Only Corporate members may post in this forum | Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Google announces Google Translation Center - What do you think? Thread poster: Andre Pellet (X)
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Ralf Lemster 
Germany
Local time: 02:22
English to German
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| Already there | Aug 8, 2008 |
Hi again,
Are we entering a period where there are different acceptable levels of translation?
Nope - we've been there for several years now.
For example, marketing materials, legal, financial, medical devices - Requires the highest level of quality. Traditional manuals (for example) - a lower level. Finally, online blogs, FAQ, etc - the lowest level of quality.
Include user manuals for consumer electronics in the lowest bracket...
This would seem to justify higher rates for critical content, and lower rates for non-critical content.
Which is precisely what is happening today - having said that, the classification criteria are often questionable.
What do you think? Does the GTC open the door to segmenting the quality of the deliverable?
I expect it to create a segment of its own - not one that I'd be willing to pursue.
Best regards,
Ralf
| | | | | Translation Standards and Metrics | Aug 8, 2008 |
I work with all kind of translators in Canada and all over the world, and sometimes those that are paid the highest are not necessarily the best ones. For example, we claim that translation standards in Canada are the highest in the world, but I harbour some doubts about that.
Having worked on the translation national standards for Canada, I was invited to a a workshop in which I strenously defended the need for metrics in translation. Standards are all very well, but with the proliferati... See more I work with all kind of translators in Canada and all over the world, and sometimes those that are paid the highest are not necessarily the best ones. For example, we claim that translation standards in Canada are the highest in the world, but I harbour some doubts about that.
Having worked on the translation national standards for Canada, I was invited to a a workshop in which I strenously defended the need for metrics in translation. Standards are all very well, but with the proliferation of platforms and translators, certification or even a diploma in translation is but a weak guarantee of quality in translation. You can imagine the reaction to my short talk at the workshop: translation is a profession, is an art and highly subjective and how can you measure mistakes and so forth and so on. I retorted that the progress of science has been prompted by the need to add objectivity to knowledge and to free from subjectivity large areas of human activities. If translation is so subjective, how come we teach it? We also teach painting, I know, but nobody can say that there is a mistake in a painting, whereas there are mistakes in translation. And how can we protect the public from bad translations--protection of the public being the stated misison of professional associations of translators?
There may be aspects of translation that will remain forever subjective (I have translated also literature and marketing in the past) but there are a series of mistakes that are quantifiable and objective and that should be the benchmark for quality in translation.
This point ties in with the acceptable levels of translation, appropriate to end-user and function of translation. Each level of translation should have a stated error-tolerance level. (At the workshop I was told that error tolerance in translation is zero; we are probably the most god-like profession obviously!)
In conclusion, I feel that we should collectively make an effort to promote and defend objectivity and metrics in translation as the benchmark of quality.
Paola Ludovici ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Used It Just Now | Aug 8, 2008 |
Just went to a German website. Off to the side it said [translate into English] (or something like that), however, there was no translation. This is a great tool for browsing into different languages, if the translation is accurate. With so many millions of websites out there, how in the world can they all be translated into all the languages in the world -- and how would quality be guaranteed? I'm sure translating sites is only one aspect of the "center," however.
Here's more i... See more Just went to a German website. Off to the side it said [translate into English] (or something like that), however, there was no translation. This is a great tool for browsing into different languages, if the translation is accurate. With so many millions of websites out there, how in the world can they all be translated into all the languages in the world -- and how would quality be guaranteed? I'm sure translating sites is only one aspect of the "center," however.
Here's more info (FAQs) re: Google's translation center:
http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/faq_translation.html
[Edited at 2008-08-08 19:22] ▲ Collapse
| | | | LouisV (X)
Australia
Local time: 10:22
Dutch to English
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| google translations services | Aug 10, 2008 |
Google are building the world's largest term base ever to eventually achieve almost perfect machine translation outcomes. When I say largest, I mean gigantic.
What easier way to do this than by accumulating the work of human translators, and recovering some of the cost by operating as a translation services provider/agency.
It once again raises the question about the intellectual property of translations. It's time we get a lawyer on the job to establish this property right ... See more Google are building the world's largest term base ever to eventually achieve almost perfect machine translation outcomes. When I say largest, I mean gigantic.
What easier way to do this than by accumulating the work of human translators, and recovering some of the cost by operating as a translation services provider/agency.
It once again raises the question about the intellectual property of translations. It's time we get a lawyer on the job to establish this property right once and for all by testing it in court.
I am prepared to contribute to a fund to finance the case, can Proz be the facilitator?
Cheers
Louis
DoubleDutch ▲ Collapse
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