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Lieven Malaise wrote in another thread:
To be honest, the fact that you have only one language pair might be a bigger concern. I'm not sure I would get the work volume I get now with only one pair.
I translate in only one language pair and cannot see how adding another would help me.
Yes, a bigger pool of work. But...
1. Isn't there more enough work in every language pair to keep one little translator busy?
2. Would you get any work in the new pair without doing loads and loads and loads of marketing?
3. How would you stop your work from suffering through confusion/dilution and all that time spent marketing?
Surely if we all stuck to our strongest language, and our strongest subject, we'd all be better off?
It's like US translators translating into UK English and vice versa. It's commonplace but detrimental to all involved.
Offering multiple language pairs seems to go directly against the specialisation-über-alles consensus of this forum.
| | | | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 09:48
Mitglied (2015)
Englisch > Portugiesisch
+ ...
I didn't read that thread, but I think Lieven meant to say only one language pair, for example, "Spanish to English" language pair.
You translate exclusively into English, but you have 2 or more source languages.
Maybe I am getting it wrong, but it's my interpretation.
Last week, I came across a translator profile with more than 40 language pairs and with all the CAT tools you can think of. I was in shock. Yes, it's true.
I understand you quite well when you say "US trans... See more I didn't read that thread, but I think Lieven meant to say only one language pair, for example, "Spanish to English" language pair.
You translate exclusively into English, but you have 2 or more source languages.
Maybe I am getting it wrong, but it's my interpretation.
Last week, I came across a translator profile with more than 40 language pairs and with all the CAT tools you can think of. I was in shock. Yes, it's true.
I understand you quite well when you say "US translators translating into UK English". ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Clarification | Jul 5, 2023 |
expressisverbis wrote:
You translate exclusively into English, but you have 2 or more source languages.
I count the Scandies as one language
What I am questioning is whether multiple source (or target) languages are good for your wallet/sanity. Why not just specialise in one?
It seems odd to me (in my particular bubble) that spreading yourself more thinly would be a good idea.
| | | | | Language pairs | Jul 5, 2023 |
expressisverbis wrote:
Last week, I came across a translator profile with more than 40 language pairs and with all the CAT tools you can think of. I was in shock. Yes, it's true.".
That's nothing. A few days ago I got KudoZ answers from someone who listed 5230 language pairs – I'm not joking!!! Their profile says they are actually a LSP, although they are registered as a translator. Still, I'm not sure how one can offer such an amount of language pairs, even as an agency. I also know of someone else working in dozens of language pairs and in curious combinations (from and into languages that aren't remotely connected to their native language). I'm not sure how ProZ even allows this. (Needless to say, more often than not their KudoZ answers are odd to say the least – as in, likely machine-translated).
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Angie Garbarino 
Local time: 10:48
Mitglied (2003)
Französisch > Italienisch
+ ...
| An agency can | Jul 5, 2023 |
Marina Taffetani wrote:
I'm not sure how one can offer such an amount of language pairs, even as an agency.
A translator can't
[Edited at 2023-07-05 14:29 GMT]
| | | | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 09:48
Mitglied (2015)
Englisch > Portugiesisch
+ ...
Marina Taffetani wrote:
expressisverbis wrote:
Last week, I came across a translator profile with more than 40 language pairs and with all the CAT tools you can think of. I was in shock. Yes, it's true.".
That's nothing. A few days ago I got KudoZ answers from someone who listed 5230 language pairs – I'm not joking!!! Their profile says they are actually a LSP, although they are registered as a translator. Still, I'm not sure how one can offer such an amount of language pairs, even as an agency. I also know of someone else working in dozens of language pairs and in curious combinations (from and into languages that aren't remotely connected to their native language). I'm not sure how ProZ even allows this. (Needless to say, more often than not their KudoZ answers are odd to say the least – as in, likely machine-translated).
I was being too "generous" when I said more than 40, and I believe we are talking about the same member.
True, the same member answers questions on Kudoz from English into Portuguese. The suggestions are quite literal ones.
Right now, I copied the language pairs into an Excel sheet and counted 5,233 language pairs.
I didn't even know it was possible to add so many languages, I only found out when I looked at that profile.
I would never hire this translator if I were a client!
| | | | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 09:48
Mitglied (2015)
Englisch > Portugiesisch
+ ...
| Even as an agency or as a representative of an agency... | Jul 5, 2023 |
Angie Garbarino wrote:
Marina Taffetani wrote:
I'm not sure how one can offer such an amount of language pairs, even as an agency.
A translator can't [Edited at 2023-07-05 14:29 GMT]
I am not "worried" about the number of language pairs of that member, shown on the profie.
My biggest concern is answering questions whose languages that same member doesn not know at all, perhaps misleading some younger members, as I have seen once before.
This, to me, is quite serious.
As we say in Portuguese, "cada macaco no seu galho" (each to his own, or in other words, with certain things, maybe it's best to stick to what we know).
| | | | Angie Garbarino
Local time: 10:48
Mitglied (2003)
Französisch > Italienisch
+ ...
| I see now that I confused 40 with 5000 | Jul 5, 2023 |
expressisverbis wrote:
Angie Garbarino wrote:
Marina Taffetani wrote:
I'm not sure how one can offer such an amount of language pairs, even as an agency.
A translator can't [Edited at 2023-07-05 14:29 GMT]
I am not "worried" about the number of language pairs of that member, shown on the profie.
My biggest concern is answering questions whose languages that same member doesn not know at all, perhaps misleading some younger members, as I have seen once before.kmacaco no seu galhoe " (each to his own, or in other words, with certain things, maybe it's best to stick to what we know).
Correction an Agency can have 40 pairs, a single translator can't. Sorry for my mistake
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Samuel Murray
Niederlande
Local time: 10:48
Mitglied (2006)
Englisch > Afrikaans
+ ...
Ice Scream wrote:
Lieven Malaise wrote in another thread:
To be honest, the fact that you have only one language pair might be a bigger concern. I'm not sure I would get the work volume I get now with only one pair.
I translate in only one language pair and cannot see how adding another would help me.
According to your profile page and your résumé, you translate in three language pairs. But Lieven's response was meant for the original poster of that thread who was asking about her situation as a whole. I don't think Lieven meant it as a general statement that applies to all translators.
Surely if we all stuck to our strongest language, and our strongest subject, we'd all be better off?
This is similar to the argument that if you specialize, you'll get more work. The truth is that you always get more work if you cast your net wider. Only a lucky few are able to get better work if they are more choosey (i.e. get paid so much more for the little work that it ends up being more than you'd get from more work).
| | | | Michele Fauble
Vereinigte Staaten
Local time: 02:48
Mitglied (2006)
Norwegisch > Englisch
+ ...
| Your three language pairs | Jul 5, 2023 |
Ice Scream wrote:
I translate in only one language pair …
Swedish to English
Norwegian to English
Danish to English
That’s three language pairs.
Would you get as much work if you worked in only one of them?
[Edited at 2023-07-05 17:18 GMT]
| | | | Metin Demirel
Türkei
Local time: 12:48
Italienisch > Türkisch
+ ...
Ice Scream wrote:
2. Would you get any work in the new pair without doing loads and loads and loads of marketing?
I translate mainly from Italian to Turkish, yet I also receive a lot of English to Turkish projects from the Italian agencies I work with. I believe they can find other translators for their ENG>TUR projects instead of assigning projects of both language pairs to me. And again, I believe that would be more budget-friendly for them. But maybe they seem to lean towards maintaining a stronger collaboration with a single service provider, rather than dividing efforts across multiple providers.
I heard the same happens with the German to Turkish translators. They receive many ENG>TUR projects from their German clients.
As for my "new pair," it was Italian to Turkish. When I introduced myself as an ITA>TUR translator, I was already an established ENG>TUR translator. It didn't take long for the new pair to become the more significant part of my business. I believe this was due to the market favoring the rarer language combination, which worked to my advantage.
| | | | | Put another way | Jul 6, 2023 |
Michele Fauble wrote:
Swedish to English
Norwegian to English
Danish to English
That’s three language pairs.
Would you get as much work if you worked in only one of them?
As I said yesterday morning (post not showing yet), I count them as one language. But yes, I would still get enough work. There's so much out there, and I'm just a tiny fish in a massive sea.
Put it another way, if I wasn't good enough to get enough work in one language, why would I have any more success in another?
Why do people recommend specialising when it comes to subject areas, but diversifying when it comes to language pairs?
(Posted at 14:19 on 6 July 2023)
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Rachel Waddington
Vereinigtes Königreich
Local time: 09:48
Niederländisch > Englisch
+ ...
There is indeed a lot to be said for sticking to 1 language combination - you'll probably end up better at that one source language, and marketing yourself should be easier and cheaper (you won't have to translate everything into multiple languages).
Having said that, I have 2 source languages and that's probably not going to change now as I would have to ditch clients. i also wouldn't know which language to drop.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Niederlande
Local time: 10:48
Mitglied (2006)
Englisch > Afrikaans
+ ...
Ice Scream wrote:
Why do people recommend specialising when it comes to subject areas, but diversifying when it comes to language pairs?
For two different reasons. You increase your income in two ways: increase your speed, and increase the number of jobs that you can accept.
If you cast your net wide (i.e. offer more language combinations or work in more fields), you'll get more jobs to choose from, so you are better able to choose jobs that pay better. If you get jobs from only a small group of clients, you have less of a choice.
W.r.t. specializing, translators tend to translate faster (or they can demand higher fees) if they specialize (and if they are able to get jobs in their specialism, of course). Truly "general" texts are not as common as a new translator might expect. Most jobs are from some or other specialism, and if you are specialized in that field, you can do the job faster (so you get more money per hour) and better (so you get more repeat-business).
So, both are true: cast your net wider (i.e. increase your pool of a potential clients), and become an expert in one or two fields (increase the likelihood that you can choose the best jobs from that pool).
| | | | | Transferability | Jul 11, 2023 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
For two different reasons. You increase your income in two ways: increase your speed, and increase the number of jobs that you can accept.
If you cast your net wide (i.e. offer more language combinations or work in more fields), you'll get more jobs to choose from, so you are better able to choose jobs that pay better. If you get jobs from only a small group of clients, you have less of a choice.
W.r.t. specializing, translators tend to translate faster (or they can demand higher fees) if they specialize (and if they are able to get jobs in their specialism, of course). Truly "general" texts are not as common as a new translator might expect. Most jobs are from some or other specialism, and if you are specialized in that field, you can do the job faster (so you get more money per hour) and better (so you get more repeat-business).
So, both are true: cast your net wider (i.e. increase your pool of a potential clients), and become an expert in one or two fields (increase the likelihood that you can choose the best jobs from that pool).
That makes sense, yes, but the benefits of specialising in a field aren't necessarily transferable between source languages.
To translate law from two source languages, you'd have to learn the subtle differences between at least THREE different legal systems and terminologies.
Knowing off the top of your head what a particular tool is called in your target language, or being able to follow well-written instructions for how to use it, is immediately transferable. But then those are basic skills that I would think MT also has.
Surely the real value of specialisation (and humans) is when you can use your knowledge and experience of the source language to make sense of unclear or contradictory instructions, or deal with obscure or incorrect terms.
Most source texts contain linguistic errors. Without specialisation and experience in that language, you will need to put in more time and energy to deal with them, assuming you are able to at all. And that, to me, says multiple source languages aren't cost-effective.
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