![]() We never asked to translate more than 250 to 350 words, but we normally sent out tests in which the words to translated were clearly marked within longer texts. Read carefully, and follow any instructions given together with the test: when I worked as a manager in the translation department of a major business software company, we used translation tests as a part of our screening process.The test should be of an acceptable length (normally no more than 500 words or so).If one decides to do the translation tests, there are several things to consider: In my opinion, the best objection to doing free translation tests is that one has no time for that: if you already have enough work, doing a translation test for free is probably not the best investment of your time. Many translators object to doing translation tests for free, on various grounds, from the fact that other professionals do not do free tests (which is not exactly true, as many lawyers and other professionals do provide free consultations, after which you can decide whether to retain them or not), to the fact that translation tests are allegedly used by unscrupulous agencies to stitch together the translation of an entire book done for free (which I have always thought a translator's urban legend, as this is something people always hear but never actually see first hand, and also because any agency that would attempt a stunt like that would soon be out of business, as the resulting quality of such a patchwork would certainly be abysmal).Īnother objection is that translation tests mean little, and that translation companies should rely instead on the work experience, education, or other indicators of a translator's worth, which is a valid objection, but would not help one gain work from an agency who has decided to use translation tests in their screening process: normally, if you don't do the test, you also don't work for them. Often when we contact a translation company (and sometimes when a translation company contacts us), we are asked to do a translation test, or sample translation, as a preliminary to possible collaboration with them. It already is a wonderful tool for anybody who writes in English, or who is in love with words. Though the multilingual content is a bit patchy at the moment, it promises to become a great tool for translators. The web version includes a beta version of a multilingual thesaurus (click on screenshot above to get a bigger image). I think that I am going to upgrade both to a full yearly subscription and to the standalone version (just in case the web is down). Still, it kept tantalizing me: I never deleted the link from my favorites, and from time to time kept coming back to give it a new look.įinally, a few days ago, I decided to try a monthly subscription (the tool comes either as a standalone installable application, or as a web subscription). I've already got several thesauri on paper plus more in my word processor and other applications). Then when it was finally released I kept on coming back to their web site, like a child returning to the window of a toy store, but never purchased it (what's the use. I had seen a beta version of the Visual Thesaurus some time ago. Professional ones may give good results (if the quality of the original is good), but they cost money, and the free OCR applications that come with a scanner are usually very disappointing: they may not recognize accented letters, or fail to properly keep the layout of the page (after all, they are given away so as to induce customers to upgrade to the full version).Ī better alternative, at least for users of the latest versions of MS Office, is to take advantage of Microsoft Office Document Imaging: it is better than most other "free" OCR applications, may be upgraded (if necessary) to one of the leading "pro" OCR packages, and, on its own, already recognizes things such as tables and accented characters. So often the solution offered is to use some OCR package. But often this approach doesn't work (for example because the pdf was created from a graphic file, and not a text one).įor graphic files such as jpg or tif files, of course, "saving as" a Word file is not an option. A fairly frequent question in translators' fora is "how do I convert a (jpg, or tif, or pdf) file", so that I can work on it in MS Word.įor pdf files, the solution is sometime as simple as opening the file in Acrobat, and saving it as a MS Word or rtf file. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |