Translators - including translation companies and agencies for work done 'in- house' - may (a) find contracts abroad, and/or (b) benefit from cost differentials if they work in a low-cost country for clients located in high-cost countries, or, on the contrary, (c) lose out if they are working in a high-cost country for clients located in low-cost countries.
One possible decision on the part of translators would be to charge the rates that apply in the 'source' country or 'country of demand' irrespective of their own geographical location. Translators in low-rate-low-cost countries would then inevitably desert their local/national markets and move on to 'richer pastures' on the international market. This would, in turn, open up the cheap local markets for graduates to flex their muscles until they feel that they are able to internationalise their own markets and tariffs. In theory, this would safeguard the interests of those who charge normal rates while providing those from low-cost countries with improved incomes. In practice this is probably no more than wishful thinking.
Pessimists may argue that alongside its positive effects (i.e. the situation in which new market shares are won) and its neutral effects (i.e. the situation in which transfers from one language to another balance each other out) globalisation may, or will inevitably lead to market distortions and disruptions. This negative effect (in the view of the least competitive operators) is due to a very simple fact of economic life which states that, when faced with a choice between two globally similar translation services, one of which is cheaper than the other, the client will always opt for the cheaper of the two, providing (a) the cost differential is sufficient to warrant using the services of an 'offshore' operator, (b) the volumes concerned are sufficiently large to make it worth their while and (c) the fact that the translator is offshore does not prevent the work provider from monitoring the work in progress and does not lead to a breach of trust between the client and the service provider. If these conditions are met, clients will find it tempting to look for someone abroad who can provide the same quality of service they can find at home, at a fraction of the cost. The chances are, anyway, that all major work providers have been approached by translators and translation companies who have already moved to low-cost offshore environments. Short of enforcing global wage, welfare and social security standards, there is not much anyone can do about this, except gain solace from the fact that the advertising and promotional material displayed on the worldwide Web by a number of these budding offshore operators are sometimes dire enough to put off even the most undemanding clients.
The search for quality at lower cost is in itself perfectly legitimate. More worrying for all concerned are the cases where the cost differential is artificially created and maintained. Things are not very different in this respect from the situation in the domestic market. Fair competition ceases whenever:
- inferior quality is offered at the same price;
- work providers deliberately refuse to pay a fair rate for the job;
- competitors deliberately undercut each others' prices;
- competitors underpay (and exploit) their own staff and/or their sub-contractors.
In the first instance, the work provider is at fault for not being more careful. In the second case, he deliberately practises some form of exploitation. As for the last two instances, they are blatant cases of unfair competition. At the international level, the only answer, from the translators' perspective, would be (a) to stress that quality is at risk if low cost becomes the one and only criterion and (b) to encourage translators in all countries where translation is just emerging to charge any client the rate he would have to pay in her/his own country, knowing that this is probably not realistic.
All being said, however, optimists keep saying that globalisation is probably no more of a threat for any particular translator than are unfair competition and underpayment at the national level. But pessimists favour a different scenario.
In fact, some operators among the heavyweights predict that the market is about to undergo a complete upheaval. Translation, they say, just like any other kind of production process, will inevitably be attracted towards the low-cost countries. This will mean that:
- any translator wanting to work for a work provider who has successively bid for a contract in a low-cost country will have to accept the going rate for translations in that country or have to turn down the job, as illustrated in the following job offer issued by a Singapore based company:[15]
Bidders must live in: France
In the next few years, we are going to have regular translation projects to do for our client which is specialized in producing Home Applicance User Manuals for such electronic giants as JVC, Sony, etc. Translators must meet the following criteria in order to be given a testing:
1. Accept the fee of US$0.05/EURO0.06
2. Having at least 5 years of experience in techincal translation in Electronics (NOT IT);
3. Using Trados in your work;
4. Accept our standard payment practice (payment being made once every three months);
Please send in your CV to Kent at .com ASAP Contact person: XX Company: T & C Centre URL: http://www.xx.com
- translations into a given target language will systematically end up in the lowest cost country (or countries), and it is the translators themselves who will have to go offshore (in effect or virtually) if they want to hold on to certain markets.
What it all boils down to is that the market could not care less where the translator chooses to live, as long as she/he practises 'offshore' rates.
Offshore is where the sharks are
This chapter would hardly be complete without mentioning the kind of offers received by a number of translators, including the present author. The following example is a perfect illustration of the type of'outlaw' outfits now operating in the business. It should be remembered that the lowest translation rates in France at the time were three times the level mentioned here.
We are an off-shore company planning to set up a world-wide network of part-time high quality translators. At present, we already have 550 registered members, covering some 47 languages and 119 specialist domains. We are contacting you because we found your e-mail address on your personal Web site or because it was forwarded to us by an acquaintance of yours.
If you decide to work for us, you will not be bound by any kind of agreement and may decide to stop working for us at any time. Any work completed will be paid for and our business arrangement will come to an end. It is understood that any work you do for us is occasional and is not deemed to be salaried employment.
You will never be directly in contact with the client requesting the translation: we shall be your only contact.
Payment rates: standard work (quote), 0.046 euro per words (quote) in the source text. Example: a standard promotional brochure of ten pages or so usually contains around 2,500 words. If we send you more than 10,000 words to translate, the rate will be 0.03 euro per word over and above 10,000. If on the other hand the client wants the work done very quickly (in less than 24 hours), your payment will be increased by 0.015 euro per word. Proof-reading and correction of texts already translated will be paid on the basis of 0.046 euro per group of 10 words.
As we are an off-shore company, payment will be free of tax. You will be paid in cash in the currency of your choice. This will guarantee maximum discretion as regards the tax authorities and your present employer. If you prefer payment in kind, we can arrange for the sums due to be paid through orders on the Web site of your choice. In this case, just tell us what you want to buy and where you want it delivered and we will see that the goods are ordered. You may also request payment by bank transfer to the account of your choice.
Sums over 100 euros will be forwarded to you automatically.
If you agree to work for us, we may contact you through three different channels:
When a client wants work done, we will phone your mobile phone or fixed line phone number to check whether you are available to do the job. We can also contact you be e-mail if you prefer or if you cannot be reached by phone. The source material will be sent to you by e-mail only. You will return it to us by e-mail also once the work is completed.
Cash payments will be sent to you by post in an unobtrusive and securely sealed envelope, with acknowledgement of receipt.
We will send you a monthly e-mail to check whether you wish to continue working for us.
You may get others to work for you on given jobs. You will be responsible for the quality of their work and for any payment due to them. You alone will be our contact for a given job. However, we invite you to forward the names of anyone who might be likely to want to work directly for us. An overall quality grade will be awarded to each job of work you do for us. This will take into consideration the client's comments, the speed at which the work was completed and our general business relationship. We give priority to those who are awarded the highest assessment grades. If you sub-contract work to acquaintances, their work will be assessed as if it were your own.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information. Are you interested in our offer?
If so, then please complete the form below so we can add you to our data
base. It goes without saying that your personal details will not be forwarded
to anyone else.
PERSONAL DETAILS:
NAME:
FIRST NAME:
PERSONAL POSTAL ADDRESS: POST CODE and CITY: COUNTRY:
PERSONAL MOBILE PHONE OR FIXED LINE NUMBER: PERSONAL E-MAIL ADDRESS: Present PROFESSION or ACTIVITY:
FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPOKEN AND WRITTEN PERFECTLY (other than French):
SPECIAL DOMAIN EXPERTISE in that language (ex. medical English):
PROOF OF COMPETENCE for this kind of work:
TIME you think you can spend on this kind of work per week:
Thanks for having spent time reading all this.
In the hope that we will be working together very soon.
section vi
Training translators
chapter 17
Training translators
Introduction
There have never been as many university courses and programmes in translation as there are today and the time has therefore come to have a long hard think about the challenges we face in training future translators and about possible ways of meeting these challenges.
To many people, the very idea of training translators is nonsensical. All you need to do, they say, is to wait for translators to emerge naturally, like so many mushrooms, from among the linguists, by vocation or by accident.
But this argument is no longer sustainable: obviously, there are just not enough spontaneously generated translators around to meet market demands both in technical translation and literary translation as the number of literary translation courses that have sprung up over the last few years would suggest.
If the axiom that translators trained 'on the job' are necessarily good translators is patently untrue (that claim being mostly made by people whose own work is more often than not substandard) it is just as absurd to pretend that anyone who has graduated with a degree in translation will necessarily make a good translator. There are brilliant translators in both categories and there are mediocre translators in both categories
Everyone agrees that there is indeed a need to train translators to meet existing demand and also to face rising volumes in the future, but there should also be agreement on the need to train good translators and to train them well. This is a bigger challenge than many would think since the situation today is too many translation graduates not finding employment and too many employers or companies not finding the right translators (meaning 'suitable' for the jobs or contracts).
1. Course objectives and profiles
It is high time academics stopped pretending the design of translator training courses is a complicated matter. After many years of well-informed debate, everyone now knows what the contents and methods should be, and those who do not should not really be attempting to set up courses at all.
What we now know is that whatever their background, translators must (1) master their working languages perfectly (i.e. be able to understand the slightest detail and subtle shade of meaning of the material for translation and be able to write clearly and fluently in the target language or languages), (2) be perfectly familiar with every kind of documentation, information retrieval and data research technique, (3) be at home with terminology and phraseology mining and management (4) have at least a layman's knowledge of a wide range of subjects in the fields of science, technology, economics, etc., (5) master all the translation- localisation (and revision) techniques, methods and procedures, (6) be totally proficient in the use of all the equipment and software they are likely to come across in their professional environments, (7) be familiar with best professional practice and professional ethics, (8) have some knowledge of commercial and financial management, (9) have some experience of project management and (10) be able to communicate and interact efficiently and amiably with a variety of people.
Translator recruitment profiles (i.e. the sum of generic and specific skills and competences required) can easily be identified by:
- looking up job offers,
- analysing task outlines,
- analysing the recruitment criteria defined by the future employers (in particular by translation agencies and companies looking for translators on the Internet),
- analysing translators' working environments - preferably by actually working there,
- analysing the markets,
- talking to translation service or company managers,
- analysing reports by students just out of their internships (probably the most fruitful resource in terms of impending market and technical/methodological changes),
- analysing market trends to anticipate any future changes, thus preparing to introduce new course components or modify existing ones.
A survey of job advertisements in the field of translation (over 120 advertisements, irrespective of country or language) carried out in 2005 as a follow-up to a 2002 survey produced the following list of expectations on the part of employers (in decreasing order of priority):
1. Language skills (most obviously):
- a perfect knowledge of the relevant working languages (100% of the jobs advertised). Language pair(s) and direction of translation are relevant in all cases.
2. Knowledge of specific translation tools (now mentioned in all job ads):
- proficiency in the use of an application that the company or organisation has already purchased but does not know how to implement or use efficiently, or
- proficiency in the use of an application required by a particular work provider (e.g. computer graphics, desk-top publishing, specific software used to produce and process the material to be translated), or
- proficiency in the use of software localisation and multimedia translation tools - usually couched as 'IT skills will be particularly appreciated'
3. Qualifications:
- A degree in translation (almost all require postgraduate qualifications; about one in ten wants technical experts and one in thirty is looking for 'technical experts trained in translation')
- A degree awarded by a recognised training institution.
In most countries, job advertisements identify just a few institutions with 'similar profiles and priorities' known to produce graduates who should fit the requirements for the job.
Academic background and training, along with language combinations, seem to be the main recruitment criteria for in-house translators, but all candidates are expected to take a confirming test anyway.
4. Knowledge of quality control procedures (mentioned in just over half of the
job ads).
5. Particular competences, such as technical writing, revision, terminology management, pre-translation, network management, Web page design, etc. (40%
of job ads).
6. Project management (35%)
- In-house project management: this can include choosing the appropriate translation assistance and machine translation tools, and training the translators in the use of such tools.
- Sub-contractor management, i.e. acting as prime contractor for the work provider.
7. Specific ability to handle non standard translations (15%)
- Specific technical knowledge and skills required to handle and translate unconventional material - usually phrased as: 'IT skills appreciated' or 'experience in the area of software localisation appreciated'
8. Experience in the field of translation (15%)
Again, prior experience in translation is considered less important than domain-specific knowledge or proficiency in the use of specific technology.
The lesson to be drawn from this survey can be summed up as follows:
- the market is wide open for beginners who have graduated with the right training for the job (meaning 'trained to meet market requirements and beyond') and who have had the chance to see professional practice at first hand through long, real work placements (i.e. placements lasting several months and involving real tasks),
- technical skills and competence are very much in demand: familiarity with the latest technological developments is a must, particularly where older- generation translators are still the majority, and many graduates are in fact expected to act as technological gap-bridgers,
- there is no end of opportunities for translators with real expertise in quality assurance and project management.
The market is also eager to take on people who are trained in one or several of the special skills areas (one might say sub-jobs) associated with translation, such as software, Web site and videogame localisation, technical writing, multilingual content management, terminology, post-editing or revision.
If we compare the findings above with offers for student internships (which look more and more like requests for high-profile interns) addressed to universities offering translator training programmes, an even clearer picture emerges. The offerers/requesters are looking for students:
- who are in the final stages of getting a master's degree in translation - which is supposed to be sufficient guarantee that they can translate, proofread, manage terminology, etc.
- who have a perfect knowledge of translation memory management systems and various automatic systems,
- who are capable of drawing up specifications for a project - including the equipment, software resources, documentation and terminology required,
- who know how to customize and optimize their work station,
- who have received training in localisation and multimedia translation techniques,
- who know about quality management and quality control,
- who are familiar in a practical way with project management.
To give a complete picture, it must be said that whole market segments now tend to exclude beginner freelancers altogether because revision has become so costly that only autonomous translators (i.e. translators requiring no or extremely little revision) get the jobs or contracts. This started with translation agencies and is now spreading fast. Beginners thus have little choice but to try and find their way into agencies where they are confined to LSO (Linguistic Sign Off) and file management. Consequently, training institutions whose graduates head for the freelance markets are now under pressure, not only to equip students with all the knowledge, skills, and know-how that 'autonomy' requires, but to give them the opportunity to acquire experience and a range of special skills during their course, in particular through protracted skills labs and long work placements. This again raises the question of which special skills to introduce and the degree of specialisation possible and desirable in university translator training programmes.
By combining the results of the two above surveys, the following translator qualification and competence profile emerges. A trained translator should be someone who:
- has graduated from an institution whose alumni have a good track record in the field of professional translation,
- has actually begun to specialise in one of the areas in demand (as substantiated by work actually done at university or in the course of skills labs and work placements and not simply by just a few translations done to satisfy course requirements);
- is proficient in technical writing and 'content management';
- is proficient in terminology applied to translation, and in particular in the use of terminology management systems;
- has a good knowledge of specialised phraseology and controlled language design and implementation, in particular in the context of translation memory systems;
- knows where and how to find the relevant information needed for any given translation;
- is proficient in the use of office IT and desktop-publishing applications;
- is at home with Internet-related tools (e-mail, Web sites, file management servers, Web forums, search engines, referencing protocols, etc.);
- knows how to use and even adapt and develop data base management systems;
- is familiar with Electronic Data Management, mark-up languages and data modelling protocols (XML/XSL/SML);
- is proficient in the use of translation memory management systems;
- is familiar with proof-reading and revision techniques (including post-editing of computer assisted translations);
- can actually assist translation project managers if need arises and even take over in time;
- is familiar with standard technological and software environments associated with the processes of document production and document lifecycling.
This has now become the standard translator's job profile. On top of that, each position advertised usually implies at least one 'extra' competence that defines the profile as that required for a 'job' in its own right - whether it be localiser, multimedia translator, technical translator possibly in a specialist area, technical writer or translator or any combination of the above.
The aim is not, of course, to train students for a narrowly defined market, but, quite to the contrary, to empower them to apply for a wide range of positions in the translation industry or, alternatively, to open up their market potential as freelancers. Taken in its broadest sense, translator training therefore draws on the following (unprioritized) subject fields, with corresponding outcomes:
- one or more source languages/cultures
Outcome = ability to understand and analyse materials in the slightest detail, whatever the language, the code, and the medium
- one or more target languages/cultures
Outcome = perfect mastery of expression and writing (includingproofreading),
- translation and transfer skills and, more generally, intercultural management: Outcome = deliverable quality translations of relevant types of materials (with good abilities for stylistic fluency and writing efficiency in the target language)
- general-purpose technical knowledge
Outcome = a foundation oftechnical knowledge applicable across the board
- specific technical fields that are deemed relevant
Outcome = specific knowledge as a basis for translation and technical writing,
- information mining, retrieval and management
outcome = ability to spot relevant resources plus ability to get hold of any information required, by whatever means and in various media
- interview and negotiation techniques,
Outcome = ability to obtain relevant information; ability to interact efficiently with all kinds ofpartners, colleagues, information providers, assistants, etc.
- IT (as a subject in itself),
Outcome = mastery of formats, languages, platforms; good knowledge of software development; ability to develop macros and applications
- IT (as an ever-growing set of tools),
Outcome = mastery of all technology available in a state-of-the-art translator's work station; ability to analyse and appraise any software package; ability to train colleagues and others in the use ofsuch tools
- IT (applied to translation at large, including translation project management), outcome = ability to choose the right IT for any task and/or to develop or customize it, then to implement and use it or have it used properly by others
- terminology and terminography,
Outcome = ability to find the required terminology; ability to create and maintain relevant terminological resources; ability to choose/develop/customize and implement relevant terminographic aids and tools
- phraseology and phraseography,
Outcome = ability to find the required phraseology; ability to create and maintain relevant phraseological resources; ability to choose/develop/customize and implement relevantphraseographic aids and tools
- proof-reading and revision,
Outcome = ability to upgrade (human and assisted) translations and/or any material with linguistic components to required quality levels; ability to choose/ develop/modify and implement relevant aids and tools
- commercial (client portfolio) management,
Outcome = ability to produce viable estimates and commercial offers and to generally manage all commercial interaction with prospects and clients
- commercial and financial management,
Outcome = good knowledge and perception of the financial implications of jobs, contracts, projects; ability to calculate, obtain, and manage budgets (notably, costs)
- project planning and management.
outcome = ability to plan and manage projects (specifications, schedules and deadlines, costs, human resources, equipment, reviews, etc.); ability to constantly update and upgrade skills and competences; ability to manage quality throughout the material's lifecycle and translation workflow and much more, as the case maybe.
The skills profiles required by those agencies and brokers with permanent job offers or ongoing searches for freelancers on the Web are very similar to those listed above, except that they place more emphasis on prior experience (on the assumption that anyone who has survived for any length of time as a practising translator is deemed to have the necessary capabilities) and do not specify project management skills as such (because project managers' jobs are often advertised separately in the somewhat unreasonable hope of attracting people with 'proper' business management degrees). The agencies and brokers are primarily interested in (1) particularly valuable specialisms and domain expertise - which they can find by sub-contracting translation work directly or indirectly to domain experts - (2) the rarer language combinations, (3) significant IT skills and competences - as indicated through the impressive lists of required software. At the same time, they are primarily concerned with the payment levels expected by any translators they might employ.
Employment markets are changing - as confirmed by a recent survey (CFTTR 2004) of translation agencies and freelancers. The difference lies with the distribution of skills and competences. There are, in fact, four notable changes.
1. The number of freelancers is sharply on the rise, both because outsourcing is becoming the rule and because the crowds of graduates can in no way be absorbed by existing companies, agencies, bureaus, in-house services, and various institutions.
2. To take care of the huge mass of freelance translations, agencies and brokers are increasingly hiring translators (and others) with proven abilities to buy and sell translation, to manage projects, and to take care of all kinds of quality checks.
3. Specialisation by 'job' + technology + domain (job first) is a marked major trend. This means that translators identify themselves primarily as localisers (of software packages, of Web site contents, of video games, etc.) or dubbers, or subtitlers, or revisers.
4. Conversely, there are also more and more professionals who are in charge of anything that has to do with international communication in one particular small or medium-sized company. This, as already stated, involves translation, interpreting, deciding on equipment and strategies, building and managing terminology databases, creating the translation memories, finding and managing the subcontracting translators/technical writers, writing the documentation, updating the Web site with international content, and so on and so forth.
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