| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | 6,250 translators at 11.25 an hour / cheating translators Thread poster: Jeff Whittaker
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Jeff Whittaker 
United States
Local time: 12:09
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
+ ...
There seem to be several dozen sites that machine translate documents, divide them up into smaller pieces (one - two sentences) put them on the "cloud" and then have monolingual editors pick out those sentences that do not make sense and then pay "translators" to translate only the "hard" parts at 10-12 per hour.
After 18 years in the business, it makes me very sad and depressed to see where the industry is headed.
... See more There seem to be several dozen sites that machine translate documents, divide them up into smaller pieces (one - two sentences) put them on the "cloud" and then have monolingual editors pick out those sentences that do not make sense and then pay "translators" to translate only the "hard" parts at 10-12 per hour.
After 18 years in the business, it makes me very sad and depressed to see where the industry is headed.
http://translationcloud.net/#welcome
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=158802914151405
"Over 180 completed projects! Average hourly rate went up to $10/hour!
That's some serious wage for someone working from home."
http://www.cheatingtranslators.com/
http://www.ibabbleon.com/copywriter-translator/2011/11/whats-wrong-with-a-factory-translation-cloud-translation/
[Topic moved to SCAMS forum by moderator, not by me. If only this were a scam.]
[Edited at 2011-11-21 23:14 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jean Lachaud
United States
Local time: 12:09
English to French
+ ...
| serious wages?? | Nov 21, 2011 |
Serious wages, indeed!
These so-called translations, unfortunately, serve only to supply clueless answerers in the Kudoz forums with infinite numbers of "that is how it is translated, here are URLs" bad references.
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 18:09
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| Serious wage! | Nov 21, 2011 |
"Over 180 completed projects! Average hourly rate went up to $10/hour!
That's some serious wage for someone working from home."
This can only be stated by someone who doesn't know what all is involved when working at home. A sad development indeed.
| | | | Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 12:09
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | How do clients decide? | Nov 22, 2011 |
Obviously, we know that these kinds of automated amateur cloud translation hodge-podge roulette wheel companies (you never know what you are going to get) are not a reliable source of translation, but in the absence of a translation agency rating site, how can a potential client of translation make an informed decision about which company to use?
[Edited at 2011-11-22 00:14 GMT]
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Phil Hand
China
Local time: 00:09
Chinese to English
| Only afraid that clients will start to see this as the norm | Nov 22, 2011 |
If I can get a client in a room and sit down with them, then I can make the quality problems clear to them. But there's only one of me, and there's a lot of clients that don't get it...
| | | | Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 12:09
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
There is most definitely a need (and perhaps an opportunity) for a translator-centered (and translator-sponsored) professional organization acting in the interests of translators (rather than translators and agencies to avoid conflicts of interest) in order to actively educate current and future translation customers about the industry through internet, social media, youtube videos, print and other campaigns to counterbalance the MT hype and inform clients that just because it sounds good does n... See more There is most definitely a need (and perhaps an opportunity) for a translator-centered (and translator-sponsored) professional organization acting in the interests of translators (rather than translators and agencies to avoid conflicts of interest) in order to actively educate current and future translation customers about the industry through internet, social media, youtube videos, print and other campaigns to counterbalance the MT hype and inform clients that just because it sounds good does not mean that the translation is correct or that elements are not missing (something a "monolingual editor" will not catch) and the corresponding hazards of assuming that because the MT output makes sense that it is a translation. There is an erroneous assumption that Google translate provides either a workable translation or obvious garbage. The organization could also sponsor information sites that translators can link to in order to provide clients with reliable information and warnings about "alternate" sources of translation services, the pros and cons of translation technology, cloud-based document translation systems, etc.
Phil Hand wrote:
If I can get a client in a room and sit down with them, then I can make the quality problems clear to them. But there's only one of me, and there's a lot of clients that don't get it...
[Edited at 2011-11-22 03:08 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 12:09
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Agree with Jeff... | Nov 22, 2011 |
...re both his sadness as to where the industry is heading and his call for a site with a prominent internet presence that consistently and effectively represents freelance translators' interests....
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 18:09
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| An urgent requirement | Nov 22, 2011 |
Jeff Whittaker wrote:
Obviously, we know that these kinds of automated amateur cloud translation hodge-podge roulette wheel companies (you never know what you are going to get) are not a reliable source of translation, but in the absence of a translation agency rating site, how can a potential client of translation make an informed decision about which company to use?
[Edited at 2011-11-22 00:14 GMT]
I agree with Jeff. One or more rating agency(ies) are an urgent requirement to not only correctly inform and/or assist the client in choosing the best translation agency for his/her project, but to also protect the service providers, the translators.
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Richard Foulkes (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:09
German to English
+ ...
| Seconding Phil, Jeff and Robert... | Nov 22, 2011 |
It's hard to fight the likes of Google in shaping people's perception that translation is now an automated process with minimal human intervention and that can only have a downward influence on rates.
What an opportunity for an established translation community website to nail its colours to the mast and distance itself from the lower end of the market...
| | | | | We are not the machine… | Nov 22, 2011 |
Many people think that translators are like a "machine"…
| | | | Jaroslaw Michalak
Poland
Local time: 18:09
Member (2004)
English to Polish
SITE LOCALIZER | Same old, same old... | Nov 22, 2011 |
The translation maket is not "heading" anywhere. I've seen the screams "oh, no, there's someone offering $ 0.02 per word translations, we're all going to die!" ever since I got connected to the Internet, that is almost fifteen years ago. If the market crashes, it takes its sweet time, doesn't it?
And again, I do not buy the argument that most clients are idiots... I mean, that most clients are misinformed. I believe they have a pretty good idea what they are paying for and wh... See more The translation maket is not "heading" anywhere. I've seen the screams "oh, no, there's someone offering $ 0.02 per word translations, we're all going to die!" ever since I got connected to the Internet, that is almost fifteen years ago. If the market crashes, it takes its sweet time, doesn't it?
And again, I do not buy the argument that most clients are idiots... I mean, that most clients are misinformed. I believe they have a pretty good idea what they are paying for and what they get... ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I particulary liked these bits | Nov 22, 2011 |
• You initially have two minutes to complete each proofreading task.
• However, you won't ever see the whole project. For security reasons, Translation Cloud gives you only one line of the project at a time.
[Edited at 2011-11-22 20:33 GMT]
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 18:09
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| How much realistically | Nov 22, 2011 |
They pay for editing machine translations. I wonder how much a translator with scruples would be able to make using their system.
I can't try it out, unfortunately, beacuse they require me to agree to allow them to post on my behalf on Facebook, and I don't see why that is necessary for the app to work.
[Topic moved to SCAMS forum by moderator, not by me. If only this were a scam.]
I agree, this is not a scam.
| | | | Jenn Mercer
United States
Local time: 12:09
Member (2009)
French to English
| Facebook is a clue | Nov 22, 2011 |
The fact that this service requires being signed on to Facebook should be a good clue that they are not professional.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 18:09
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| The value of Facebook | Nov 22, 2011 |
Jenn Mercer wrote:
The fact that this service requires being signed on to Facebook should be a good clue that they are not professional.
Actually, the value of Facebook is that it is often easier to check if someone (i.e. a translator) is a real human with a real past. Not always, but often.
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