Off topic: Top ten misconceptions about translation Thread poster: kleiner Kater
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TOP TEN MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT TRANSLATION
10. Anybody with two years of high school language (or a foreign-tongued
grandmother) can translate.
9. A good translator doesn't need a dictionary.
8. There's no difference between translation and interpretation.
7. Translators don't mind working nights and weekends at no extra charge.
6. Translators don't need to understand what they're translating.
5. A good tran... See more TOP TEN MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT TRANSLATION
10. Anybody with two years of high school language (or a foreign-tongued
grandmother) can translate.
9. A good translator doesn't need a dictionary.
8. There's no difference between translation and interpretation.
7. Translators don't mind working nights and weekends at no extra charge.
6. Translators don't need to understand what they're translating.
5. A good translator doesn't need proofing or editing.
4. Becoming a translator is an easy way to get rich quick.
3. Translation is just typing in a foreign language.
2. A translator costs $49.95 at Radio Shack and runs on two 'C' batteries.
... And the #1 misconception about translation and translators:
1. That marketing copy that took a team of 20 people two months to put
together can be translated overnight by one Person and still retain the same
impact as the original. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Henry Hinds 
United States
Local time: 07:49
English to Spanish
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In memoriam
Good TOP TEN LIST for David Letterman, except he won't take it because it's meanlingless for his constituency. But it's a good attempt anyway.
| | | | Ashley Wans
United States
Local time: 06:49
Spanish to English
+ ...
11. Any bilingual person already has the skills to become a translator; it has nothing to do with your writing abilities.
I have a bilingual friend with no understanding of what translation or interpreting is about. She wants to take the ATA certification exam so she can show potential future employers she is bilingual (these are not translation-related employers, rather companies that do business internationally). I linked her to the ATA page that states that less than 20% of tr... See more 11. Any bilingual person already has the skills to become a translator; it has nothing to do with your writing abilities.
I have a bilingual friend with no understanding of what translation or interpreting is about. She wants to take the ATA certification exam so she can show potential future employers she is bilingual (these are not translation-related employers, rather companies that do business internationally). I linked her to the ATA page that states that less than 20% of translators who attempt the test pass the first time. Hopefully this will discourage her from wasting her money without investing in further training first.
A lot of people I know don't seem to understand that your writing skills are an integral part of your skill set as a translator. If you cannot write well in the target language, this will be a serious impediment to your success as a translator. ▲ Collapse
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Wonderful kleiner Kater. Very nice input indeed.
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JH Trads
United States
Local time: 09:49
Member (2007)
English to French
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6 and 9 could merge, and then spinoff:
"a good translator doesn't need a monolingual dictionary"
| | | | | Misconception # 0 | Apr 21, 2011 |
...that is, if zero was a number, should be:
"computers do most of the translator's work".
| | | | | Globalization means for translation seekers... | Apr 21, 2011 |
That of course anyone in India or China, or "Elbonians" to the matter... God bless Scott Adams... without any reference, published work or whatever... has the appropiate know-how to translate from & into any language known to mankind, including latin & ancian greek, with outstanding quality, for less than 2 cents per word, delivering close to 20.000 words a day... Because before they existed, so-called, self-proclaimed "professionals" in the rest of the world were ripping off their customers... ... See more That of course anyone in India or China, or "Elbonians" to the matter... God bless Scott Adams... without any reference, published work or whatever... has the appropiate know-how to translate from & into any language known to mankind, including latin & ancian greek, with outstanding quality, for less than 2 cents per word, delivering close to 20.000 words a day... Because before they existed, so-called, self-proclaimed "professionals" in the rest of the world were ripping off their customers... 'cause they are bastards who want to get rich quick... more stuff like this in my blog : www.kojackadasvarias.blogspot.com ...
[Edited at 2011-04-22 07:29 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jande
Australia
Local time: 23:49
Danish to English
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| Could this be the source of the confusion? | Apr 29, 2011 |
If only a word in one language could be directly substituted for a word in another language with exactly the same meaning...
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Phil Hand
China
Local time: 21:49
Chinese to English
| Those crafty computers... | Apr 29, 2011 |
Ivan said:
"computers do most of the translator's work".
I was doing some quick English>Chinese for an interpreting client the other day. The input system for Chinese that I (and most people) use involves typing the pronunciation of a character, then selecting the right character from a pop-up list (it's quicker than you'd think because the software is smart and guesses which character you want). The client was a non-native English speaker, and ... See more Ivan said:
"computers do most of the translator's work".
I was doing some quick English>Chinese for an interpreting client the other day. The input system for Chinese that I (and most people) use involves typing the pronunciation of a character, then selecting the right character from a pop-up list (it's quicker than you'd think because the software is smart and guesses which character you want). The client was a non-native English speaker, and when he saw that I was typing Roman letters, said, "Oh, the computer's translating automatically for you!"
This is a guy who works in a highly multilingual environment. Surely he would know that computers can't do that? Surely?! But apparently not... ▲ Collapse
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