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Archive-name: language/translation-faq
Version: 1.82 Posting-Frequency: monthly See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
sci.lang.translation FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Compiled by James Hester (jrh@nirim.go.jp) 13th November 1996. Part
or all of this compilation may be redistributed freely without
obtaining prior permission of the author.
RECENT CHANGES
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1.71 --> 1.8: Started adding rates information
1.8 --> 1.81: Changed http address for Aquarius
1.81--> 1.82: More rates information
INDEX
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1 THIS NEWSGROUP
1.1 What is sci.lang.translation all about?
1.2 Can I post resumes and requests for employment to the newsgroup?
1.3 Can people looking for translators post to the newsgroup?
2 RESOURCES FOR TRANSLATORS
2.1 What other resources for translators are available on the network?
World Wide Web:
FTP:
Other:
2.2 How do I subscribe to the LANTRA-L mailing list?
3.0 MISCELLANEOUS
3.1 Where can I get a machine translation program?
3.2 What about copyright?
3.3 What if my clients don't pay?
3.4 How do I find out about bad agencies / clients?
3.5 Can I post the names of non--paying clients to the net?
3.6 How much do translators charge?
============================================================================
1.1 What is sci.lang.translation all about?
-------------------------------------------
sci.lang.translation is an unmoderated newsgroup. It was created in
December 1994 after obtaining a little more than the 100 votes needed
in order to be created. The sci.lang.translation charter, as
originally voted on, is as follows:
Charter
-------
The group provides a forum for those interested in the problems,
issues and concerns of translators/interpreters. Examples of topics
appropriate to this group are:
* Automated translation software
* Translation methods
* Membership of professional bodies
* Accreditation of professional translators/interpreters
* International standards for translators/interpreters
* Discussion of dictionaries for a given language pair
* Software for displaying foreign character sets
* Translation requests for passages/words/phrases for a given language
pair
* Reviews of translated works
* Training and education of translators/interpreters
1.2 Can I post resumes and requests for employment to the newsgroup?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Nobody can stop you, but people generally don't seem to like it.
1.3 Can people looking for translators post to the newsgroup?
--------------------------------------------------------------
Nobody has complained yet.
2 RESOURCES FOR TRANSLATORS
-----------------------------
2.1 What resources for translators are available on the network?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This list is by no means comprehensive. Creating a comprehensive list
seems akin to reinventing the wheel, as the WWW sites listed below
already provide a lot of useful information about translating
resources.
World Wide Web:
--------------
If you have WWW access, the following site provides many useful links:
*The Translator's Home Companion*:
http://www.lai.com/lai/companion.html
*Aquarius*
Another good starting point is Aquarius, especially if you're looking for
a translator or want to advertise your services:
http://aquarius.net
*Las Vegas Court Interpreters/Translators Home Page*
Featuring the Dancing Interpreters Chorus Line...
http://www.lasvegas-nexus.com/jrwilson/clvmcip/clvci.htm
*EURODICAUTOM*
EURODICAUTOM is the European Commission's 9-language, free of charge
terminology databank. It includes 5 million term units and 160,000
abbreviations in the official EC languages (but not yet in Finnish and
Swedish).
Experimental web access to EURODICAUTOM (slow):
http://www.uni-frankfurt.de/~felix/eurodicautom.html
Also of interest, ECHO's 'I'M Europe' home page:
http://www.echo.lu/
*Language Conference List*
The Language Conference List at URL
http://www.clark.net/pub/royfc/confer.html
contains a chronologically sorted list of names for nearly 200
conferences with links to the location of full conference information.
The conferences are for anyone interested in languages: teachers,
translators, interpreters, and those interested in natural language
processing.
*NLLIA LATTICE Database*
LATTICE is the Language and Technology Centre of the National
Languages and Literacy Institute of Australia, and is based at The
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. It provides a number of
information services for language, literacy and linguistics
specialists. While the primary audience is located in Australia and
New Zealand, much of the information is relevant to global audiences.
http://www.cltr.uq.oz.au:8000/
FTP:
---
*Microsoft glossaries*:
ftp.microsoft.com /developr/msdn/newup/glossary
The latest terminology for FRN, GER, SPA, ITA, SWE, DUT, FIN, DAN,
NOR, RUS, CZE, HUN, POL, TUR, GRE, BRA_POR and PRC is contained in
separate .ZIP files identified by language/country name. The
compressed files cover various Microsoft applications and systems, not
just the simple subset found in the Microsoft GUI Guide. The files
are comma-delimited ANSI files that should be readable by most
software products. (Compuserve users can also check under `Other')
*frequency lists*
for the ACL/DCI and LOB corpora:
ftp://VAXSAR.VASSAR.EDU/nlp/
Other:
*Frequency Lists*
English language frequency list for the ACL/DCI and LOB corpora:
gopher://gopher.sil.org/11/gopher_root/linguistics/info/
*Microsoft Glossaries*
The international glossaries of Microsoft applications and systems
(zipped by language) are available on CompuServe, in the:
MS DEV Network Forum (GO MSDNLIB)
in the New Uploads library.
2.2 How do I subscribe to the LANTRA-L mailing list?
-----------------------------------------------------
Details of subscription to and use of LANTRA-L, the discussion list
for Translating and Interpreting, are available at the LANTRA-L WWW
home page
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7110/lantra.htm
This location will probably change in northern hemisphere autumn
1996. Lantra volume is around 150--200 messages a day.
To subscribe, send an e-mail to LISTSERV@SEGATE.SUNET.SE. In the body
of your e-mail simply write "SUBSCRIBE LANTRA-L." Don't forget to
turn off your sig file if you have one. LANTRA archives can be viewed
interactively at
http://segate.sunet.se/archives/LANTRA-L.html
3.0 MISCELLANEOUS
-----------------------
3.1 Where can I get a machine translation program?
---------------------------------------------------
The most common answer is 'don't even bother'. A lot of translators
regard such programs as complicating rather than simplifying the
translator's task.
Some useful links can be found at the following URL:
http://www.mt.cs.cmu.edu/cmt/CMT-home.html
3.2 What about copyright?
--------------------------
(from hendrik@uvic.ca)
In the context of the discussion of poetry and literature translation we
must be aware of the appropriate use of copyrighted material. It is
permitted to use copyrighted material for the purpose of analysing,
reviewing, and critiquing it, but an appropriate reference must be given to
the source of the material. Anyone who writes academic essays or publishes
book reviews in magazines will be familiar with this procedure.
3.3 What if my clients don't pay?
----------------------------------
Methods that have worked in the past (contributions welcome) include:
(a) Engaging a debt collection agency
(b) Including a phrase in your invoice saying that discretionary charges
are levied on overdue amounts, followed by a reminder on the day that
the payment becomes overdue which states the extra charges
(c) If in the USA or UK, you might consider the Small Claims Courts in
which you needn't be represented by a lawyer.
3.4 How do I find out about bad agencies / clients?
----------------------------------------------------
(from replies by Steve Marzuola and Gabe Bokor)
If the suspect company is based in the US, the Better Business Bureau
(BBB) keeps information on complaints against that company. The BBB
will tell anyone who asks (a) whether the company is a member of the
BBB and has promised to abide by the BBB Code of Ethics, and (b) that
the company has XX (number) of unresolved complaints. Most BBBs are
organised by city, not state.
(information from other countries welcome)
3.5 Can I post the names of non--paying clients to the net?
------------------------------------------------------------
(I'm not a lawyer and neither are most of the people in the newsgroup, so
I make no claim to the accuracy of the statements below)
The legal position of a person posting non--payment information to the
net is unclear at the time of writing (July 1996), although it seems
reasonable to expect that laws against slander and malicious
interference would apply. One suggestion (Gabe Bokor) was to post a
message along the lines of "If you're considering doing business with
the XXX company, contact me for information that could be of interest
to you" although another poster (Steve Marzuola) thought that, if it
was illegal to publish a blacklist, then disguising the information in
this way would not provide protection. Some UK organisations happily
publish such lists or hints in their newsletters (Gerlinde Krug).
3.6 How much do translators charge?
------------------------------------
The following list of approximate rates is compiled from answers seen
on the net. They are not to be construed as recommended rates; they
are presented here for purely informational purposes. In addition,
how much is actually charged will depend on the nature of the text (eg
technical, advertising material, simple letter), speed of delivery,
and other services (such as formatting and proofreading). Where a
language pair is not indicated, you have to guess. You don't want all
the answers, do you?
Country Language Price Range Date
------- ----------------- ----------- ------
Germany DM1.50-2.50/55 keys Sept 96
Canada CD0.15-0.28/word Sept 96
USA(Flor) USD0.07-0.10/word Sept 96
USA(Tex) Sp/Fr/Port -> Eng USD0.07-0.12/word Oct 96
USA(Tex) Rus/Jap/Chi<->Eng USD0.10-0.16/word Oct 96
User Contributions:
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