| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | Poll: Do you think having too many language pairs reported in your profile can put off outsourcers? 投稿者: ProZ.com Staff
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| Native English is impossible to define | Jan 11, 2012 |
Interlangue wrote:
... English speakers have different ways and cultures according to where they are on the globe (UK, North America, Caribbean, Australia, and South Africa, some parts of Asia – in India, Hong Kong and the Philippines, at least for a certain elite). Does that mean some of those are not native?
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We must not forget the differences between the ways different social classes express themselves either.
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Just what I was thinking... Calling them frauds is perhaps a little harsh. Millions grow up speaking some kind of English as a native language, even though it is not the same as the English we learnt at school in the 50s and 60s in southern England... Expressions we used then sound odd now, and we need not mention split infinitives or computerese, which my teacher would have called poppycock!
Others use a dialect. Reading some writers in English, I can sometimes hear a distinct accent or dialect from one side of the globe or another.
I had a colleague who claimed to be able to write UK or US on request... although some of us felt it was all US in practice. (As was his spoken accent - he had lived and attended schools and universities on both sides of the pond.) He had done his homework, and could always find an appropriate precedent if his usage was questioned.
Translating from one kind of English to another might almost count as separate pairs in some cases.
| | | | | I'm a polyglot but only translate into my native language | Jan 11, 2012 |
I am a polyglot because I was raised in a family of diplomats and actually lived in 7 different countries for at least 3 years each during my youth.
I do think outsourcers could be put off but only if one claims to translate into many other languages which are not one's native language.
| | | | TCN6YR
日本
Local time: 06:10
ロシア語 から 日本語
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| I don't know | Jan 11, 2012 |
Even if you have many pairs in your profile, it doesn't mean that you always provide all these services. Most of outsourcers attach importance to your native language as a target language, and don't really pay attention to other pairs, in my opinion.
If you regularly work for a certain company - an end user, you need to work in a "reverse" pair or in a pair your native language isn't included although it happens once in a long while, so you should show your possibility on your Page ... See more Even if you have many pairs in your profile, it doesn't mean that you always provide all these services. Most of outsourcers attach importance to your native language as a target language, and don't really pay attention to other pairs, in my opinion.
If you regularly work for a certain company - an end user, you need to work in a "reverse" pair or in a pair your native language isn't included although it happens once in a long while, so you should show your possibility on your Page for various potential requirements.
If a translator has, for instance, more than 10 source languages, one might get suspicious, but it also depends on an explanation in your "About me" section. I don't think that having many pairs immediately affects your orders.
[Edited at 2012-01-11 23:31 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | telefpro
Local time: 02:40
ポルトガル語 から 英語
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| my language pairs | Jan 12, 2012 |
My clients are quite confortable with my language pairs. It is not just language proficiency but how you understand the complexities of the texts to be expressed in another language. It has more to do with IQ along with language proficiency, I suppose.
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| Weighted question! | Jan 12, 2012 |
"Do you think having "too many" language pairs...?" The question is weighted. It suggests that offering a number of languages means too many languages; it has negative connotations.
Might have been more accurate to have aksed whether having "lots of" or "multiple" language pairs can put off outsourcers.
"Too many" begs the question "how many is too many?". "Lots of" does not.
Some clients are all the more impressed when they see a translator with a number o... See more "Do you think having "too many" language pairs...?" The question is weighted. It suggests that offering a number of languages means too many languages; it has negative connotations.
Might have been more accurate to have aksed whether having "lots of" or "multiple" language pairs can put off outsourcers.
"Too many" begs the question "how many is too many?". "Lots of" does not.
Some clients are all the more impressed when they see a translator with a number of languages available. If they have multiple language needs, particularly for the same job, they may consider it a good option from a practical point of view. One contact, one invoice etc. Do I consider that a client who has this reaction is being mislead? He may be, he may not be.
As a translator, I am naturally suspicious of someone claiming to be able to translate a large number of languages to a professional native tongue standard. A couple of languages is credible. Multiple lanugages is not credible to my way of thinking. But I am a translator. Having a larger number of soruce languages is less scary than having a large number of target languages. What do I think clients think?
Some clients are not aware that above a couple of languages to native tongue standard is difficiult to imagine in the eyes of most linguists. Underlying the question asked, is whether we consider clients sufficiently knowledgeable. Some are not aware of that and others may be. I never cease to be surprised by the number of clients who consider that I could translate into French for them. I might speak to native standard and write good French. I do not translate into French. It is not my mother tongue.
How many mother tongues can an individual have? One? Two? Three? More?
Clients who consider that it is possible to have convincing results by someone who translates into a language other than one of his/her native tongues is a client who will not be put off by multiple languages being reported in a profile. Clients whose share the same understanding of "native tongue" with the large majority of professional translators would not be impressed and probably even dissuaded from contacting that individual.
I never cease to be surprised by the fact that some clients are quite happy to accept what they know will be non native speaker standard to save a couple of bucks! I do not work with cheapskate clients expecting cheapskate standards. It takes years to build a reputation and oen rotten piece to break it!
[Edited at 2012-01-12 07:37 GMT]
[Edited at 2012-01-12 07:40 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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