| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Do you think the translation profession is better regarded now than 30 years ago? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you think the translation profession is better regarded now than 30 years ago?".
View the poll results »
| | | | Adnan Özdemir 
Türkiye
Local time: 22:29
Member (2007)
German to Turkish
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| Cecilia Civetta
Italy
Local time: 21:29
Member (2003)
Italian to Spanish
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Nowadays there seems to be a well-spread notion that ANYONE can translated anything!
| | | | Patricia Charnet
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:29
Member (2009)
English to French
and it's the fault of the translators
they keep bickering about quality, accept appalling working conditions, get played against each other for the benefit of the clients all a client needs to do is criticise a translation and gets away with murder watching the show of the translators tearing each others apart
the agencies most of them just blame the translators very few actually are capable of proper checking and substantiating a defence
translators don't help each other but ... See more and it's the fault of the translators
they keep bickering about quality, accept appalling working conditions, get played against each other for the benefit of the clients all a client needs to do is criticise a translation and gets away with murder watching the show of the translators tearing each others apart
the agencies most of them just blame the translators very few actually are capable of proper checking and substantiating a defence
translators don't help each other but keep destroying each other's work
you don't see doctors doing the same but they could
you don't see solicitors disrespecting themselves like translators
unless translators react positively, help each other, and reestablish a profession with respect and behave more professionally, they will be paid peanuts, and will have to accept appalling conditions
they may be exceptions but most of them are struggling - just read between the comments on proz.com
that's a pity because most translators are nice people - you certainly don't do this profession for the love of money ▲ Collapse
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Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 21:29
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| I don't know | Nov 28, 2010 |
Cecilia Civetta wrote:
Nowadays there seems to be a well-spread notion that ANYONE can translated anything!
Yes, this is my impression as well, although I answered "I don't know".
Yet on second thought, I agree with Cecilia. Speaking a language - any language - fluently doesn't suffice to be/-come a good translator, let alone in any specific field, e. g. medical or aeronautics. This is a fact which many people miss or simply ignore. Unfortunately.
However, it is upon us, the translators, to change this situation by asking "fair wages for quality work". No price dumping, no working against each other.
Happy Sunday.
| | | | | the thing is that | Nov 28, 2010 |
when one comes to a solicitor (or a doctor), usually his/her life (wealth, assets, money) is at stake, and the threat is obvious. And when someone needs a translation, it is not of life-or-death nature (they think).
But, consider the situation when someone needs an urgent translation. The person is ready to pay as much as you may (reasonably) want.
Thus the issue hear is about the nature of a need of someone who wants a translation. And once again: I would rather not ... See more when one comes to a solicitor (or a doctor), usually his/her life (wealth, assets, money) is at stake, and the threat is obvious. And when someone needs a translation, it is not of life-or-death nature (they think).
But, consider the situation when someone needs an urgent translation. The person is ready to pay as much as you may (reasonably) want.
Thus the issue hear is about the nature of a need of someone who wants a translation. And once again: I would rather not compare a doctor and a translator (I do understand that it may sound harsh, but a doctor is a person who is above all and everybody, in my opinion). ▲ Collapse
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I absolutely agree with Cecilia!
| | | | Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 21:29
Member (2006)
German to English
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Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 21:29
English to French
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Do people 'know' there is a translation profession? In my experience, most people are totally unaware of the difference between 'interpreter' and 'translator'.
| | | | Sandra B.
Portugal
Local time: 20:29
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Totally agree with what Patricia and Cecilia wrote.
| | | | Anja Weggel
Local time: 21:29
Member (2007)
English to German
Interlangue wrote:
Do people 'know' there is a translation profession? In my experience, most people are totally unaware of the difference between 'interpreter' and 'translator'.
Indeed... people regularly call me an interpreter although I introduced myself as a translator five minutes earlier. Although I haven't been around 30 years ago, I am under the impression that today we are simply a (cheap) tool of globalization that can be exploited.
| | | | Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 13:29
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam | I have no idea | Nov 28, 2010 |
30 years ago I was in the profession but I had no knowledge of anyone's situation but my own. I got a decent amount of respect because of what I could do. Today all I can do is listen to people here, but there is no way in general to tell how well regarded the profession is. Obviously there are many translators who are dissatisfied with how they are treated. It is also just as obvious that there are many who call themselves translators and are not.
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Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 15:29
German to English
| Translation has become a commodity | Nov 28, 2010 |
In most professional endeavors, ranging from public school teachers to lawyers and brain surgeons, there are various requirements for entry, including training, demonstrated knowledge in the form of examinations, and codes of standards and behavior, and in many professions, licensing. In the US and much of the EU, even skilled trades are regulated. In the US, to call oneself a "licensed barber," for example, requires some form of preliminary training and a licensing exam. There are no such requi... See more In most professional endeavors, ranging from public school teachers to lawyers and brain surgeons, there are various requirements for entry, including training, demonstrated knowledge in the form of examinations, and codes of standards and behavior, and in many professions, licensing. In the US and much of the EU, even skilled trades are regulated. In the US, to call oneself a "licensed barber," for example, requires some form of preliminary training and a licensing exam. There are no such requirements for translators in much of the world (excluding Germany and a few other places); therefore translation falls short of being a profession or even a skilled trade with respect to generally applicable standards.
Globalization, the Internet and no significant barriers to entry have created workers for words, not professionals. The ATA discovered only too late that anyone with a computer and an Internet connection could be a "translator." Trying to establish professional standards for translators in the US and most of the world is now a futile endeavor. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Chun Un
Macau
Member (2007)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| Doctors are better? | Nov 29, 2010 |
Vadim Kadyrov wrote:
(I do understand that it may sound harsh, but a doctor is a person who is above all and everybody, in my opinion).
That's what some of them (doctors) would like us to believe but in reality they are as just mortal and vulnerable (or as evil in some cases) as the rest of us.
[Edited at 2010-11-29 02:49 GMT]
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We were regarded with more respect. Our rates were nearly the same as they are today in absolute terms and therefore considerably higher relative to the cost of living.
In my job 30 years ago I was sent all over Latin America to translate at conferences. Like interpreters, we mixed with the participants and delegates. We were invited to sit in on style committee meetings with the delegates. It was a very pleasant life!!
Technology has been a double-edged sword. The bene... See more We were regarded with more respect. Our rates were nearly the same as they are today in absolute terms and therefore considerably higher relative to the cost of living.
In my job 30 years ago I was sent all over Latin America to translate at conferences. Like interpreters, we mixed with the participants and delegates. We were invited to sit in on style committee meetings with the delegates. It was a very pleasant life!!
Technology has been a double-edged sword. The benefits, in my opinion, have been:
- Ease of producing documents;
- Access to the Internet for research, dictionaries, and translation community support;
- Access to clients around the world;
- Specialized software for keeping documents uniform and reducing effort.
But we have paid a price for those conveniences in terms of depressed compensation and unacceptable conditions imposed by many would-be clients. ▲ Collapse
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