| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: What do you do if you are assigned to review a poorly translated text? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What do you do if you are assigned to review a poorly translated text?".
This poll was originally submitted by Marzieh Izadi. View the poll results »
| | | | Alex Lichanow
Germany
Local time: 08:19
Member (2020)
English to German
+ ...
There are actually several steps that I use (in ascending order of pain in my posterior):
1. I request that the job be re-translated by the original translator, providing details as to why this would be necessary (no spellcheck, no QA, no/poor proofreading). I do this to both give the original translator a chance to improve on their own work and to make them actually do their job.
2. If 1. fails, I request the possibility to translate the job myself instead.
3. If 2. fails, I r... See more There are actually several steps that I use (in ascending order of pain in my posterior):
1. I request that the job be re-translated by the original translator, providing details as to why this would be necessary (no spellcheck, no QA, no/poor proofreading). I do this to both give the original translator a chance to improve on their own work and to make them actually do their job.
2. If 1. fails, I request the possibility to translate the job myself instead.
3. If 2. fails, I request more money.
4. If 3. fails, I usually have enough integrity to perform the review as requested, but 3. is the final step in most cases anyway. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Other (reject or retranslate) | Mar 18 |
I never accept a job without having a good look at it first, so I either reject it or I’ll propose to retranslate it. I must say though that as over the years I’ve built a solid client base this hasn’t happened to me for a long time. They know me, I know them…
| | | | Kay Denney 
France
Local time: 08:19
French to English
It depends. I have on occasion requested more time and money, so that I can afford to retranslate it. I haven't ever turned down such a job, but I have asked for so much more time and money that the client decides not to give me the job after all.
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Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 08:19
Member (2006)
German to English
Let the customer know and if they want it done anyway then they would have to increase the payment for the extra time taken.
| | | | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 08:19
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| I don't offer this type of service | Mar 18 |
I don' offer this type of service, but there were clients who were trying to sneak it in into a project. Eg. I had a fairly big project, and then in the middle of this project. Say the project is 20k words and at about 10k I see a large chunk of text already translated, I ask the client what was that and they say - it was done by someone else, can you look over it? I say: I'd rather just translate it from scratch. They say: can you look over it and report mistakes? They basically scammed me with... See more I don' offer this type of service, but there were clients who were trying to sneak it in into a project. Eg. I had a fairly big project, and then in the middle of this project. Say the project is 20k words and at about 10k I see a large chunk of text already translated, I ask the client what was that and they say - it was done by someone else, can you look over it? I say: I'd rather just translate it from scratch. They say: can you look over it and report mistakes? They basically scammed me with test translation revision within a translation project. And they are not the only one, the scamming methods are flourishing and getting more and more creative by the day.
I: But haven't I told you I don't do test translation revisions or proofreading?
They: Can you do it just this one time?
But as a starting point, I do not offer this service precisely because these offers always come from scammers.
[Edited at 2024-03-18 13:28 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Try to improve it as much as possible | Mar 18 |
Much of my work is as a reviewer of EU translations (for an agency). All such translations are today produced through MTPE processes and are therefore usually of bad quality (not in the sense that they are completely unusable, but just that they contain a lot of embarrassing stuff - stuff that shouldn't have passed if they had been properly translated).
I usually just try to improve them as much as possible within the time assigned to me, and usually add an hour or two if needed.... See more Much of my work is as a reviewer of EU translations (for an agency). All such translations are today produced through MTPE processes and are therefore usually of bad quality (not in the sense that they are completely unusable, but just that they contain a lot of embarrassing stuff - stuff that shouldn't have passed if they had been properly translated).
I usually just try to improve them as much as possible within the time assigned to me, and usually add an hour or two if needed.
In my experience, it is usually very hard to tell immediately if a translation will turn out to be bad or not - usually it takes at least one or two hours of work before it becomes clear, and then it is sort of too late to reject it.
Also, rejecting a translation at that stage in the workflow would not be suitable, since the EU client is usually waiting, the job is urgent, and, after all, it is my job to make the text look better.
Also, in the end, the bad quality is actually not the translator's fault. (EU translators receive really bad payments and are hard pressed for time - the new MTPE processes come with a 30% obligatory discount on top of what already used to be a bad pay.) If I would return a translation for bad quality, I might just complicate things for the translator and would also put myself at a risk of losing my job as a reviewer (for who wants a reviewer who is always rejecting jobs and delaying deliveries to the end client?).
[Edited at 2024-03-18 21:22 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Gianni Pastore
Italy
Local time: 08:19
Member (2007)
English to Italian
| I once received via an agency | Mar 19 |
for a re-sync a very bad subtitle file from a five stars hotel chain (suites starting at 6k per night, I did check). Language was unnatural, not fluent and full of grammar/spelling mistakes. I notified the agency and they told me that they would let the client know. The agency came back after a while saying that, according to the client, the file had been translated by a "very reliable italian mothertongue translator and the language adopted was 'corporate lingo' that by the way had to be preser... See more for a re-sync a very bad subtitle file from a five stars hotel chain (suites starting at 6k per night, I did check). Language was unnatural, not fluent and full of grammar/spelling mistakes. I notified the agency and they told me that they would let the client know. The agency came back after a while saying that, according to the client, the file had been translated by a "very reliable italian mothertongue translator and the language adopted was 'corporate lingo' that by the way had to be preserved." You can guess my final reply.
[Edited at 2024-03-19 07:11 GMT]
[Edited at 2024-03-19 07:12 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Thomas Johansson wrote:
Much of my work is as a reviewer of EU translations (for an agency). All such translations are today produced through MTPE processes and are therefore usually of bad quality (not in the sense that they are completely unusable, but just that they contain a lot of embarrassing stuff - stuff that shouldn't have passed if they had been properly translated).
I usually just try to improve them as much as possible within the time assigned to me, and usually add an hour or two if needed.
In my experience, it is usually very hard to tell immediately if a translation will turn out to be bad or not - usually it takes at least one or two hours of work before it becomes clear, and then it is sort of too late to reject it.
Also, rejecting a translation at that stage in the workflow would not be suitable, since the EU client is usually waiting, the job is urgent, and, after all, it is my job to make the text look better.
Also, in the end, the bad quality is actually not the translator's fault. (EU translators receive really bad payments and are hard pressed for time - the new MTPE processes come with a 30% obligatory discount on top of what already used to be a bad pay.) If I would return a translation for bad quality, I might just complicate things for the translator and would also put myself at a risk of losing my job as a reviewer (for who wants a reviewer who is always rejecting jobs and delaying deliveries to the end client?).
[Edited at 2024-03-18 21:22 GMT]
I find it quite bizarre that you are defending translators who churn out rubbish.
| | | | Alex Lichanow
Germany
Local time: 08:19
Member (2020)
English to German
+ ...
Christopher Schröder wrote: Thomas Johansson wrote:
Much of my work is as a reviewer of EU translations (for an agency). All such translations are today produced through MTPE processes and are therefore usually of bad quality (not in the sense that they are completely unusable, but just that they contain a lot of embarrassing stuff - stuff that shouldn't have passed if they had been properly translated).
I usually just try to improve them as much as possible within the time assigned to me, and usually add an hour or two if needed.
In my experience, it is usually very hard to tell immediately if a translation will turn out to be bad or not - usually it takes at least one or two hours of work before it becomes clear, and then it is sort of too late to reject it.
Also, rejecting a translation at that stage in the workflow would not be suitable, since the EU client is usually waiting, the job is urgent, and, after all, it is my job to make the text look better.
Also, in the end, the bad quality is actually not the translator's fault. (EU translators receive really bad payments and are hard pressed for time - the new MTPE processes come with a 30% obligatory discount on top of what already used to be a bad pay.) If I would return a translation for bad quality, I might just complicate things for the translator and would also put myself at a risk of losing my job as a reviewer (for who wants a reviewer who is always rejecting jobs and delaying deliveries to the end client?).
[Edited at 2024-03-18 21:22 GMT] I find it quite bizarre that you are defending translators who churn out rubbish.
I find it equally bizarre (and sad and pathetic) that the EU(!!!) is cheap when it comes to its official translations. And at the same time, it doesn't surprise me one bit.
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Alex Lichanow wrote:
I find it equally bizarre (and sad and pathetic) that the EU(!!!) is cheap when it comes to its official translations. And at the same time, it doesn't surprise me one bit.
It's not the EU per se but the agencies that bamboozle them. Public procurement is the enemy of quality.
Important stuff still gets done in-house I believe. Maria Teresa?
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Alex Lichanow
Germany
Local time: 08:19
Member (2020)
English to German
+ ...
Christopher Schröder wrote: Alex Lichanow wrote:
I find it equally bizarre (and sad and pathetic) that the EU(!!!) is cheap when it comes to its official translations. And at the same time, it doesn't surprise me one bit. It's not the EU per se but the agencies that bamboozle them. Public procurement is the enemy of quality. Important stuff still gets done in-house I believe. Maria Teresa?
In fact, LinkedIn informed me about a huge EU tender by Lionbridge just about an hour ago. Guess that settles the question where the poor rates come from. I wish the EU the best of luck with that.
| | | | | The problem is not the translators | Mar 19 |
Christopher Schröder wrote: Thomas Johansson wrote:
Much of my work is as a reviewer of EU translations (for an agency). All such translations are today produced through MTPE processes and are therefore usually of bad quality (not in the sense that they are completely unusable, but just that they contain a lot of embarrassing stuff - stuff that shouldn't have passed if they had been properly translated).
I usually just try to improve them as much as possible within the time assigned to me, and usually add an hour or two if needed.
In my experience, it is usually very hard to tell immediately if a translation will turn out to be bad or not - usually it takes at least one or two hours of work before it becomes clear, and then it is sort of too late to reject it.
Also, rejecting a translation at that stage in the workflow would not be suitable, since the EU client is usually waiting, the job is urgent, and, after all, it is my job to make the text look better.
Also, in the end, the bad quality is actually not the translator's fault. (EU translators receive really bad payments and are hard pressed for time - the new MTPE processes come with a 30% obligatory discount on top of what already used to be a bad pay.) If I would return a translation for bad quality, I might just complicate things for the translator and would also put myself at a risk of losing my job as a reviewer (for who wants a reviewer who is always rejecting jobs and delaying deliveries to the end client?).
[Edited at 2024-03-18 21:22 GMT] I find it quite bizarre that you are defending translators who churn out rubbish.
The situation is bizarre.
The translators are typically good professionals who need their jobs and income, but they are now forced to process EU MTPE translations at 30% discounts.
MTPE doesn't lead to time savings for EU documents as is the case with other types of documents.
For instance, if previously a translation would pay the translator 1000 euro and cost him 30 hours of work, the corresponding MTPE job will now pay him 30% less, i.e. 700 euro, - but he would still need to spend 30 hours in order to make it good.
Here, the problem is not with the translators but with the EU and the agencies, who use MTPE as an excuse for cutting prices and refuse to understand that MTPE doesn't lead to corresponding time savings for translators.
[Edited at 2024-03-19 18:24 GMT]
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Thomas Johansson wrote:
The translators are typically good professionals who need their jobs and income, but they are now forced to process EU MTPE translations at 30% discounts.
They’re not forced to take this work.
If they do, they should still do it properly.
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