| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | Is there a world record for the fastest translator? Thread poster: José Guedes
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Ty Kendall 
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:20
Hebrew to English
| What about............... | May 10, 2013 |
The Guinness World Record for the LOWEST per word rate EVER 'offered' to a translator? Now there's an accolade!
| | | | Woodstock (X)
Germany
Local time: 01:20
German to English
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| OT - Important note to OP: | May 10, 2013 |
I looked at your profile and noticed you have your CV uploaded as a .doc. That is not a good idea, as lately dishonest people have been copying CVs from here or other translation portals/websites, then use them as their own (with some revisions) to do sub-standard machine translations, or to get jobs to outsource to other, qualified translators, collect the fee and disappear. Just look at the SCAM... See more I looked at your profile and noticed you have your CV uploaded as a .doc. That is not a good idea, as lately dishonest people have been copying CVs from here or other translation portals/websites, then use them as their own (with some revisions) to do sub-standard machine translations, or to get jobs to outsource to other, qualified translators, collect the fee and disappear. Just look at the SCAMS forum here http://www.proz.com/?sp=forum&action=SearchForum&advanced=y
to get an idea of what is going on. Don't become a victim, for then your speed might only benefit someone else with ulterior motives and ruin your reputation! You can offer to supply it on request - but even then make sure the agency requesting it is a bona fide business, and not a fake one out to steal your identity. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 04:50
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | Which technology? | May 10, 2013 |
Earlier (many decades ago) translation was being done using pen and paper.
Then there was a longish age of the typewriter, followed by the computer age - 1 - of the keyboard.
Now computer age - 2 - using voice as input method (Dragon Naturally Speaking, and other similar technologies) is coming of age.
With speech technology you can translate much faster than you can when typing, for you can speak faster than you can type.
Maybe, some fifty yea... See more Earlier (many decades ago) translation was being done using pen and paper.
Then there was a longish age of the typewriter, followed by the computer age - 1 - of the keyboard.
Now computer age - 2 - using voice as input method (Dragon Naturally Speaking, and other similar technologies) is coming of age.
With speech technology you can translate much faster than you can when typing, for you can speak faster than you can type.
Maybe, some fifty years down the line, some other technology may emerge, I can't think what it would be now, which would better the speed possible even with speech inputting.
It is like asking how fast can you travel - it depends on your stead - on horseback it would be a certain speed, on a train or a car it would be something else, and on a plane it would be something else.
Ultimately it is quite meaningless to talk about speed records in translation, it is not an activity that lends itself to such type of comparison.
There is a difference between typing and translating.
[2013-05-10 13:35 GMT पर संपादन हुआ] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Alex Lago
Spain
Local time: 01:20
English to Spanish
+ ...
Ty Kendall wrote: The Guinness World Record for the LOWEST per word rate EVER 'offered' to a translator? Now there's an accolade!
That would be a good one but would quickly run out of challengers (until we reach a point were you have to pay to translate a job)
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Woodstock (X)
Germany
Local time: 01:20
German to English
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Ty Kendall wrote: The Guinness World Record for the LOWEST per word rate EVER 'offered' to a translator? Now there's an accolade!
I think there are several contenders for that particular award, and it would change daily!
Another GWR proposal would be for "job offer through ProZ that was the most irrelevant to what you really do for a living", and the hands-down winner would be the Indian company that tried to hire me (twice, because I am listed as specialized in marketing!!) for finding and interviewing 20 people in Germany for a marketing survey. The first time I didn't reply, the second time I finally explained to them that they needed a market research company, not a translator for the job, and please don't contact me again - good grief.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 01:20
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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Say it's the OP who is the fastest translator in the world. What could we do with this information and how can we use it?
| | | | Ty Kendall
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:20
Hebrew to English
| Not sure about this | May 10, 2013 |
Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
With speech technology you can translate much faster than you can when typing, for you can speak faster than you can type.
I translate slower than I can type, and certainly slower than I can speak.
I think the speed with which we can literally put words on a page is only of limited value as a minor aid. Translation takes time, there's no getting away from this and the inverse relationship between speed and quality is well known.
i.e. it wouldn't matter a great deal if they invented a neural-interface capable of reading my mind and instantly transferring the thoughts into words on a page - the process of arriving at a quality translation is lengthy and not always linear.
[Edited at 2013-05-10 13:58 GMT]
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Heinrich Pesch wrote:
We have word championships for currying women
Care to share the recipe? (I kid, I kid)
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José Guedes
Brazil
Local time: 20:20
Portuguese to English
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TOPIC STARTER
Lingua 5B wrote:
Say it's the OP who is the fastest translator in the world. What could we do with this information and how can we use it?
Thank you very much for your kind attempt to bring the topic of discussion back to the intended subject!
Unfortunately, it seems the mere mention of such a thing as trying to measure how quickly one can translate while still maintaining the absolute same level of quality is enough to cause people to feel insulted. This was certainly not what I had in mind before creating this topic.
| | | | 564354352 (X)
Denmark
Local time: 01:20
Danish to English
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| Why so surprised at the reaction? | May 11, 2013 |
I'm surprised that the OP (what does OP stand for????? I see it used here so often but have been unable to figure out what it means, except that I gather it is the person who starts a thread... ) is surprised at the not-too-impressed reactions from among the professional community. What did you expect? That we would all just say 'no, there is no such thing, but hey, that's a brilliant idea, let us know if such a record attemp... See more I'm surprised that the OP (what does OP stand for????? I see it used here so often but have been unable to figure out what it means, except that I gather it is the person who starts a thread... ) is surprised at the not-too-impressed reactions from among the professional community. What did you expect? That we would all just say 'no, there is no such thing, but hey, that's a brilliant idea, let us know if such a record attempt is set up, because we all want to join in the fun'? Surely, you must have been aware that you would be stirring up a hornet's nest here?
I once went for a job interview for a position as a translator with a large production company. The agreement was that after the interview, I would do a translation test with 45 minutes at my disposal. They asked me to translate a business letter and a technical text and the instructor said, "Just do as much as you can". They also provided a small list of technical terminology specific to their products. In my usual translation style and using my quicker-than-lightning typing skills (!), I quickly made a rough translation of both texts and could then have sat back thinking, "Core, I'm so quick at translating, I've already done all of it, which they didn't expect, this will really impress them. Maybe I should call them in now so that they can see how fast I did this?" But of course, I didn't, because I'm a professional. I spent every single last minute of the time available checking through the two texts to make absolutely sure I was presenting the best translations possible. Because that's what professional translators do, isn't it? We do our level best to provide the best possible result within given frameworks. Speed is just a tiny part of the equation. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tony M
France
Local time: 01:20
Member
French to English
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
Gitte Hovedskov Hansen wrote: (what does OP stand for????? I see it used here so often but have been unable to figure out what it means, except that I gather it is the person who starts a thread... )
Original Poster — as you say, the person who starts a thread.
(It's a bit like original sin, only the repercussions go on longer and the arguments are more heated... or not )
| | | | 564354352 (X)
Denmark
Local time: 01:20
Danish to English
+ ...
| Thanks, Tony | May 11, 2013 |
Ahhh... so simple once you know.
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Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
With speech technology you can translate much faster than you can when typing, for you can speak faster than you can type.
Not quite. Speech recognition does write your words with a certain degree of accuracy (which I would assess at 90%), but creates two problems: A) it faultlessly types words that have nothing to do with your translation, and B) keeps you from building better sentences since you go for speed and very often translate following the structure of the source language as you read.
Any text written with speech recognition needs very careful reading, actually much more careful than with typed translations, since in the latter your main issue will be some typo or omissions, both of which are easier to spot and control than unrelated words and poor sentence structure.
In my experience, and all efforts considered, speech recognition only speeds work by about 20% or so, which is very far from "much faster".
| | | | José Guedes
Brazil
Local time: 20:20
Portuguese to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | I hate having to think of a title, I have more than one point | May 11, 2013 |
Gitte Hovedskov Hansen wrote: I'm surprised that the OP (what does OP stand for????? I see it used here so often but have been unable to figure out what it means, except that I gather it is the person who starts a thread... ) is surprised at the not-too-impressed reactions from among the professional community. What did you expect? That we would all just say 'no, there is no such thing, but hey, that's a brilliant idea, let us know if such a record attempt is set up, because we all want to join in the fun'? Surely, you must have been aware that you would be stirring up a hornet's nest here? I once went for a job interview for a position as a translator with a large production company. The agreement was that after the interview, I would do a translation test with 45 minutes at my disposal. They asked me to translate a business letter and a technical text and the instructor said, "Just do as much as you can". They also provided a small list of technical terminology specific to their products. In my usual translation style and using my quicker-than-lightning typing skills (!), I quickly made a rough translation of both texts and could then have sat back thinking, "Core, I'm so quick at translating, I've already done all of it, which they didn't expect, this will really impress them. Maybe I should call them in now so that they can see how fast I did this?" But of course, I didn't, because I'm a professional. I spent every single last minute of the time available checking through the two texts to make absolutely sure I was presenting the best translations possible. Because that's what professional translators do, isn't it? We do our level best to provide the best possible result within given frameworks. Speed is just a tiny part of the equation.
I wasn't expecting anyone to be impressed about anything. I expected people to be kind and useful as some have been and refrain from posting opinions that do not add to the discussion as originally intended by me, the OP.
If they have nothing constructive, I would thank them not to say anything. We are all busy people and shouldn't be wasting time arguing about something silly like this. I didn't come here for this.
I certainly did not think I was stirring any kind of nest. I expected people to be mature and not feel "insulted", as some explicitly have stated they were.
What you people keep failing to understand is I am not arguing translators should worry about speed. I am saying since I have very coordinated fingers, it is a matter of curiosity to me to see how far I can take this harmless skill, without, and this is important, losing any measurable quality whatsoever. Meaning you would read the text and if you said I rushed through the job, my objective would not have been reached. That is the point! Through this practice I would not be trying to become a better translator (though I am always striving to improve through many other means), nor acquire more clients nor anything else. Just having a little fun!
I am extremely meticulous about my work and spend countless hours revising before delivering the final product. I always read each segment that I translate two or more times before going to the next segment. If anyone should have been offended, it was me. Almost everyone assumed and implied that the quality of my translation is inferior or that I do not pay attention to my work.
It is simply a hobby of mine, which people have attacked relentlessly, despite the fact that nowhere did I make the question "What is your opinion about the validity of this subject?". It was like coming here asking how I could find more about Trados training and have people only tell me how bad Trados is and how I undermine the translator community for even considering buying such an overpriced software, how horrible I am or any other thing I could not care less about.
| | | | Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 04:50
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | Speech technology unchains you (literally) from your computer | May 12, 2013 |
Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote: Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
With speech technology you can translate much faster than you can when typing, for you can speak faster than you can type. Not quite. Speech recognition does write your words with a certain degree of accuracy (which I would assess at 90%), but creates two problems: A) it faultlessly types words that have nothing to do with your translation, and B) keeps you from building better sentences since you go for speed and very often translate following the structure of the source language as you read. Any text written with speech recognition needs very careful reading, actually much more careful than with typed translations, since in the latter your main issue will be some typo or omissions, both of which are easier to spot and control than unrelated words and poor sentence structure. In my experience, and all efforts considered, speech recognition only speeds work by about 20% or so, which is very far from "much faster".
The major advantage of speech technology is that it unchains you from the computer. You no longer have to sit hunched up before the computer, holding your hands over the keyboard in an unnatural way, and manipulating your fingers as they are never meant to in the natural order of things. This does effect your translation because part of the mental effort is spent in maintaining the body in this unnatural position, though we don't realize this as we have become used to this strain.
With speech technology, especially with wireless and blue tooth headphones and mike, you can disengage from your computer and translate in a more natural physical position. You can lounge on your sofa, or walk about in the room, or look out of the window and translate. I think this greatly aids translation as you can now focus your mental faculties more on the text you are translating. This is less possible when you have to keep constant watch over the keyboard and the screen.
It is also my experience that text translated using speech technology reads more naturally as it is closer to the spoken language. When we type out something, we often formulate sentences that we would never actually speak. Later while editing the translation we often need to adjust the translation to make it read more naturally, by weeding out such angularities. But when we do the translation by speaking, such awkward sentence structures are automatically weeded out for we would never "speak" such sentences.
Yes, speech inputting, requires getting used to and for those who are fast with the keyboard, it may seem awkward and less productive in the beginning, but it does have these distinct advantages.
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