| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: Do you think that translators are respected overall? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Julian Holmes 
Japan
Local time: 08:05
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
A typical conversion at a party
Hot looking babe: "So, what do you do for a living?"
Me: "I'm a translator."
Hot looking babe, face lighting up: "So, you translate romantic novels, do you?"
Me: "Not really. I translate for industry and stuff like that."
Hot looking babe, looking at me as if I need delicing: "Oh. Excuse me, I think they're serving chilli con carne now in the kitchen."
Moral of the story: Chilli c... See more A typical conversion at a party
Hot looking babe: "So, what do you do for a living?"
Me: "I'm a translator."
Hot looking babe, face lighting up: "So, you translate romantic novels, do you?"
Me: "Not really. I translate for industry and stuff like that."
Hot looking babe, looking at me as if I need delicing: "Oh. Excuse me, I think they're serving chilli con carne now in the kitchen."
Moral of the story: Chilli con carne is generally respected more than translators.
Must remember to reply that I translate subtitles for porno films when I next go to a party. Porno generally wins hands down over chilli con carne. ▲ Collapse
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Julian Holmes wrote:
A typical conversion at a party
Hot looking babe: "So, what do you do for a living?"
Me: "I'm a translator."
Hot looking babe, face lighting up: "So, you translate romantic novels, do you?"
Me: "Not really. I translate for industry and stuff like that."
Hot looking babe, looking at me as if I need delicing: "Oh. Excuse me, I think they're serving chilli con carne now in the kitchen."
Moral of the story: Chilli con carne is generally respected more than translators.
Must remember to reply that I translate subtitles for porno films when I next go to a party. Porno generally wins hands down over chilli con carne.
From what I hear about Japan the two are likely to go together.
| | | | Rebecca Garber
Local time: 19:05
Member (2005)
German to English
+ ...
| The reactions vary through a few possibilities | Nov 8, 2016 |
The negative/didsainful reaction: "oh, so you're in a profession that will be replaced by computers in a year or two."
At which point I start laughing so hard I can barely breathe. I mean, have you read stuff from googletranslate or babblefish?
The puzzled reaction: "so, like at the UN?"
No, I read a text written in one language and type the same text in another.
The mental gymnastics of this tend to either alarm or impress them. Which only very occassionally leads... See more The negative/didsainful reaction: "oh, so you're in a profession that will be replaced by computers in a year or two."
At which point I start laughing so hard I can barely breathe. I mean, have you read stuff from googletranslate or babblefish?
The puzzled reaction: "so, like at the UN?"
No, I read a text written in one language and type the same text in another.
The mental gymnastics of this tend to either alarm or impress them. Which only very occassionally leads to the explanation of what I translate. Once they learn I translate technical patents, they either change the subject or find another conversational partner.
The deer in the headlights reaction: "so, are you going to like, talk at me in another language now?"
Oh, you sweet summer child. No, because you asked me so nicely not to. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Depends on the client | Nov 8, 2016 |
I think respect in this is shown financially. I want potential clients to be willing to pay fair rates for someone with university education doing a specialized job to have decent living standards. After that, I'm superhappy if they say they really liked my translation.
Some clients (people, not companies) are unaware that their work takes a certain amount (in these cases we should explain it to them) and that when you hire someone for that time you have to cover those expenses. If ... See more I think respect in this is shown financially. I want potential clients to be willing to pay fair rates for someone with university education doing a specialized job to have decent living standards. After that, I'm superhappy if they say they really liked my translation.
Some clients (people, not companies) are unaware that their work takes a certain amount (in these cases we should explain it to them) and that when you hire someone for that time you have to cover those expenses. If they are not freelancers they are unaware of how much their own job costs as a whole to the company they work for. They don't even realize that if we accept what they offer, sometimes they're paying their hairdresser or someone to clean their house more than to a translator, someone qualified with years of study and experience (those are ok as jobs, but paying a translator less isn't, imo). We should explain this to them.
Unfortunately some agencies work like that too even when the owner used to be a translator and studied translation, they just see a translator as someone who handles X words per day, sometimes with unrealistic expectations of quality and not as human beings (just like any other worker in any other job, we are workers, not a company like Amazon).
I have to say however that some clients have even decided to round up my invoices or pay more for translation/lessons on their own even when the rate I'd given them was ok. So it all depends on whom you come across.
[Editado a las 2016-11-08 16:22 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 19:05
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Elegant and deadly | Nov 8, 2016 |
Rebecca Garber wrote:
The negative/didsainful reaction: "oh, so you're in a profession that will be replaced by computers in a year or two."
At which point I start laughing so hard I can barely breathe. I mean, have you read stuff from googletranslate or babblefish?
The puzzled reaction: "so, like at the UN?"
No, I read a text written in one language and type the same text in another.
The mental gymnastics of this tend to either alarm or impress them. Which only very occassionally leads to the explanation of what I translate. Once they learn I translate technical patents, they either change the subject or find another conversational partner.
The deer in the headlights reaction: "so, are you going to like, talk at me in another language now?"
Oh, you sweet summer child. No, because you asked me so nicely not to.
An enjoyable piece. Thanks, Rebecca.
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 19:05
English to Spanish
+ ...
| About respect | Nov 8, 2016 |
I've experienced a variety of reactions from people, friends and strangers alike, when they learn I translate for a living. At least in America, they refrained from making mocking comments (they wouldn't hurt my feelings anyway), but they politely switch topics or mention things like “I've studied [insert language] in high school but I forgot all of it.”
The moral of the story, to me, is that most people know nothing about translation as a profession. Not just an occupation but ... See more I've experienced a variety of reactions from people, friends and strangers alike, when they learn I translate for a living. At least in America, they refrained from making mocking comments (they wouldn't hurt my feelings anyway), but they politely switch topics or mention things like “I've studied [insert language] in high school but I forgot all of it.”
The moral of the story, to me, is that most people know nothing about translation as a profession. Not just an occupation but an honorable profession with a very long history in many cultures and civilizations. The sad thing is that the concept of translation is not as abstruse or complicated as discussing gene mutations or rheology results, and it's even simpler than describing what a VAT tax does.
Humans should familiarize themselves with the concept of translation (and interpretation) from an early age, but it has to be separate from language learning. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Intelligent people may understand... | Nov 8, 2016 |
... otherwise, you're likely to get a reaction like "aww, bless!" - as if being a translator were some kind of affliction. Hmm...
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 20:05
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Depends on several factors | Nov 9, 2016 |
Considering the question is about being respected as professionals, because being repsected overall does not depend on your profession whatsoever.
In my country, there is unfortunately a bit of a misconcept about translators, due to pure ignorance. People many times think we do not really have a job and do not really work like a lawyer or a doctor. Many people react with a bit of despise, on a light level, but it's noticeable.
Regarding clients, the local agencies are ... See more Considering the question is about being respected as professionals, because being repsected overall does not depend on your profession whatsoever.
In my country, there is unfortunately a bit of a misconcept about translators, due to pure ignorance. People many times think we do not really have a job and do not really work like a lawyer or a doctor. Many people react with a bit of despise, on a light level, but it's noticeable.
Regarding clients, the local agencies are really hard to work with. They depend on the translators but they really do not value our work. The first thing they do is to try to bargain our prices, many times criticizing our work, even if they loved it, which is pretty disrespectful already.
Regarding direct clients, that's where we get some respect. They will usually recognize a good job and make compliments. But they unfortunately represent less than 20% of our income.
And I've heard in other countries, like the USA, the profession is way more respected than around here. So I'm the exception here, and therefore voted "other". ▲ Collapse
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