Chinese translation service
Discussion
I need someone to make a few calls and e-mails on my behalf to a company in China.
Tried Google translation, but I'm not getting anywhere and some elements of the conversation are a bit technical so I doubt any online translation service will work properly for my needs.
Can anyone recommend a person or service I can call today and arrange for them to translate some questions for me on emial or call China direct and speak to someone there?
I'm also interested in anyone's experience of using such a service and knowing what this sort of thing costs and how they charge for it.
TIA!
Tried Google translation, but I'm not getting anywhere and some elements of the conversation are a bit technical so I doubt any online translation service will work properly for my needs.
Can anyone recommend a person or service I can call today and arrange for them to translate some questions for me on emial or call China direct and speak to someone there?
I'm also interested in anyone's experience of using such a service and knowing what this sort of thing costs and how they charge for it.
TIA!
You may be able to find help here:
http://www.proz.com/
It's a sort of portal for translation services.
Phil.
http://www.proz.com/
It's a sort of portal for translation services.
Phil.
edc said:
You might want to specify which part of China as this may dictate the local dialect - Mandarin would be a safe assumption but if it's near HK then Cantonese may be a better bet.
Shenzhen in this case. I'm looking initially for a 3-way call with an interpreter over the phone or Skype. I've found a couple of companies who offer these services, but it would be nice to hear some experiences from others before I book anyone.As they are 8 hours ahead, I'll also need someone who can do this outside normal (UK) office hours.
Try a company called EastWord in London - talk to Gladys if she's still there. I think their details are online somewhere. Last time I spoke to her she had Chinese speakers in-house. I don't know if they offer this service because I only ever used them for translation, voiceovers, typesetting and video editing, but if they can't help they're sure to know someone who can.
What it costs? Not sure - again, not a field I've been involved in. Chinese is very expensive when it comes to the written word, but IIRC interpreting was pretty much on a par with Western language interpreting.
What it costs? Not sure - again, not a field I've been involved in. Chinese is very expensive when it comes to the written word, but IIRC interpreting was pretty much on a par with Western language interpreting.
Edited by SGirl on Tuesday 2nd February 11:36
SGirl said:
Podie said:
SGirl - hello stranger! You okay? How's life? Bet you guessed I'd show up on a thread with "translation" in the title, didn't you. 
Yeah, saw translation and was going to suggest someone dropped you a mail, as you'd probably know someone - given that's part of what you do.
fastfreddy said:
and some elements of the conversation are a bit technical
that's where you'll have problemswe had our company brochures translated at the local Uni
they were only too pleased to do it, as it gave the students some practical use of the language
but when they asked us 'what does this technical phrase mean in English'
that's when we knew thay might have a problem translating to another language
for techinal words you'll need someone who understands your industry, and that'll cost !
Man-At-Arms said:
fastfreddy said:
and some elements of the conversation are a bit technical
that's where you'll have problems- we had our company brochures translated at the local Uni
they were only too pleased to do it, as it gave the students some practical use of the language -
but when they asked us 'what does this technical phrase mean in English'
that's when we knew thay might have a problem translating to another language
for techinal words you'll need someone who understands your industry, and that'll cost !
Many people think that being able to speak a language with any degree of fluency qualifies you to translate. It doesn't. To be able to translate decently, you also need a decent understanding of the subject area you're translating, especially if it's "something technical".
In my dim and distant past as a project manager, I'd never have used inexperienced translators, much less students, for professional translation purposes. They simply don't have the "miles on the clock", and you spend half your time answering copious queries which an experienced translator won't bother to ask because a) they'll know the subject matter and b) they'll know how to research things. So the only things they'll ask you will be the things they absolutely can't resolve any other way.
Not only that, inexperienced translators will often mistranslate things. Any translation company worth anything will mentor less experienced translators, proofreading all the work they do and giving them feedback on what they've done wrong. I proof inexperienced translators' work for clients all the time, and some of the mistranslations are quite scary. More often than not, it's not because they can't speak the source language, but because they don't understand the nuances of the language sufficiently well to be able to judge the import of what they're saying.
I usually tell clients they can have fast, cheap, good translation - pick any two out of the three. If you use students, you'll get "cheap" - but it's unlikely you'll get "fast". And while you might get "adequate", if you get "good" you're lucky!
Decent translation does cost, yes. Why shouldn't it? It's not at all like copy typing, but changing it all into a different language. There's no such thing as simply "translating the words" - you have to translate the meaning as well. And that's what you're paying for.
Some examples of how not to do it, shamelessly swiped from some random website:
Cocktail lounge, Norway: LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR.
Airline ticket office, Copenhagen: WE TAKE YOUR BAGS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS.
Hotel, Vienna: IN CASE OF FIRE, DO YOUR UTMOST TO ALARM THE HOTEL PORTER.
And that's the difference. Give those original foreign phrases to an experienced translator working into their native language, and you'll get something sensible that you can stick on your wall and people will understand it. Get it wrong, and people will laugh at you. Or sue you, whichever.
ETA: The tags for bold text aren't working. Boo.
Edited by SGirl on Tuesday 2nd February 14:10
SGirl said:
Some examples of how not to do it, shamelessly swiped from some random website:
Cocktail lounge, Norway: LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR.
Airline ticket office, Copenhagen: WE TAKE YOUR BAGS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS.
Hotel, Vienna: IN CASE OF FIRE, DO YOUR UTMOST TO ALARM THE HOTEL PORTER.
Cocktail lounge, Norway: LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR.
Airline ticket office, Copenhagen: WE TAKE YOUR BAGS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS.
Hotel, Vienna: IN CASE OF FIRE, DO YOUR UTMOST TO ALARM THE HOTEL PORTER.
always reminds me of :
Windsorphil said:
You may be able to find help here:
http://www.proz.com/
It's a sort of portal for translation services.
Phil.
Many thanks everyone. I think I've found someone suitable through PROZ.COM, so that was a good suggestion.http://www.proz.com/
It's a sort of portal for translation services.
Phil.
ETA let's hope my job goes better than this one:
Edited by fastfreddy on Tuesday 2nd February 15:03
EINSIGN said:
nǐ chāo chū le wǒ yuán lái de zhí wèi de dì yī xíng dú?Edited by fastfreddy on Tuesday 2nd February 20:50
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