant’s qualifications somehow. However, in my humble opinion, this approach-I mean test translations-is intrinsically wrong for a number of reasons:

1) The word count of some test translations exceeds a reasonable figure, so such tests sometimes look like a lame attempt to get a free translation.

2) No reference material normally provided to ensure consistency of terminology is sent. A client considers the translation to be good when the translator uses terminology this client is used to. This is especially important when the target language is Russian since various companies/clients in this country use different terminology.

3) There is no context. When translating a highly technical document, in many cases it is impossible to ensure meaning-based translation when only a short excerpt, detached from a complete document, is available.

4) The translator is not told to what audience the text is addressed. This is a serious disadvantage since many technical terms are translated differently depending on who the end user is. A service technician in car shop uses special terminology different from the terminology used by a reporter of an automotive magazine or by a car owner. This difference should be taken into account by the translator, who should always know for whom the translation is intended.

5) A test translation tells nothing about the translator’s actual qualifications because any rookie can hire a seasoned ace to do or edit the test translation.

6) And the most important reason is an ethical problem-I would call it "who are the judges"? Usually the evaluation is done by the unsuspecting applicant’s direct competitor! This situation undoubtedly affects the evaluation process at a conscious or subconscious level.

Despite this, my marketing campaign proved to be very successful on the whole. Dozens of agencies reported that they included me in their translator databases and promised to contact me should the need arise. About 20 agencies started sending jobs in my direction. Later, I received positive feedback and words of appreciation. My total workload in the year 2000 amounted to more than 350,000 words-and this is only my first year of being engaged in the translation business on an international scale.

Having analyzed the results of my marketing campaign, I have drawn the following conclusion-agencies send you either forms and tests or jobs. When they send you tests, it means that either they never have jobs in your specialty, or they do not need new translators in your specialty, since they have enough of them in their database. In most cases, forms and tests are a formal response meant to bounce off the applicant whose services are not needed.

So far, I have seen only one exception to the rule, which in my opinion only confirms the rule. The STB agency (Surrey Translation Bureau from UK, director John Cooke) sent me a form to complete and a non-disclosure agreement; he also sent questionnaires as long as my arm to the top Russian publishers who had given me letters of recommendation. After I complied with all their requests, the agency began to send me jobs. Later I found out that this agency is a notorious non-payer with numerous debts to freelance translators to their credit (sorry, dis-credit). It was very difficult to collect money from them.

So the bottom line is: the agencies send you either forms and tests or jobs. Of course this is only my limited experience covering only 2000 (two thousand) translation agencies. I would be glad to hear of agencies whose practices disprove my conclusion.

As for potential direct clients in Russia, here the situation was much better. I passed the short tests sent to me by the Moscow office of Volvo Cars International and Protek Flagship, a Moscow-based UK software company, and they became my steady clients.

I hope that my experience may be of use to translators from other countries marketing their services around the world. When an agency sends you a test translation, you spend your valuable time at your own peril. It’s up to you to decide whether to do the test or to ignore it. Only a very small percentage of tests will give you an actual workload.

Trados-Is It a Must?

by Andrei Gerasimov

The aggressive marketing campaign of Trados makes us to believe that you can’t be/stay successful/competitive on the worldwide translation service market unless you have/use this "industry standard" TM software. The objective of this micro-study is to check whether the above statement is true and, if so, to what extent. I believe that my case is quite representative, since I am a typical freelance technical/marketing translator translating about 500 thousand words from English into Russian per year. My clients (businesses and translation companies) are from all over the world-USA, Israel, Japan, Belgium, UK, France, Russia etc. These facts make my own case study typical enough for drawing valid conclusions regarding the truthfulness of the above-mentioned marketing campaign.

I was quite happy with Wordfast for a year when a lost job (use of Trados was a strict client’s requirement) made me buy Trados 5.0. It was in January 2002. It took me two weeks (full-time) to learn how to use the tool (despite the fact that I was thoroughly familiar with the TM concept and had used DéjàVu and Wordfast). By the end of the first month I was proficient enough in the use of Trados to translate various types of files. After that I sent notification that I owned/used Trados 5.0 Freelancer to about 2000 (two thousand) translation agencies worldwide, including my old clients.

By the end of the second month I returned to Wordfast in my daily work for several reasons. Some of them are as follows: IMHO, WF is much more user-friendly. My OS and applications (Windows 98, MS Office 97) never crash when I use WF. The last reason was purely psychological one: I did not feel obligated to migrate to Trados from WF only because I paid USD 745 for Trados and WF was licensed free of charge.

From January 2002 to August 2002 I did 125 small, medium-sized, and large jobs. Only three jobs required the use of Trados. In these 3 cases the source files were in MS Word format. The total word count of these 3 jobs was less than 3 percent of my total workload. I did these 3 jobs using WF 3.35, and no client noticed any difference. They were sure that I had used Trados 5.0 and were happy about my translation services.

Of course my experience with various TM software is a limited one. However my conclusions are as follows:

1. The use of TM software is a must for every freelance translator working on domestic or worldwide markets. TM software increased my output/productivity 30 percent on the average, in some cases 70 percent. 2. Theoretically buying Trados should help to win a higher segment of the worldwide translation market, since only six Russian freelancers have it. However actually the business advantages of buying Trados were negligible in my case. 3. The main conclusion-you can advertise yourself as a Trados user even if actually you use Wordfast. Wordfast is completely compatible with Trados files (bilingual and TMs). No client sees a difference. The difference is significant only to your wallet-Trados is licensed for about USD 700, and Wordfast for free. 4. Keep your head cool when you are attacked by overly aggressive marketing experts.

Translation services: How to hire a translation services provider

If your company is involved in international business, one thing is certain-sooner or later you’ll need to hire a translation services provider (TSP). Naturally, you want a high quality translation at the lowest possible cost.

High quality is essential to:

* correctly convey your information and your message * demonstrate your company’s high standards to your target market * preserve and improve your brand image.

The quality of translation and target texts reflects your company’s QA system, and above all, the translation should also be of premium quality.

A quality translation is accurate, reads smoothly, and consistently uses correct industry-specific terminology. Furthermore, a quality translation is meaning-based, showing the translator understands not only the source words, but also knows how to convey the core message to the target audience, adapting it to fit that particular audience.

On the other hand, a poor-or even a simply “good enough”-translation can make a negative first impression on your new target audience. It could be the one thing that makes the difference between success and a flop.

There are some common challenges in choosing the right TSP. While you are clearly an expert in your area of business, it’s likely that the process, business and technology of translation is complete Greek to you. How to find a TSP that suits your particular needs and ensures the best quality/cost ratio?

This article is designed to help you:

* make an informed choice of TSP * understand the basics of co-operation with a TSP * minimize translation costs without compromising quality.

Choosing a TSP Your choices boil down to the following: use a translation agency or a freelancer-either of which may be located in your country or in the target language country. How to decide?

An agency is preferable when you need to translate into multiple target languages, in addition to printing the finished product to save you time. An agency will charge you 2-3 times more than a freelancer for translation per language. Obviously, agencies pay higher taxes and administrative expenses, plus furnishing plush office space and generating profit at your expense. The actual translation is completed by either freelancers or in-house translators. Some agencies have rigorous QA procedures, some not. The same applies to freelancers.

If you have a limited number of target languages, the obvious choice is to eliminate the middle men and go straight to freelancers. How do you know a good freelancer when you see one? Look for:

* memberships in well-known translation associations such as the American Translators Association (USA), the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (UK), or similar associations in target language countries (i.e. the Union of Translators of Russia) * solid references (with contact details) from well-known transnational companies * sample translations in your area of knowledge * willingness to make a small test translation-not necessarily free-of-charge, since established translators rarely make free tests * proven specialization/experience in your area of knowledge.

While it may seem easier to contact an agency or a freelancer located in your country, in most cases this isn’t recommended. Translators living abroad have difficulty keeping up with their dynamic changing native languages, daily losing some linguistic skills. Another point - translators living in the target language country can easily contact a local specialist or terminologist. To determine precise terminology and ensure an accurate translation, reference materials cannot replace such “live” consultations. Living in a target language environment is a prerequisite for a translator when smooth style and up-to-date vocabulary are critically important-especially in the case of advertising and marketing texts.

Note that all good translators translate only into their target language. True bilinguals are very few. For example, Russian translators living in the USA lose command of their native language faster than they can improve their English. Also, costs in the target language country may be much more attractive than in your country. Working with your TSP Close co-operation between a client and TSP is critically important for a high quality translation. That means providing reference materials (previous translations or original documents which you have edited and/or approved), corporate/project-specific glossaries, necessary explanations of technology described in the source text, and sometimes clarifying sloppily-written parts. When you get a call for any of the above, take it as a sign that your translator cares about quality. Actually, the closer the co-operation, the better the results.

Take, for example, one classic case from my translation practice. When a Moscow-based yacht dealership asked me to translate some advertising brochures from English into Russian, I requested to meet a company expert with sound knowledge of yachting terminology. I was introduced to a marine engineer with many years of experience in operating these yachts. He gave me all the necessary terminology. Afterwards, however, the company’s marketing manager edited my translation heavily. Next, the company’s director made lots of changes to the marketing manager’s version. We discovered that three experts working in the same Russian dealership used different Russian terminology. Only after making a corporate glossary was the problem solved and my job duly appreciated by the client. Minimizing charges Psst! What I’m about to tell you is considered an industry secret by many translation agencies and freelancers. Source documents and series of documents (usually called translations projects) often contain repetitions-either internal (within one document) or external (within a series of source documents). Example-an automotive catalogue for 2005 may contain 75% of the sentences found in the 2004 catalogue. The same is true when you compare user manuals for various mobile phones of the same manufacturer. No secret there.

What you probably didn’t know is that professional translators use special software (called Translation Memory) enabling them to translate a repetitive sentence or phrase only one time. The software compares each subsequent sentence with the database and automatically offers a translation made previously. Sometimes this technology considerably decreases time and effort while improving the quality and consistency of translation. Note: don’t confuse TM with MT (Machine Translation) which is notorious for producing extremely poor-quality translation. Translation Memory, on the other hand, is simply an aid to improving the efficiency of human translators.

So, where is the cost-savings opportunity for you? Ask your TSP to analyze the source text (Trados or Wordfast are the most popular TM software with an analysis function) to determine the percentage of exact and fuzzy matches, then request an appropriate discount. Typical discounts are as follows: new words-100%, 99-85% matches-70%, 84-0% - 100%, repetitions and exact matches-30% (these should be checked and sometimes edited in a new context). Depending on what the analysis shows, you may be able to cut your translation expenses significantly.

Tool Kit * Dealing With the PowerPoint Nightmare

Although PowerPoint is one of the formats that hardly any translator can escape it is clearly the most tedious of the Office programs for translation. Reformatting Before Translation One of the reasons PowerPoint files are so difficult to translate is because of the people who primarily use it-marketing people-and their lack of understanding of how to properly format a document (and I won’t even begin to write about their linguistic abilities).

For instance, in almost every PowerPoint presentation you will be presented with issues such as hard returns for line breaks. So the rule of thumb is: Before processing a PowerPoint presentation in a computer-assisted translation tool, it is always a good idea to spend a few minutes going through the document and cleaning up its gross formatting sins. While the document may look poorly formatted after many of the hard returns are gone from the middle of sentences, this allows you to translate each sentence in one segment rather than twelve different segments. And knowing that either you or your client will have to re-format the document after it is translated anyway, you may just as well mess up the formatting before you even start with the translation! CAT Support for PowerPoint The support for PowerPoint files that computer-assisted translation applications offer is "OK."

* Déjà Vu had fairly poor PowerPoint support in version 3, but it works well in version X. * SDLX 2005 works equally well with PowerPoint. * Trados used to translate PowerPoint files with the T-Windows for PowerPoint, which has its own share of problems (such as not creating a bilingual document), but it now (from version 6.5 on) supports PowerPoint files right in the TagEditor which works much better. * MultiTrans has its own menu within PowerPoint and supports PowerPoint files similarly to the way it supports Word files. * Wordfast (kind of) supports PowerPoint files through linking to them from within Word.

Leaving the Original File Untouched If you work with a CAT tool that imports a PPT file (Trados TagEditor, SDLX, or Déjà Vu), it is very important that you change neither the content nor the location nor the name of the original source document. In the process of recreating the translated document, these tools need the original document and all the non-textual information that it contains. If you change any of the above or, in the case of Trados, change the name of the target .ttx file, you will not be able to properly export the document. Dealing with Notes Text One of the problems that CAT tools have with PPT files is that they will have to deal with text on various levels. Obviously there is text in the actual slides, but there is also the "Notes" text, containing the notes for the presenter of the PowerPoint presentation.

Once you have ascertained whether your client needs that text to be translated (one of the two questions that you need to ask before starting to work on the translation-the other is: who does the formatting?), you need to figure out how your CAT tools supports that. Some tools process Notes text by default (Trados and SDLX) and in others you can control it automatically (Déjà Vu X and Wordfast) or manually (MultiTrans). Word Counts and Other Statistics Another odd thing about PowerPoint files are the statistics like the word count. For one thing, word counts do not include text in any embedded objects. Before quoting on a PowerPoint project, always make sure that all text is actually translatable and not an embedded object such as a graphic. You can check this by right-clicking on the slide. If picture-related commands show up or the picture toolbar appears, you are dealing with a graphic rather than text.

To count the directly translatable words within PowerPoint, you can access the word count feature through File> Properties> Statistics (and you should also be aware that the word count module in PowerPoint XP and above differs from earlier versions, e.g., hyphenated words are no longer counted as two words).

Of course, any CAT tool also offers word count features for PowerPoint files using their own parameters for counting, whereas word count tools like AnyCount or PractiCount & Invoice use PowerPoint’s own word count module. Keyboard Shortcuts My two favorite shortcuts in PowerPoint are Ctrl+M for a new slide and Ctrl+D to duplicate the existing slide.

If you are interested in all the PowerPoint shortcuts, there is a complete list at: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HP051955191033.aspx.

To view this list in and for languages other than English, here’s what you can do: The last four digits of this URL (1033) are the Microsoft Locale ID. You can switch those to your locale and you’ll have the list displayed in your languages. If you don’t know your locale code, check the list on http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/reference/lcid-all.mspx (the LCID Dec column).

It doesn’t work with all languages, but with many it does and I love to look through some of those beautifully written languages! Font Replacement If you are translating PowerPoint files with an application such as T-Windows for PowerPoint from Trados, you need to check whether you have installed all fonts that are used in the document before you start with the translation. You can do this by opening the document and selecting Format> Replace Fonts. If any of the fonts under Replace displays a question mark, contact your client to either send you the font or to tell you to change it to another font (this is a great way to get some fancy fonts that you otherwise cannot get your hands on). Paragraph Indents I don’t know how often this has thrown me for a loop: because translated segments often tend to be longer than the original, segments (such as bullet points) that were placed on a single line often flow over to a second line, meaning that you may have to do some reformatting. To adjust the indent of the first or second line or both, you simply have to move the little markers on the ruler (to view the ruler, select View> Ruler) rather than trying to do it with some actual measurements as in Word under Format> Paragraph. Changing the Spell-Check Language One area that frustrates me in PPT is the poor support for a feature to quickly change the language of a file for spell-checking purposes.

If all text within the file is contained within the text boxes that are defined in the slide master (to view the slide master, select View> Master> Slide Master), it is easy to change the language. In Normal view (select View> Normal), you can select the Outline tab on the very left side of the screen, select all the text that is displayed there by pressing Ctrl+A, and then change the language by selecting Tools> Language> [Language].

Unfortunately, any text that is not contained within the "official" text boxes is not displayed in the Outline (and that is often the majority of text). The only way to change the language for those text boxes is by doing it individually for every box. Flashing Up Your PowerPoint Presentation While it is usually not in the task set of the translator to create Flash files from a PowerPoint presentation, I did want to mention a very inexpensive tool that allows you to do just that: iMediaCONVERT (see www.imedialearn.com/imediaconvert), formerly Netron, allows you to create beautiful Flash files that can be easily delivered over the Internet. And the main reason why I would like to mention this tool is because to me it’s a great example of a tool created by a relatively small development team that is extremely responsive to its users. When I first downloaded and worked with it, there were several shortcomings (the images were fuzzy, the recorded sound was of poor quality, and the transition times of the slides were not being converted properly). I reported these to the developer and he made sure that each of these were addressed, resulting in a wonderful product.

I would really like to encourage you to send specific feedback to the development teams of software tools that you are using. Especially if these are tools that originate from small companies, you will find that the developers are more than eager to rewrite their tools so that they fit your specific needs.

Lost in Babel

http://www.webpersonal.net/dmarques/resources/

The Insider’s Guide to Project Management in Translation Agencies

The Insider’s Guide to Project Management in Translation Agencies By Christian Arno January 26, 2006 About the author: Christian Arno is a director of Lingo24, one of the UK’s leading translation agencies. With operations in seven different countries including New Zealand, Lingo deliver translation services round-the-clock to market leaders in a variety of different sectors. Home / The How-To Library / Translation Agencies / Tips for Project Managers

Juggling Words and People You can’t please all of the people all of the time, or so the saying goes. But as any translation project manager will tell you, that’s exactly what we attempt to do on a daily basis! On the one side you’ve got clients champing at the bit for first class translation at economy class rates; and on the other side you have a team of translators being asked to produce first-rate work-often under pressure of time-and expecting fair remuneration for their efforts. Then, as if being piggy-in-the-middle between these two wasn’t hard enough, don’t forget the friendly face of the finance director peering over your shoulder, reminding you to keep costs down so that the company stays in the black (thereby keeping project managers and translators in work!).

But don’t get the impression that it’s all doom, gloom and despondency. There’s a lot of humour in the translation business-and that’s before you even start reading machine translations (always good for cheering one up in times of despair...). A quick scan of the local Council website where it talks about keenly contested “geometrical angle championships” (German translation of “angling contests”) or tells you that a particular town “lies” somewhere (translated into French as “tells untruths”), will soon have you smiling, whatever the day may bring. The fact that some companies (none of our clients, thank goodness!) blithely stick up machine translations on their websites without a thought for the often hilarious results, also provide a valuable reminder about the level of understanding of the translation process which prevails (or rather doesn’t)-none of which makes a project manager’s life any easier! Understanding the issues So what is there to understand? To the outsider, it all sounds simple enough. Client sends text to project manager; project manager sends text to translator; translator sends translation back to project manager; project manager sends translation back to client. Easy as pie! So easy, in fact, that some clients are surprised to discover that there are dictionaries (shock horror!) involved in the process. I’ve lost track of the number of times that-daring to mention that I’d like to consult a dictionary-I’ve been asked “Goodness, don’t you know all the words-I thought you spoke fluent French?” That’s just one of a number of misconceptions held by those outside the industry. Another old chestnut is the “OK, so we’ve got the document we need translated, but we don’t need to contact the translation agency until the day before we need it”... Or the Spanish document (needed by tomorrow, por favor) which purports to be “just a couple of pages” but multiplies miraculously in cyberspace to become twenty pages. Not to mention the “oh, it’s not at all technical” text which, when it eventually sneaks its way into the Project Manager’s inbox, proves to be so jam-packed with jargon that it’s difficult even to identify the source language as English...

And if all the above sounds vaguely familiar, there’s a good chance you’ll also recognize the “Friday Special” syndrome-you know, that legal document which the client has pushed around his desk all week, only to produce it triumphantly at 4 o’clock on Friday afternoon. Of course it’s highly specialised, is required as soon as possible, and they want it in Kikongo (isn’t that a dance?) and Chinese. By some freak accident of the international calendar, it just so happens to be the Chinese New Year, so you know-even before picking up the phone- that finding any sort of Chinese translator over the weekend is going to be like searching for hens’ teeth. And finding one who happens to be a legal specialist to boot, is going to make the hens’ teeth search appear an easy option. Not to mention that you’ve still got a competent proof-reader to find too... Meanwhile the kindly client, disappointed that you can’t deliver by 5.30 p.m. the same day, grudgingly accepts delivery for 9 a.m. on Monday morning, though he’s finding it hard to conceal his obvious frustration that you expect him to find out which sort of Chinese he requires (“Are there really two? Well, just choose the one that you think best...”). It’s going to be a long weekend... Beware the “simple jobs” Another phrase which starts the warning bells ringing is: “it’s just a list of words”. Of course, thanks to Trados, SDL and the likes, lists of terminology can be fairly straightforward these days- consistency is no longer an issue, and at least you don’t need to make a list “flow” as you do with text written in a more conventional style. However, where there aren’t many repetitions and virtually every term needs to be looked up individually, a “simple” list can be a fiddly and unrewarding task, taking far longer than free-flowing text and sometimes stretching the patience of even the most forbearing translator. But the most insidious type of list are “word strings”-lists of “out of context” phrases which feature the additional “bonus” challenge of character restrictions. As anyone who’s been haunted by the spectre of character restrictions can testify, translators often have to perform a series of linguistic acrobatics to render even the simplest source sentence correctly within the specified number of letters and spaces. However, try explaining to even the most understanding of clients why you need to charge more for this and you sense immediately that even the reasonable ones reckon you’re over-egging the pudding. Colleagues you can count on One aspect of project management which must never be underestimated is the importance of a good working relationship between project managers and translators. Of course, this is an essentially a professional relationship, but there’s no doubt that a strong camaraderie can develop after working regularly with someone, and riding the highs (euphoria of completing a job on time to a rapturous client reception) and lows (nightmare job, nightmare client and deadline of yesterday- preferably the day before) of the translation business. The fate of project managers and the translators who work with them are inextricably linked. Translators rely on project managers to deal with many of the time-consuming administrative issues, manage (sometimes unreasonable) client expectations and to handle the multifarious queries which often pop up as work progresses; whilst project managers depend on the translator to flag up any problems or queries, produce work of (near!) perfection and deliver the final translation by the appointed hour. Make no mistake: skilled translators are the lifeblood of the industry. Indeed some appear to be veritable magicians, regularly conjuring miracles out of their bag of linguistic tricks within timescales that would appear literally impossible to those not blessed with magical powers. Errare humanum est Good old Cicero certainly knew what he was talking about when he said that “to err is human”-and unfortunately not all clients subscribe to the theory that “to forgive is divine”. Despite the best efforts of translators and checkers and the most efficient project management in the world, mistakes can and do happen-for the translation industry is no different from any other. Fortunately complaints are relatively rare, owing to the fact that most translators are consummate professionals and to the fact that all reputable agencies have translations independently proof-read. Not that that is much consolation, of course, when you have a crazed client on the phone telling you that his German counterpart’s pet hamster could have done a better job of translating a particular technical document. The plot thickens when you speak to the translator and proof-reader who’ve worked on the job, only to hear that the source text was so poor it was probably written by the hamster in the first place, and that they’ve both done their best to make a completely incomprehensible source text rather more comprehensible in the target language. This leaves the project manager with the unenviable task of “translating” this information into suitably diplomatic terms to feed back to the client!

Another helpful client is the sort who informs you that the terminology used in the 10,000 word report you’ve just had translated into French for his company doesn’t really correspond with in-house style and that his French contacts prefer the one translated by another company a few months before. Not that he mentioned a dicky-bird about the existence of the previous report when you invited him courteously-before starting work on the job-to forward any useful background material... Getting a buzz from words There’s no denying that translation project management is not without its stresses, yet it can be addictive too. It’s hard not to get a rush of adrenalin when you receive a call or email out of the blue from a high profile potential client, desperately seeking a lifetime partner to cover their massive-but incredibly straightforward-translation requirements. Granted, that particular “dream” scenario doesn’t occur all too often. But when it does, it sure helps compensate for a few of those Friday Specials!

Devenir traducteur, une maîtrise parfaite des langues

Pour exercer le métier de traducteur, il faut dans un premier temps avoir une maîtrise parfaite de sa langue maternelle et aussi un niveau élevé de connaissances dans les langues étrangères et encore une large ouverture sur tous les domaines en général. En effet, le traducteur peut être amené à traduire des sujets très divers. Le traducteur doit savoir utiliser les outils informatiques, lui permettant d’améliorer ses délais de production et la présentation de ses traductions. Il y a plusieurs filières pour devenir traducteur, avec pour spécialité la traduction éditoriale, économique et technique, la durée des études est de 2 ou 3 ans selon les résultats de l’examen d’entrée et les langues de travail sont : Allemand, Anglais, Arabe, Chinois, Espagnol, Français, Italien et Russe. Diplôme 1ère année : niveau licence; 2ème année : maîtrise en langues étrangères appliquées, mention traduction spécialisée; 3ème année : Master de traduction éditoriale, économique et technique et diplôme de traducteur de l’ESIT. Pour devenir traducteur dans la filière traduction : admission sur épreuves en 1ère année (BAC ou équivalent); 2ème année : (DEUG, DUT, BTS ou équivalent). Durée d’étude dans cette filière 2,3 ou 4 ans selon le niveau d’entrée. Après pour les plus motivés, il y a le Master langages, traduction audiovisuelle et littéraire etc. Pour devenir traducteur, la voie la plus évidente à suivre est de faire une licence de traduction. Cependant, il est tout à fait indispensable de très bien connaître sa langue maternelle et sa culture aussi et d’avoir une formation linguistique. En effet, il ne suffit pas de savoir parler correctement le français ou l’anglais par exemple, pour être traducteur, ni d’avoir de bons diplômes si ceux-ci ne correspondent pas au domaine de traducteur. Une traduction doit être parfaitement menée, avec élégance, pas d’inquiétude si vous êtes prêt pour cette profession, tout cela se travaille.

Un traducteur assermenté ou le traducteur expert ?

Le traducteur assermenté, est nommé par l’autorité judiciaire, il prête serment. Que fait t’il ? Il a plusieurs missions, celle de traduire en français, des documents officiels qui sont rédigés en langue étrangère, et qui doivent faire l’objet d’une traduction certifiée conforme au document produit dans une autre langue, tels, l’extrait d’acte de naissance, un jugement de divorce, un diplôme, un testament, un acte notarié, etc...Il pourra aussi être requis par la police ou par le tribunal, pour exercer en tant qu’interpréte, lors d’une interpellation, d’un interrogatoire, garde à vue et mise en examen d’un suspect ne parlant pas et ne comprenant pas le français, ou lors d’une instruction ou d’une audience du tribunal. Si le traducteur interpréte assermenté n’assiste pas la personne ne parlant et ne comprenant pas le français, les procédures seraient caduques, donc nulles. A savoir que le traducteur assermenté, peut aussi faire des traductions de documents commerciaux, industriels, courrier, etc... pour les entreprises, sociétés, particuliers. Le traducteur assermenté peut être un salarié pour le compte des autorités françaises, dans ce cas, il ne peut aucunement travailler pour les particuliers ou les sociétés. Il peut aussi être installé pour son propre compte et doit disposer d’un numéro SIRET et dans ce cas, il peut travailler aussi bien pour les autorités françaises, que pour les entreprises ou les particuliers. A savoir que toutes les pièces traduites par le traducteur assermenté, porteront le sceau et la signature de cet expert. Si vous avez besoin des services d’un traducteur assermenté, rapprochez vous du Greffe du Tribunal d’Instance de votre domicile, ou une liste de tous les traducteurs assermentés est tenue.

L’agence de traduction, � quoi sert t-elle ?

Le monde bouge, les �changent se multiplient au niveau europ�en et mondial, les �changes commerciaux et humains, prennent beaucoup d’ampleur et de place. Vous aurez, que vous soyez entreprise ou particulier � correspondre de plus en plus souvent avec des pays dont vous ne connaissez pas la langue et cel� peut �tre une source d’erreurs, de probl�mes, de malentendus, que ce soit au sens priv� ou professionnel. Les agences de traduction sont � votre service, ayant tr�s souvent, � leur service des traducteurs exp�riment�s dans des langues diff�rentes, ou encore des traducteurs de toutes nationalit�s Vous pourrez avec une agence de traduction, faire traduire tous vos documents, lettres, rapports, documents officiels, projets industriels, projets commerciaux, vous pourrez aussi avoir recours � une agence de traduction pour faire traduire dans une ou plusieurs langues, les pages de votre site internet. Les agences de traduction, sont sp�cialistes des traductions juridiques, informatiques, commerciales, industrielles, financi�res, communications, etc... L’agence de traduction peut aussi �tre asserment�e, pour les documents officiels � fournir aupr�s des diff�rentes administrations. Etant donn� les �changes internationaux au niveau commercial, vous recevrez souvent des documents dans la langue officiel du pays ou des pays avec lesquels vous �tes amen� � traiter, pour cel� faites appel � une agence de traduction, demandez un devis pr�alable � l’agence de traduction � laquelle vous demanderez la collaboration. Pas de souci majeur, les agences de traduction sont soumises au secret professionnel. En faisant appel aux professionnels de la traduction, vous n’aurez pas de surprise quant � la retranscription qui sera faites avec style, concision, exactitude.

ABOUT TRANSLATION

International translator’s day

Did you know translators have a patron saint? That’s right, St Jerome is the patron saint of translators. And did you know there’s an international day of awareness for translators? Right again, 30 September is International Translators’ Day. Yet isn’t it strange that despite this annual event, to many people the profession of translation is still very much a mystery.

In many overseas countries, translation plays a more prominent role than in South Africa. In the European Union a significant portion of the budget is spent on language services. One would think that a country with eleven official languages would also spend quite a lot more on translation. But the fact is that in this country translation is often viewed as a subset of either secretarial and administration work, or journalism and newspaper work. Internationally, however, translation is a profession ruled by strict codes of practice and conduct.

In South Africa anyone can claim to be a translator. There is no central register of translators, there are no minimum qualifications or requirements to work as a translator, and there is no prescribed code of conduct. Translators may volunarily register with the South African Translators’ Institute (SATI), an organisation that aims to regulate the translation industry, but there is an annual registration fee, and some translators choose not to join the SATI, and instead believe that a good reputation is better than mere membership to an institute.

The SATI also offers translator accreditation examinations in various language combinations. Accreditation offers advantages to both translators and clients. On the one hand it gives translators some kind of proof of their abilities, and on the other hand it makes it easier for new clients to distinguish professional translators from fly-by-night hit-and-miss "translators".

Current situation in South Africa

A few decades ago many companies could afford to employ translators full-time. Recent years saw the notion that translation is nothing more than an administrative task cause many companies to either use outsourced language services, or delegate the task of translation to their secretaries and PR officers. In fact, some translators found themselves relocated to the marketing department or office assistant pool in a move to cut costs. Often companies fail to realise the full potential of language services, and often it shows in their letters, reports and company documents.

Many translators are jacks of all trades, and masters of some. Large translation departments in advertising agencies and newspapers also perform other language related tasks, such as copy writing, letter writing, press release writing, proofreading, campaign consulting, and creative work. Many freelance translators also offer additional services, such as graphics work, small scale marketing campaigning, web site design, pamphlet and newsletter writing, proofreading for students, and language advice.

Not all translators are qualified to do all kinds of work. For the translation of several classes of legal documents, identification papers and various types of certificates such as high school diplomas and university degree papers, the client needs the services of a sworn translator. Sworn translation is a highly specialised field. To become a sworn translator, the candidate has to pass an examination set by either SATI or any other sworn translator.

Translators may also opt to specialise in certain fields. Although a general translator may accept to do a highly technical translation, it is often more productive to appoint a specialist translator for a higher fee. Fields of specialisation include financial translation, legal translation, medical translation, scientific or technological translation, etc. A specialist translator may actually have studied in his field, or he may simply be an avid hobbyist in that field.

How to hire a translator

People using translation services for the first time are often surprised by two aspects of the work: the time a translation takes to complete, and the fee the translator asks for his service. Any freelance translator can tell stories of company executives who want full company reports translated in an hour, and of college students who expect their end term projects to be proofread for R100. And although you might find the odd student translator willing to stoop to R10 per page, or to churn out 10 pages work per hour under extreme pressure, the reality is somewhat different.

Since translation fees are not fixed by law, and not even the SATI sets minimum or maximum rates, it can be difficult to determine what translators earn and what freelance price should be considered reasonable. In recent surveys by the SATI, freelance general translation rated at about 25c per word on average. This works out to between R75 and R100 per page. Although proofreading is generally charged for by the hour instead of per word, proofreading rates typically work out to about one third of translation rates.

A fast translator may translate between three to five pages of general text per hour. Work of a technical nature takes longer, and costs more. Even experienced translators will spend quite a bit of time doing research while translating technical texts. Although some company translators accept freelance work on the side, it will take longer because their own jobs always take precedence.

How to become a translator

Since just about anyone can claim to be a translator, many people consider translation work a viable option when they’re unemployed. Any freelance translator will tell you, however, that potential clients seldom respond to advertisements in the press. A freelance translator typically take up to a year to establish himself in the business, because most contracts are obtained through a network of satisfied previous clients and referred clients. This is also the reason why a would-be translator has to offer the very best service from day one. Even so, word of one bad translation job travels faster and further than ten jobs done well.

Translators lucky enough to find employment at educational institutions, newspapers, advertising agencies or other large companies can expect salaries similar to that of office assistants, PR officers or graphic designers... except without the perks. Translators don’t work for commission, they don’t receive travel allowance and they seldom face an empty in-box.

Translators are often asked what kind of training is necessary for becoming a translator. Again, because this industry is not regulated, there is no single correct answer. Future legislation might require a full bachelors degree with one or more translation diplomas offered by some South African universities, or alternatively a three-year specialised diploma at one of the technikons, such as the National Diploma in Language Practice.

Just like in any other profession, continued training is essential. Some university diplomas are accessible to people without a bachelors degree, and the SATI and other organisations hold regular workshops. No translator can work without good dictionaries - they are his tools. Nor can translators work in isolation. It is important for translators to network with other translators, to exchange ideas and to learn from each other.

Links

Important considerations for French-English and English-French translations of financial or legal documents

Is your company thinking about having some French financial or legal documents translated into English, or having some English financial or legal documents translated into French?

Here are some important considerations to keep in mind when working with a financial translation company utilizing French into English translators or English into French translators.

The French securities watchdog, the Commission des Operations de Bourse, passed a new rule in 2001 stipulating that all financial prospectuses issued in France be drafted completely in French as opposed to being presented to market authorities in summary form only. This has caused consternation in some circles, as reported in an article published in the Securities Industry News, on the grounds that it goes against the trend towards standardization and the use of English in the financial industry. The English-speaking author claims to be more comfortable with the English term Stock Options, than the "much more poetic-sounding ’Options sur Titres’". However, this concept is often rendered in French by other terms, such as "option de souscription d’actions" or "option d’achat d’actions". Obviously, if competent translators are used who have good writing skills and work into their native language, French, this will cut down on misunderstandings. If an attempt is made to cut costs by using translators who are not native French speakers, or by using translators who do not specialize in financial translations this can lead to more confusion.

Furthermore, not all translators are capable of providing accurate legal and financial translations. For instance, a translator not familiar with finance and accounting may translate the term "écart d’acquisition" literally as "acquisition difference" rather than the correct term "goodwill", or the term "résultat" literally as "result" instead of the correct technical term of "income" or "earnings". An inexperienced translator may translate "résultat courant" as "current income" instead of "income before exceptional items and tax". One way to avoid confusion is to give the technical term in French in brackets in italics the first time it is translated into English.

If your company requires French document translation, please remember that there is still a good deal of inconsistency among French language financial terms and their British and US equivalents. This is due partly to the fact that in some cases there are several acceptable ways to say the same thing. Sometimes this comes down to the preference expressed by the client or target audience. Good communication between you and your financial translation company is key. Try to provide your French into English translators with guidelines regarding documents describing complex financial products such as FCPE (fonds communs de placement d’entreprise) with conditions that apply only in France. Different clients have different preferences for translating this term into English (e.g., "employer-sponsored mutual fund", "employee share savings fund"). Therefore, it is often clearer to use the French term to avoid confusion after explaining it once in brackets using the term your company prefers.