TRANSLATION
“The language of Europe is translation.“
Umberto Eco (1932 to 2016)
Italian linguist, writer and philosopher.
Languages
It is part of a qualified translator’s professional and personal commitment to only translate into their own mother tongue. In Birthe’s case this means translating from French and English into German.
For other languages and multilingual projects, Birthe works closely with experienced colleagues who, like her, are members of the French translators’ association: the SFT.
Post-editing
Automatic translation software allows us to translate less complex texts for private use free of charge and in a timely manner (but without any guarantee of confidentiality!) using a ‘machine’.
The term post-editing describes the correcting and linguistic and stylistic revising of these « raw » translations with the aim of achieving the level of quality and authenticity of the original text.
We can advise you in deciding which solution is best suited for your specific text: machine translation + post-editing or direct « human » translation.
(For a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of machine translation: see the relevant question in the FAQ section).
Types of texts
The translated texts can be intended for various kinds of publications:
WEBSITES – NEWSLETTERS -PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS – ARTICLES –
SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS – PRESS RELEASES – BROCHURES
FAQ about translation
What is a translation professional’s secret recipe?
In striving for impeccable quality, professional translators rely on a successful mixture of the linguistic and technical skills they have acquired during their training and developed over the course of their professional experience on the one hand, and various technical aids on the other hand which they can use to carry out the translation process in order to optimise terminological research and accuracy.
How is the price of a translation calculed?
The price of a translation is initially based on the number of words (or standard lines) in the source text. In addition, other factors are taken into account, such as the complexity of the content and style, the format, the deadline granted, etc. The preparation of a quote therefore requires having a look at least at a representative text excerpt.
How can the price be reduced while maintaining the quality?
To reduce the cost of translating your texts, you can, for example…
• schedule the translation into your overall project to avoid rush rates.
• shorten the text to be translated: maybe not everything has to be conveyed?
• summarise some parts of the text or replace them with images (good example of this: Ikea assembly instructions that are almost entirely drawn up without text).
• submit their texts in well-known formats (Word, Excel, etc.).
How to ensure the sucess of a translation project?
To get your project on the right track and streamline the translation process, you can…
• contact me about your project in good time so that I can schedule it well in advance,
• inform me as precisely as possible about the context (e.g. about the function and place of a stand-alone sentence: large title, caption, etc.),
• provide me with your reference material (photos, glossaries, previous translations, etc.),
• be available for any questions.
And why not opt for automatic translation?
Machine translation software, some of which is available free of charge on the Internet, has made enormous progress in recent years and can deliver impressive results. However, upon closer inspection, the « machine » can still overlook some details or add words and thus change the meaning or even express the exact opposite of the source text.
Thus, these tools represent a practical and very cheap solution for accessing a foreign-language text; however, it is strongly advised not to publish the translations obtained in this way without first submitting them to a bilingual person for precise correction and post-editing.
Users of machine translation software should also be aware of the fact that the artificial intelligence of these systems is based on data that comes from edited texts (i.e. the texts of users themselves!). This means that there may be a real issue as regards confidentiality.
For more advice on purchasing translation services, we recommend the French Translators Association (SFT) guide “Translation: making informed choices“.
