Subjects Matter

The practice of hiring translators located in their native countries may not be the best way to get the job done.

Before anyone gets offended by that statement, please let me make it perfectly clear that I'm not proposing to use non-native speakers to translate.  Nor am I suggesting that only expats are qualified translators.  It's just that some subjects are better handled by translators who have actually lived a long time in the environment where the source language is used.

Yes, subjects do matter.  And it's a project manager's job to know who should handle what assignment.  For a project manager that works in a big company, hopefully his or her account manager knows that distinction as well.  It's always a sad situation when there's not enough budget to work with because a decision maker underestimated the tasks involved.

Let's take U.S. English > Simplified Chinese translation as an example.  For most cases, hiring a translator in China is an obvious choice: their rates are much lower than what we find in the U.S., and they're native Chinese speakers that use Simplified Chinese on a daily basis.  So why not use someone in China to translate everything?

The biggest reason, I would say, is because there are things you can't learn thousands of miles away.  Translations about computers, software, patents, medicine, science, etc. may be done by someone in China with no ill effect.  But daily topics and life subjects in general are a different level of tricky.

I've seen translations where "the weave" (for one's hair) was translated as "织物" (knitted or woven things) and "spotting for someone" (as in workout) became "从背后偷窥" (peeking at someone behind their back).  And when a speaker in a film talks about "the Michigan State" as in the state penitentiary system, it was translated as "密歇根州" (the state of Michigan).  These distinctions are trivial for a native English speaker to pick up on, but to a non-native speaker who doesn't live the language, it may as well be Greek.  For subject matters like these, if you must use someone in China for budgetary reasons, the very least you should do is hire a good reviewer located in the U.S. to QA the translation before it gets handed off to desktop publishing or voice over work.

A stitch in time saves nine.  You don't want to have to re-do the voice over or printing, do you?


 
Please translate responsibly.

The Thing About Character-Based Languages

This was spotted in Taiwan and then posted on FaceBook recently:  

A perfect example of someone using Google Translate without verifying the accuracy of machine translation, it caused enough of an uproar that a local newspaper took a jab at the sign as well. 

The following statements are all true:

報 = newspaper

到處 = everywhere

報到 = to report (for duty)

處 = location

報到處 = sign-in counter

The thing about character-based languages is, meanings mostly derive from phrases formed by two or more characters.  It's a game of memorization, therefore experience plays a big part in these languages.  Without enough data, a non-native speaker (or a machine, as demonstrated by the picture above) doesn't know how to parse a phrase to get the correct meaning: is it [報到]+[處] or [報]+[到處]?

As we find out, the machine guessed wrong this time.  But the sad thing is nobody caught it before it got printed out for the whole world to see.

While we're on the subject, the newspaper report mentioned above also contains errors.  This is what they said:

依據國家教育研究院機關雙語詞彙建議規定，中文的「報到處」正式英文翻譯應用「Checking Counter」、「Registration」用「Newspaper Everywhere」是錯誤的用法。

This is how it should be written:

依據國家教育研究院機關雙語詞彙建議規定，中文的「報到處」正式英文翻譯應用「Check-in Counter」、「Registration」。用「Newspaper Everywhere」是錯誤的用法。

 
Whether "Registration" applies is debatable; it depends on what kind of 報到處 the place is.



Please translate responsibly.

Image source: Liberty Times Net.

Traits of a Good Linguistic Professional

After I stepped into the project management side of the translation/localization industry, it came as a mild shock to find that few linguists read instructions and how few are comfortable using the various CAT tools out there. In fact, every time I talk to a project manager within the industry, I get a knowing chuckle when I tell them "this linguist is one of those that actually read all the instructions."  

As a linguist, I always want to know how a client thinks of my performance.  As a project manager, I get asked quite often by linguists who want to know how well they've done their jobs.  Having the advantage of being on both sides of the process, I've decided to share with fellow linguists what their clients look for in a linguistic professional.

1. Always read instructions - The client gives written instructions because it's the only way to ensure everyone is on the same page about what's expected.  And of course you should follow the instructions unless you need to...
2. Ask questions when instructions don't make sense - As humans, we're known to make mistakes.  If something in the instructions doesn't make sense, be sure to ask for clarification.
3. Be responsive and flexible - When a linguist is cheerful and accommodating in his/her availability, it invariably opens a lot of doors for future opportunities. 
4. Have excellent time-management skills - Like I've said before, many things often come down to the wire in this industry.  Failing to plan is planning to fail.
5. Be unafraid to use new software - A good linguist isn’t afraid to use a new CAT program, digging in on their own to learn how it works; to "boldly go where no one has gone before."  I've seen many a good linguist falter when asked to use some software for the very first time.  For this group I'd like to offer some encouraging news: CAT tools are made for translators and linguistic professionals, not for software engineers.  As such, they are actually very similar and quite user-friendly.  If you've used one of them, chances are you will be able to figure out the rest without too much difficulty.  
6. Know your limits - Most linguistic professionals are eager to please and tend to say Yes to everything.  From a growth mindset, this is definitely the way to develop yourself into a well-rounded linguist.  However, it is perfectly okay to turn down an assignment if you feel you won't be able to deliver because you don't have enough time or subject matter expertise. Be frank with your client if you have serious reservations about taking on a task.  More often than not, the client will thank you for the candor because it gives them time to place the assignment elsewhere.
7. Can out-Google the best of 'em - How is your Google-fu?  If a rush translation job about an oil transportation contract lands in your lap, do you have the research chops to get up to speed on the subject matter so you can deliver quality work?

 
This industry, which is not known for compensating its individual contributors handsomely, sure asks a lot of these same contributors.  But it does have some rewarding moments.  It is my belief, though, that good linguists will shine through and be kept busy by their appreciative clients.



Please translate responsibly.

About Back Translation

Translators get all kinds of request.  Most of the time it's just a straight-up translation job.  But once in a while, a client will ask a translator to provide a "back translation" for some existing translation.

What is that, you ask?  Simply put, a back translation is the translation of a translation back into the source language.  For example, someone translated an English document into Japanese.  Then, the client who ordered the Japanese translation asks someone else to translate the Japanese document back into English.  That's called a back translation.

In fact, if you've ever asked Google Translate to translate a phrase, and then switch the translation direction just to see what Google Translate says it means in the source language, you've already had Google Translate do a back translation for you.

Here are some examples from Google Translate, in the order of source/translation/back translation:

back translation/回譯/Back translation
一触即发/On the verge/濒临
epic fail/史诗般的失败/Epic fail

You may wonder why someone would go through all that trouble to have something translated back and forth.  (It certainly isn't for kicks, like the Google Translate scenario above.)  The short answer is for quality assurance.  A back translation will help the client figure out whether the first translation faithfully conveys the meaning and flavor of the source material.  This is especially important if the content has to do with advertising or customer service, where the human factor plays a key role.  A sample back translation can serve as a "spot check" of the entire document.

In the QA phase of localization, back translation helps QA leads, managers, and engineers (most of whom may not know this particular language) judge the severity of a linguistic issue.  Oftentimes the tester is asked to back translate the questionable localized text into the source language (and suggest a suitable translation), so a team leader can decide if a new translation is needed.

Of course, sometimes a client asks for a back translation because the quality of the first translation is in question.  However, this kind of practice is rare, since most translators are pretty conscientious about the quality of their work.  Moreover, many clients have their own gatekeepers to weed out bad translations way in advance to avoid this altogether.

Please translate responsibly.