It's all here: http://transliteria.blogspot.com/2011/05/language-of-advertising.html

 How to perform well as an Interpreter http://bit.ly/fkFb4a

It's all here http://bit.ly/g11fjv

HAPPY READING!

You must have heard dozens of stories praising working with direct clients, you might as well have read some articles and blog posts instructing you firstly how to find a client (meaning: how to make them find you), and then, when you get hold of one, how to pamper and keep them until death do you part.

You still might not be convinced whether this is a good idea to work directly with a client, thinking that doing business is not your strong point and that you probably will not handle the pressure of actually closing the deal. Well, if that’s the case then perhaps this little story of mine will encourage you to change your mind.

As usual, it all started with a phone call, which already is a success; it means that someone actually found me and got interested enough to dial my number and ask for the service. So, long story short, a lady on the other end of the telephone line asked politely if I could do a translation...hold your breath, this is the best bit – of a coursebook! Yes, I did get excited, yet I managed to stay calm and continue the conversation in a professional manner. Then it turned out that there is a tiny hindrance which could make the whole deal fall through. The thing was that the client had a hard copy of the book and as she lives hundreds of miles away, I could neither see the content of the book nor its volume, which meant that providing a quote was somewhat impossible. At this point, I had some doubts as to whether I will get this job but I offered to do some research and possibly find an online version of the book. I have to say that although I wanted to close the deal, my main drive was to appear as a professional and please the client. I dare to say that this might have been the reason why she suggested that I order the book online and that she would cover all the costs. Ok, no big deal right but bear in mind that the client still wasn’t sure whether she would use my services as she didn’t know the cost of the translation. Moreover, she had also contacted other suppliers for a quote (no surprise here, as this is what a reasonable client would do). After I received the ordered coursebook, I instantly contacted the client with a quote, did a short test translation and there I was happy as a lark with an agreement to do the translation!

Believe me or not but as much as I was happy about getting the job, client’s satisfaction was even more rewarding. And what a lesson this was! What I have learnt is that clients do need us, and so long as we treat them professionally and with care, get in touch, provide them with a quote quickly and listen to their suggestions, they will be ready to go that extra mile in order to use your services. Even if there are some hindrances along the way, they can always be resolved, provided that your ultimate target is not only to quickly cash in on a deal but also to satisfy the client. At the end of the day, you never know when they will need you again.

Translators go to great lengths to be treated seriously as skilled, well-educated and knowledgeable professionals. Regardless whether we work for an agency or direct clients, we take a lot of care to deliver excellent translation, possibly the best one we have ever done, after all, there has to be some progress, right? Moreover, in order to contribute to the good reputation of our profession, we will do whatever is in our power to create a perfect online profile, we will interact with other translators, share experiences and tweet like crazy picking up the best links to feed other brains. We are also ready to time and time again educate those sceptical clients that we are not just transcribing one word after another but that in fact we do valuable work, pay attention to detail, we have a quality control process in place and so on.

However, it’s not all about image; in order to excel in our work, we specialise in various fields, read everything from leaflets to scholar works, do extensive research, create a collection of glossaries and learn and learn and learn. We do all these things (and many more) to be respected and valued for our hard work ... and then we hear about some people who deliver texts translated solely by Google Translate, claim that this is their work and call themselves “Translators”.

Personally, I have nothing against Google Translate, this is an excellent tool but only when used wisely, i.e. mainly for one’s own use, when looking for a way to say ‘happy birthday’ in German, for example. Automatic translation is not a substitute for a human translator and this is something that everyone in this profession is perfectly aware of. Yet, some of the so called ‘translators’ think that they can get away with providing an automatically translated text and being paid for it, even though they have been told that this is a scientific article that will be published!

Let’s be frank, this is simply cheating, and a rather nasty one as it effects not only the con artists themselves but it also hits the translation profession. An agency, having experienced the disappointment of working with a ‘Google Translator’ will be wary of taking up new translators and set out lower rates having in mind the risk factor that comes along. As for the clients, there is no need to explain how disastrous the effect of delivering an automated translation will have for translators’ reputation. Just imagine yourself being in a fancy restaurant where you are served a ready-made microwave meal apparently prepared by a ‘chef’.

I simply cannot imagine what is in the minds of those who prefer to serve a ready-made microwave translation. What do they want to achieve – a quick and painless way to generate some income? Do they expect to get away with it every time? Are they aware of the effect it has on the translation profession? If you share my concerns, feel free to leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.

The need for new terms should not be underestimated. New words continuously enter lexicon to describe new concepts. Conversely, obsolete words fall out of use as they lose their significance.

Recently, I was approached by a client, who asked me to do what turned out to be one of the shortest but simultaneously one of the most challenging translations I have done this year. As you may recall, translators charge for their work on a per word basis, so given the amount of hours I had to spend on these 4 (yes only four) sentences, this project quite clearly did not appear as a lucrative one. Normally, one would ask: what's the point of taking it on?
Well, there is a point, and a very strong one as professional translators simply love a bit of a challenge, a battle with a text which we know we will win (well...eventually), especially when we can engross in the quirks and tricks of the language or explore an area we had only a slight idea about. Surprised? You did not consider a translator an explorer but rather a walking dictionary, did you.
 

With more challenging texts, it is not about looking terms up in a dictionary; they may give you a seemingly correct equivalent, but how do you know whether it is right in this context or collocation? I never fully rely on dictionaries, not that I don't trust them but for the above-mentioned reason, I have to explore and do some RESEARCH.
Research is a crucial phase in the process of translation, and I have to say that this is my favourite part as it allows me to constantly LEARN an enormous amount of knowledge. Each time something new, each time something fascinating: one day we are experts in rig drilling and the next in cardiology.
Only professional translators appreciate the significance of the research phase and are aware of its effect on the final product. We are ready to spend an hour reading about spine anatomy just to find out whether a vertebral end-plate is the same thing as a vertebral body edge. We do not consider it a waste of time, moaning that during the past hour we earned a mere 15p and translated one word, on the contrary, we are aware that this is an inevitable part of the process, which will produce a high quality translation. Moreover, learning through this research will facilitate our future translation in the same area of specialisation and considerably contribute to our continuous self-development.
Given the amount of time and effort a good translator is ready to sacrifice in order to provide an adequate translation, you should expect that the price will inevitably reflect this. Yes, it may cost, yes it might take longer than a day to finally receive the text, but only then will you be SURE that the translation is of high quality and that the translator dug really deep to achieve it.