Table Of ContentA Practical Guide for Translators
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TOPICS IN TRANSLATION
Series Editors: Susan Bassnett, University of Warwick, UK
Edwin Gentzler,University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA
Editor for Translation in the Commercial Environment:
Geoffrey Samuelsson-Brown,University of Surrey, UK
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TOPICS IN TRANSLATION
Editor for Translation in the Commercial Environment:
Geoffrey Samuelsson-Brown
A Practical Guide
for Translators
(Fifth Edition)
Geoffrey Samuelsson-Brown
MULTILINGUAL MATTERS
Bristol • Buffalo • Toronto
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Samuelsson-Brown, Geoffrey
A Practical Guide for Translators/Geoffrey Samuelsson-Brown. – 5th ed.
Topics in Translation
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Translating and interpreting. I. Title.
P306.S25 2010
418’.02n-dc22 2010005062
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN-13: 978-1-84769-251-1 (hbk)
ISBN-13: 978-1-84769-259-7 (pbk)
Multilingual Matters
UK: St Nicholas House, 31–34 High Street, Bristol BS1 2AW.
USA: UTP, 2250 Military Road, Tonawanda, NY 14150, USA.
Canada: UTP, 5201 Dufferin Street, North York, Ontario M3H 5T8, Canada.
Copyright © 2010 Geoffrey Samuelsson-Brown.
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any
means without permission in writing from the publisher.
Typeset by Techset Compostion (P) Ltd, Salisbury, UK.
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Short Run Press Ltd.
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Contents
Belinda: Ay but you know how we must return good for evil
Lady Brute: That must be a mistake in the translation
Sir John Vanbrugh, 1664–1726
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Foreword to the Fifth Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Preface to the Fifth Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
1 How to become a translator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
‘Oh, so you’re a translator – that’s interesting!’ A day in the life of a translator
ITI’s peer support group Literary or non-literary translator? Translation and
interpreting Starting life as a translator Work experience placements as a
student Becoming a translator by circumstance Working as a staff
translator Considering a job application Working as a freelance What is the
difference between a translation company and a translation agency? Working
directly with clients Test translations Recruitment competitions
2 Bilingualism – the myths and the truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Target language and source language Target language deprivation
Retaining a sharp tongue Localisation Culture shocks Stereotypes
3 The client’s viewpoint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Who should you get to translate? The service provider and the uninformed
buyer How to fi nd a translation services provider Is price any guide to
quality? Communication with the translation services provider
4 Running a translation business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Starting a business Is translation a fi nancially rewarding career? Support offered
to new businesses Counting words Quotations Private or business telephone
line? Holidays Safety nets Dealing with salesmen Advertising Financial
considerations Marketing and developing your services OK, where do you go
from here?
v
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A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR TRANSLATORS
5 Your working environment and the tools of the trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Your working environment Arranging your equipment Eye problems
Buying equipment Miscellaneous items What does it all cost?
Purchasing your initial equipment Ways of working
6 Machine translation and computer-aided translation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
STAR Transit SDL Trados
7 Sources of reference, data retrieval and fi le management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Dictionaries Standards Research Institutes and Professional/
Trade Association Libraries Past translations Compiling glossaries
Product literature Data retrieval and fi le management Database applications
8 Quality control and accountability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Source text diffi culties Translation quality in relation to purpose,
price and urgency Localisation Translations for legal purposes
Production capacity Be honest with the client Problems faced by the
individual freelance Quality takes time and costs money Pre-emptive
measures Quality control operations Deadlines Splitting a translation
between several translators Translation reports
9 Presentation and delivery of translations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Thou shalt not use the spacebar! Setting up columns Text
expansion Macros Desktop publishing Compatibility between different PC
packages Electronic publishing Getting the translation to the client
10 What to do if things go wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
Preventive measures Equipment insurance Maintenance Indemnity
insurance Clients who are slow payers or who become insolvent
Excuses offered for late payment Checklist for getting paid on time
Procedure for dealing with client disputes Arbitration
11 Professional organisations for translators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs Professional organisations
for translators in the United Kingdom The ITI The Translators Association
12 Planning your exit strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171
Forward planning Selling your business
vi
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CONTENTS
13 Glossary of terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175
14 Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184
Translation organisations in the United Kingdom Recruitment
competitions Suggested further reading References ASCII Standard
Character Set Marking up texts when proofreading or editing
15 Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196
vii
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Acknowledgements
This book has been compiled with the help of colleagues and friends who have given
freely of their time and have provided information as well as valuable assistance.
I am grateful to the following for permission to reproduce extracts from various
publications:
British Standards Institute.
Extract from The Guinness Book of Records 1993, Copyright © Guinness Publishing
Limited.
The Institute of Translation and Interpreting, The Institute of Linguists and the
Fédération Internationale de Traducteurs for permission to quote freely from the
range of publications issued by these professional associations for translators.
ASLIB for permission to use extracts from chapters that originally appeared in The
Translator’s Handbook, 1996, Copyright © Aslib and contributors, edited by
Rachel Owens.
Special thanks go to Gordon Fielden, past Secretary of the Translators’ Association
of the Society of Authors, for allowing me to reproduce extracts from his informa-
tive papers on copyright in translation.
Last but not least, thanks as always to my wife and best mate Geraldine (who is not a
translator – two in the family would probably be intolerable!) for acting as a guinea pig,
asking questions about the profession that I had not even considered. Thanks also for
lending a sympathetic ear and psychologist’s analytical viewpoint when I have gone off
at a tangent.
ix
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