| صفحات الموضوع: < [1 2 3] > | Poll: Which of these would you like to translate the most (provided that you haven't yet)? ناشر الموضوع: ProZ.com Staff
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Daniel Bird 
المملكة المتحدة
Local time: 19:07
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...and on the side, I'd do the production design too (that part I'd do unpaid).
What's the appeal? I think the text of a play is needed before the event can be made to happen, unlike a translated book or film which would generally already exist by the time the translator gets to it.
Let me dream on...
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Only because I find that movies are often terribly translated and that I could do much better.
I would also translate books, but I am afraid that I would go broke...
| | | | Parrot
أسبانيا
Local time: 20:07
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| A complete anthropology or history book | Feb 4, 2009 |
Done all, and poems were the hardest. But what keeps me most awake and interested are social sciences and travel literature.
I also like sentences and jurisprudence, like Astrid...
| | | | | TV Series - Particularly "CSI" | Feb 4, 2009 |
I've never even tried to do it --I mean I wouldn't know what software to use or what the procedure is, so I'm curious. I hear this is not a very well paid job, but I'd love to give it a try just because I hate the outrageous mistakes people make AND get away with!
I don't read subtitles, but my eyes keep checking... you all know how this is
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| Thank you, Fabio! | Feb 5, 2009 |
This is great news! I'll try both sites as soon as I have a chance
| | | | | Why is it not better paid? | Feb 5, 2009 |
María Eugenia Wachtendorff wrote:
I hear this is not a very well paid job, but I'd love to give it a try just because I hate the outrageous mistakes people make AND get away with!
Is the quality so poor because it isn't well paid, or is it poorly paid because the quality is poor? Hmmm...
| | | | Fabio Said
ألمانيا
Local time: 20:07
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| I thought book translation was badly paid, not film translation | Feb 5, 2009 |
Viktoria Gimbe wrote: María Eugenia Wachtendorff wrote:
I hear this is not a very well paid job, but I'd love to give it a try just because I hate the outrageous mistakes people make AND get away with! Is the quality so poor because it isn't well paid, or is it poorly paid because the quality is poor? Hmmm...
From my experience in Brazil and Germany (with both big and small publishing houses), book translation is the one field in our business that pays poorly as a rule (unless, of course, you are translating best-sellers with a proper contract, or a book about a highly specialized subject with high commercial interest, also with a proper contract). I never heard that film translation was also in that situation. But if it is, I guess it must be the same that happens with book translations: it's certainly not because of badly qualified translators or bad quality of translations, but simply because of ***greedy*** companies who rule the market.
| | | | inkweaver
ألمانيا
Local time: 20:07
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| More books... | Feb 5, 2009 |
I have already translated two travel guides (with a focus on art and history) and would LOVE to translate more, but I would also really love to translate a "proper" book, especially for children or youths (with lots of magic and adventure...)
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| Book translation the worst, followed by movies | Feb 5, 2009 |
Fabio, you are right. Book translation is really badly paid compared to other types of translation. However, movie translation (or adaptation) isn't far behind.
About the chicken or egg question... Frankly, I sometimes come across such disastrous movie translations that I actually think the translator doesn't deserve a better rate than the low one s/he is getting. You may be right that it isn't because of mediocre translations that translators in that field are underpaid (although t... See more Fabio, you are right. Book translation is really badly paid compared to other types of translation. However, movie translation (or adaptation) isn't far behind.
About the chicken or egg question... Frankly, I sometimes come across such disastrous movie translations that I actually think the translator doesn't deserve a better rate than the low one s/he is getting. You may be right that it isn't because of mediocre translations that translators in that field are underpaid (although this is still up for debate), but many movie translators should go back to their day jobs for the sake of the general public's sanity. That's not to say that there aren't any good movie translations, but they are few and far between.
Voilà! This explains, in a nutshell, why I would like to give movie translation a try. However, I am afraid that I am out of their league rate-wise...
[Edited at 2009-02-05 20:17 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Books were fun, but... | Feb 5, 2009 |
I'm getting up in years and wouldn't want to be saddled with a long project any more. You know what they say about not buying green bananas because you might not live to eat them...
Of the shorter jobs, the ones I like best are book chapters or journal articles in the sciences because they are usually well written or have been edited and I can spend time learning about the subject matter rather than tearing out my hair trying to figure out what the author intended to say.
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I translated and subtitled a few Hindi songs for my friends in France. It was hard work and a lot of fun. Contrary to the popular image of bollywood these songs have a deep meaning and are really difficult to translate. I realised that the time needed was really less than the time that I had.
I wanted to offer it as a christmass gift to my friends but it was more difficult than I'd imagined. Translating a film would take much more time but it'll be so nice to be able to share ... See more I translated and subtitled a few Hindi songs for my friends in France. It was hard work and a lot of fun. Contrary to the popular image of bollywood these songs have a deep meaning and are really difficult to translate. I realised that the time needed was really less than the time that I had.
I wanted to offer it as a christmass gift to my friends but it was more difficult than I'd imagined. Translating a film would take much more time but it'll be so nice to be able to share my culture with my friends. ▲ Collapse
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...is what I'd like to translate. A whole fiction book, I mean, literature. Or a history one. Something *I* would like to read anyway, since what I've translated so far (book-wise) were technical or specialised stuff that didn't really appeal to me. And generally, I did only a few chapters and not the whole thing (maybe that rate thing had to do with it, I didn't know that book translations were so badly paid. I thought I never got one due to my lack of experience in the area (but that was proba... See more ...is what I'd like to translate. A whole fiction book, I mean, literature. Or a history one. Something *I* would like to read anyway, since what I've translated so far (book-wise) were technical or specialised stuff that didn't really appeal to me. And generally, I did only a few chapters and not the whole thing (maybe that rate thing had to do with it, I didn't know that book translations were so badly paid. I thought I never got one due to my lack of experience in the area (but that was probably a reason behind my not getting it too, surely). ▲ Collapse
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Péter Jutai
المجر-هنغاريا
Local time: 20:07
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| Books, books, books | Feb 5, 2009 |
Why? Because books are understandable, they have a beginning and an end.
When I had to translate manuals, which were translated from Chinese into English, then I had to translate them into Hungarian, huh. I had no pictures, so I wasted my time on figuring out the meaning of some words that could have meant anything without a picture.
I have translated a website. I had to sign up for it (it's a social website), then click on everything and try all the features, because I had no clue h... See more Why? Because books are understandable, they have a beginning and an end.
When I had to translate manuals, which were translated from Chinese into English, then I had to translate them into Hungarian, huh. I had no pictures, so I wasted my time on figuring out the meaning of some words that could have meant anything without a picture.
I have translated a website. I had to sign up for it (it's a social website), then click on everything and try all the features, because I had no clue how to translate one word, that had, let's say, six meanings.
And I have translated some books. No pictures of course, because none needed. I had to understand someone's thoughts, but he had to make himself clear, because he wrote the book to be read by people, even to make himself understandable. And I love to read. So why not read a book, and work with it (learn from it), then get money? But it depends on the book, of course.
Belles-lettres and academic books rule! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Amy Duncan (X)
البرازيل
Local time: 15:07
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María Eugenia Wachtendorff wrote:
I've never even tried to do it --I mean I wouldn't know what software to use or what the procedure is, so I'm curious. I hear this is not a very well paid job, but I'd love to give it a try just because I hate the outrageous mistakes people make AND get away with!
I used to do some subtitling with a software called Spot, but I never had to deal with the timing, I just did the translating. People who are "real" subtitlers have to do the timing, too. I had a friend in Brazil who did this kind of work, and I was interested in trying it, but after he told me how much work was involved and how bad the pay was, I declined. I'm sure this has something to do with why the translations are usually so bad.
| | | | Textklick
Local time: 19:07
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احياء لذكرى | Generally agree with Giles | Feb 5, 2009 |
I always fancied the idea of literature as something to do 'later on' when subsidised by a pension.
Giles Watson wrote:
It's definitely not a question of genre, though. What makes a translation intellectually gratifying is the quality of the writing in the source language.
Giles
Then, for the first time, I recently had about 3,000 words of short story from a magazine. The mag editor said I was free to take liberties, so I did. It was a fun little piece, but the author's facts and syntax clashed occasionally: his thoughts did not seem to follow a straight line but rather bounce around in odd directions as mine do sometimes when writing an E-mail.
I unravelled all of this, 'localised' a few concepts and gave his characters names (it was called 'Love Story', yet he referred to the 'the man' and the woman'!)
It took about half as long again as a similar word volume would have required in a different genre, but it really gave me an enormous buzz. The degree of poetic licence/creativity that one could/should apply would, I am sure, lead to an endless discussion. In that respect, I was fortunate and the customer was delighted.
So here, the quality of the source was not the key aspect.
But coming back to the point you made. I know someone who writes blog reviews in beautiful German. The style, syntax, wide vocabulary, wit and delightfully subtle use of grammar make reading a joy.
I translated one of his pieces a while back and it was such a wonderfully refreshing experience. Like a beautiful dinner with a very fine wine, before returning to the everyday 'bread and butter' jobs and cups of coffee.
Cin cin
Chris
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