Articles

Localisation sing-along

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Localisation is about adapting a product to a foreign market, taking account of both the technical constraints of the medium (web interface, application, software, etc.) and the destination country. Music producers were pioneers in this field and, when marketing Anglophone hits abroad, were already considering commercial and cultural elements to be transposed in the translation (recognise what this is? It’s called ‘marketing strategy’).

In the 1960s, few were the fans of American music who spoke English: although captivated by the fresh beat of new hits, they had no idea what the lyrics actually meant. Yet, for several thousands of copies of a record to be sold, everyone had to at least remember the chorus easily.

As selling was the most important thing, lyrics were adapted without much care for staying true to the original version. The only constraint was the music. We could call it extreme ‘transcreation’.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Let’s take the example of the song If I had a Hammer. Composed in 1949 by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays, it was originally a protest song in support of the American Progressive Party. Not surprisingly, the track didn’t yield much success when released in the United States.

The lyrics preach justice, love between people and freedom.

“When I’ve got a hammer, and I’ve got a bell
And I’ve got a song to sing all over this land
It’s a hammer of justice, it’s a bell of freedom
It’s a song about love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land”

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The reference to a bell may seem obscure to the French public, since it is both an allusion to the bells rung at plantations to punctuate the working day of slave labourers and a biblical reference,  reused by Martin Luther King in his famous « I have a Dream » speech (thanks to Poisson Rouge for this info).[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width= »1/2″][vc_column_text]Personally, I prefer Peter, Paul & Mary’s version

However, it was Trini Lopez’s version which – with its far lighter, more upbeat rhythm – went gold in 1963. Given this success, European producers were eager to offer the hit to the indigenous youth of Europe.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width= »1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_video link= »https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxWTDcP9Y5E »][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width= »1/2″][vc_column_text css_animation= »top-to-bottom »]In France, it was Claude François who took the plunge. French songwriter Vline Buggy’s version is devoid of any hint of protest: May ’68 was still far off for the French and Claude François (affectionately known as Cloclo) decided to use this song to celebrate family life, believing he would sell more records with a consensual ditty than with the original’s refractory lyrics. The ‘pop’ youth of the Sixties enjoyed the swinging melody of this typically French-styled hymn to family gatherings… the record sold well.

All sung scrupulously dressed in suit and tie:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width= »1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_video link= »https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8grVC-YO8M »][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_tabs][vc_tab title= »French  » tab_id= »1389606814-1-30″][vc_column_text]Si j’avais une cloche
Je sonnerais le jour
Je sonnerais la nuit
J’y mettrais tout mon cœur,
Pour le travail à l’aube
Et le soir pour la soupe
J’appellerais mon père
Ma mère, mes frères et mes sœurs
Oh oh, ce serait le bonheur[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_tab][vc_tab title= »English  » tab_id= »1389606814-2-34″][vc_column_text]If I had a bell
I would ring during the day
I would ring during the night
I would ring with all my heart
For the early morning work
And for the dinner
I would call my father
My mother, my brothers and my sisters
We would be happy altogether[/vc_column_text][/vc_tab][/vc_tabs][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width= »1/2″][vc_column_text css_animation= »top-to-bottom »]One might think it was a mistake to overlook the original message. Yet, in this specific case, we are not transmitting a vision or value, but a melody adapted to the tastes and values of the target audience. In Italy, for example, the protest aspect was no longer political, but personal. The hammer, symbol of fraternity for Seeger, is brandished with belligerent intent by Rita Pavone, seeking revenge on her rival by striking a blow to her head. In 1964, young people in Italy, as in France, were more interested in dancing than anything else!

The success of this version, written by Sergio Bardotti, was so complete that even today, generations born well after ’64 are able to hum the first verse at the very least.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width= »1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_tabs][vc_tab title= »Italian » tab_id= »1389606814-1-30″][vc_column_text]Un colpo sulla testa
A chi non è dei nostri
E così la nostra festa
Più bella sarà.
Saremo noi soli
E saremo tutti amici:
Faremo insieme i nostri balli
Il surf il hully gully
Che forza sarà…[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_tab][vc_tab title= »English » tab_id= »1389606814-2-34″][vc_column_text]A strike to the head
To all those who are not one of us
So our party
Will be all the better
We’ll be amongst ourselves friends one and all:
We’ll dance together
The surf and the hully gully
It’ll be great…[/vc_column_text][/vc_tab][/vc_tabs][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The main point to remember is that when you entrust the localisation of your website to a professional, you’re not just asking that person to simply translate the text word for word, but to adapt it to the foreign user’s perception. This not only requires in-depth knowledge of the culture addressed, but also prior semantic research and a tailored strategy for each country, even if it means making drastic changes to what’s on offer for certain markets.

I’ll leave you with some of the other international versions of If I had a Hammer for your enjoyment. Let me know which your favourite is!

El Martillo (Espagnol)
Se eu tivesse um martelo (Portugais)
Hätt’ ich einen Hammer (Allemand)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The Native Guy

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From time to time, a quote of ours is declined because the customer decides to handle the translation “in-house”.

Aside from the fact that a translator is a professional in his or her own right who could only really be replaced by another translator, this choice primarily reveals poor management of human resources within the company.

As a result, translations are allocated to a foreign employee who is assumed – by his or her exotic nature – to be gifted with excellent writing skills and flawless spelling in his or her native language.

Yet, we all know that the mere fact of being born in a particular country and having studied at university level does not necessarily mean a person knows how to write well. French, German, Spanish, but also English and Italian, are languages often persecuted by company executives. So why trust someone without a literary background to do a translation? That’s right, I do mean literary background. You can be fairly sure that a person will write well in his or her native language if he or she has studied literature (the question remains whether that person will be able to understand and convey the source language message without cumbersome phrasing). But I will swear my life on the fact that if the person has, for example, a language degree, he or she will be incapable of correctly translating even a short press release.

Even this very post – written by my fair hand in French – has been proofread by my colleague Laura, a French translator. Nor have I attempted to translate it into English myself (merci Jazz!), even though I am a translator… and bilingual to boot.

Let’s say though that there is “a native guy” in your company who is perfectly bilingual and can give Balzac, Shakespeare or Goethe a run for their money, translation is highly unlikely to be included in his job description. You are therefore forcing a person who is supposed to be focusing on other objectives to devote time and energy to a task for which he will not be evaluated and which prevents him from doing his real job. It takes a lot of time to do a good translation, and even more so when it’s not your line of work. That poor marketing director, webmaster, engineer, salesperson or secretary is bound to rush this complicated task in order to be shot of it as quickly as possible. The translation won’t be checked by anyone anyway (because if there were someone capable of evaluating translation quality within the company, the job would be entrusted to a translator, not the first available native speaker). The end result will be sloppy, not only because you need years of study and experience to produce a good translation, but as it’s presumed that any old person knows how to translate, the translation will be considered and treated like a minor task.

So here is how communication, at the very heart of the company’s concerns and budget, finds itself taking last place in the development plan as soon as the target audience happens to be across the border.

Still think you’re right to handle translation in-house?

A “two-cent” story

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This story is about a translator who wanted to earn a living through his profession. He offered his services at an average market rate.

One day, a client asked him to make a small effort by lowering his rate by one cent per word.

The translator’s initial reaction was to get angry and ask the client what she’d do if her own employer – after five years without a raise despite the quality of work delivered – announced one fine day that wages would be reduced by a small amount, say 10%, “because of the economic situation”.

But the translator knew that freelancers cannot compare themselves to salaried employees. So he agreed to lower his rates a little.

All he has to do now is find a bit more work to make ends meet each month. If he’s lucky enough to find extra work, he’ll need to work weekends and late evenings to make up for the missed earnings, sacrificing his social and personal life, not to mention his health.

If he doesn’t find extra work, he’ll end up changing his lifestyle. If he lives in the city, he’ll move to the country. Or if he was foolish enough to found a family despite his precarious situation and therefore cannot move easily, he’ll start by missing out on holidays and days’ out, while waiting to find a new job and say goodbye to his years of training, study and experience.

Each time a client asks a translator to “make a gesture of goodwill” he or she is asking that person to forego a part of his or her life. That’s not business, it’s blackmail.

That is why, when I align with competitors’ rates, I lower my margin but not the rate requested by the translator(s). I’ll probably end up having to change my own lifestyle, unless I can change the world first…

 

How do you choose a good translation?

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You are sure to understand that to get a good quality translation you must make sure it is done by an experienced, professional translator who translates into his/her native language and area of expertise, with proofreading provided by an informed colleague.

But do you know how to recognise a genuine translator? And how do you judge the quality of a translation, especially if you don’t speak the target language?

Well, do as you do when you buy wine: not everyone can claim to be a connoisseur, but everyone does buy wine.

When you don’t know which to buy, you choose the most expensive bottle. Everyone does it: lined up in front of the supermarket shelves we tell ourselves that the cheapest wine will surely taste awful and if we go for a higher priced bottle, at least we won’t be disappointed.  If we’re at a specialist wine shop, we may explain to the wine merchant what we’re planning to eat or the type of person we are dining with to get some expert advice. We may sometimes give a price range and trust the wine expert not to make us look bad in front of our guests.

Translation is like wine: it’s complicated, the result depends on several factors combined and we have to master them all expertly to get something that is really excellent.

So don’t just buy any old thing. Ask Fairtrad for advice.

A fair translation agency

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When I founded Fairtrad at the beginning of 2010, my aim was to apply to the translation industry the ethical and social principles which would enable every linguist to earn a decent living, without ever speculating on their work, offering high-quality services whereby all parties – from the customer to the service provider – were respected and satisfied. I could already see the posters up, bearing the image of a beaming, fulfilled linguist: “Thanks to Fairtrad, this translator was able to take her family away on holiday”.

However, when I began to take a closer look at the concept of fair and socially-responsible trade, I found that there were some limitations:

a)      Fair trade, by definition, only covers the sale of goods, not services;

b)      Socially-responsible companies are required to have employees, for it is on the basis of their social support and integration policies that they are declared ‘socially-responsible’ (as per Article L 443-3-1 of the French Labour Code).

Consequently, a translation agency that works with a network of independent service providers cannot claim the official labels of either “fair” or “socially-responsible”.

There remains nevertheless the concept of ethical trade which endeavours to bring social and environmental improvements to the existing international trade arena. However, it is mainly in reference to the social responsibility of large companies (through the application of a code of conduct) that this term is used.

I can therefore but take inspiration from these definitions and apply their basic principles at every possible opportunity; however I cannot claim any official recognition for my commitment. I am just a small player in the free market, working with other independent market players, which does pose a major problem in terms of communication. While Fairtrad’s service providers are able to evaluate the agency’s ethical conduct, the customer has no guarantee.

The translation market also harbours many divides between service providers, companies, training bodies, professional associations and multinational groups.  These different stakeholders often have contrasting interests and very different – sometimes opposing – visions of the market. None of which helps when you want to apply a definition of “ethical translation”.

So, here is what Fairtrad has put into place to date:

Principles of ethical trade:

Promoting a form of exchange designed to achieve equity, especially in terms of pricing (see an interesting article by Maurice Décaillot on this topic, in French).

Developing good working conditions for service providers (calculating workload on an average maximum productivity level of 2,000 words per day for translators and maximum 6-hour working days for interpreters; applying a minimum rate; not including bank holidays in the calculation of delivery deadlines)

Social responsibility policy: Fairtrad is a member of the 1 % for the planet association whose members donate 1% of their turnover to non-profit organisations. This year, Fairtrad is supporting the GOVIIN KHULAN association.

Non-discrimination between men and women, or people of different origins and religions (pretty easy to do to be honest, but who knows, I could have been born narrow-minded).

Principles of fair trade:

Transparency and credibility: Fairtrad manages each project in total transparency and communicates to the customer, upon request, how much each translator working on the project is paid and their contact details, or vice versa, communicates to the linguist how much commission was taken. This is done to underline the fact that the services offered by an agency do add real value for the linguist and customer – not just mere business intermediation.

Individual ability: Fair trade is a means to developing producer autonomy. Fairtrad values its linguists for their professional and personal qualities and defends their interests during negotiations with customers. We do not ditch our best service providers for the first alternative linguist prepared to accept lower rates.

Paying a fair price: A fair price within a local or regional context is agreed upon through dialogue and consultation. The service provider and the customer are provided with all elements necessary to make this decision.

Principles of sustainable trade:

The translation business is amongst one of the least polluting there is: we only need a computer, telephone and Internet connection. Most translators work from home: they hence do not use transportation and use just about the same energy as anyone else to keep warm.  We print very few documents – proofreading and revision are now done using split screen display (except for legal translators whose lawyer clients love illegible PDFs or sworn translators who have to print their translations for certification purposes). True, interpreters do travel sometimes, but one usually calls upon interpreters available locally.

In my personal case, I share an office with other business operators, located exactly 550 metres from my front door. I use refillable ink cartridges; I do not print much and if I do, always double-sided; my computer, screen and printer are all low energy (Energy Star labelled); and I recycle waste at work.

The biggest concern is using the Web. Internet research pollutes too (as explained by Greenpeace in their report on the environmental dangers of the Cloud), but this research is also the basis of our profession. Fairtrad has opted for environmentally-friendly hosting of its website, implemented by the wonderful Internet technician and ecologist Yann Boulègue.  I hope that Google et al. will soon begin using renewable sources of energy for their servers, but until then I have found no other solution.

I am sure that – like me – many founders of VSEs manage their companies in an ethical and sustainable manner and that they feel very much alone in this ruthless world of the unscrupulous lowest bidder and large companies who monopolise the market.

Idealist friends, I urge all those who believe in a better world not to lose heart nor yield to the temptation of alignment and conformity: one day we shall meet. And we will found a cult 🙂

 

The advantages of a small agency (2)

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At Fairtrad, we know each and every one of our translators.

We know off by heart who is more gifted in promotional writing and who is an ace at technical or financial translation. We also know each translator’s flaws, which helps us to adapt projects to customers AND translators.

We only have one contact person between the customer and linguists; information is transparent and relayed immediately. The customer knows from the very outset how the project will be managed and he or she accepts the delivery conditions knowingly. Will it require working the weekend, working overnight, several translators on the job? What will be the consequence on cost and quality? Is the linguist assigned to this customer available to work on the project?  How can we better organise together next time round? What is this translation’s final destination? Is it for informational purposes, internal communication or publication?

We take the time to explain and reply to everyone, and we don’t think that the customer will be offended if we ask questions to better understand the text and his or her expectations. Normally, the text to be translated is also returned to the customer corrected because we are committed to noting any errors, incoherencies or misprints, and bringing them to attention. We care about our customer’s image, and when you care, you point out any shortcomings so that a person can improve. Personally, when a project includes one of my language combinations, I translate some of the documents myself: this allows me to build up a glossary and get a feel for the style, difficulties, time required and important details. I proofread everything a third time. I know the customer’s story, terminology and style of communication off by heart.

Fairtrad is a small agency. We have fewer customers than a large agency, but we have the time to give them special treatment.

Why are interpreters so expensive?

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A question I’m asked several times a week.

 

That’s why I keep several ready-to-use answers up my sleeve:

–  An interpreter works as a self-employed professional; he or she pays both company taxes and employee taxes which means that half his or her income is allocated to tax (the same goes for translators).

–  Like all freelancers, interpreters are never sure of having daily work, so their rates are based on an average of days worked per year. Just compare with an external consultant, graphic designer or IT specialist… self-employed professionals cost more than salaried employees, it’s normal.

–  Any assignment, even if only a few hours long, requires at least one day’s preparation (researching specific documentation and terminology, calls and meetings with the client) and travel time (incurring “travel allowance”, at extra cost if the interpreter has to travel the day before the assignment).  That’s why interpreters only apply a rate per day and not an hourly rate: the effort required is the same for 3 hours worth of interpreting as it is for 6 hours.

–   Interpreting is a very tiring profession which does not tolerate any decline in quality or vitality. It requires great concentration and rest times between interventions and assignments to maintain the voice and keep responsive. That’s why interpreters are fussy about planning. What time is lunch? What time are toilet breaks and coffee breaks? How many breaks are there? How many speakers are there? Interpreters can be quite tiring, but that’s because we tire them out too.

–  Specialisation (the fact that they cannot be replaced by the first person who comes along) costs money. Interpreters study for many years, keep constantly up to date and informed on their specialisations, and exercise their interpreting skills even when not working. Often, interpreters will add new language combinations to their skill base and continue training throughout their career. Unfortunately for them, they still need to put food on the table when busy training and not working…

To round off this list, I call upon you – my colleagues. Please comment and let us know your experiences, what your working day involves and your response strategy when clients think you are overpriced!

 

Competitors’ little tricks…

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On the “How much does it cost?” page , I make reference to a method used by several agencies to lower their productions costs: using junior, less expensive, translators and then having translations proofread by senior translators.

I do not approve of this method – not only does it lack ethics, but it can also be a dangerous game to play.

The first risk is inherent to the initial quality of the translation. A junior translator is – as the title indicates – someone who lacks experience. The resulting translation is highly likely to contain clumsy and burdensome phrasing, or even errors in terminology.  Even after correction by a talented linguist, a poor quality text remains mediocre. Style is to translation what ingredients are to cuisine: if you skimp on the basics, you’ll never achieve a high quality dish, even when prepared by a top class chef.

The second risk you run is losing good colleagues. A good professional who is obliged to rewrite texts each time will end up refusing proofreading assignments. Sending a poor text to a good translator for review is like blatantly saying quality is the least of our worries and we are not prepared to correctly pay people with experience. The day you need very high quality work, whether for a translation or for proofreading of a technical text, none of your experienced suppliers will be prepared to take on the work.

And finally, I refuse to apply to linguistic services a policy which would never hold in any other type of service. Imagine your hairdresser offers you a 20% reduction if you have your hair cut by an apprentice, promising to fix any botch-ups if necessary. Imagine if your plumber did something similar when repairing a leak. Would you take the risk? I wouldn’t.

Editing and proofreading

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Often clients ask me if I have translations “proofread” by a second linguist.

In fact, they mean « edited » which involves comparing the source and target texts step by step to ensure that the original has been correctly understood by the translator and to check that there have been no omissions or copy-paste errors for numbers and proper nouns. Editing also involves the correction of writing, grammar and terminology. The editor will also standardise style and glossary for large projects which have required several translators. It is therefore a task which must be entrusted to a translator with the same level of skill and who works in the same languages as the translator(s) who first worked on the translation. This service costs on average 50% of the translation rate (if the translation costs 10, editing will cost 5, for a total production cost of 15).

Proofreading, however, simply involves quickly reading through the translated text to correct the most visible style and grammar errors. Comparison with the source text is only carried out to ensure nothing has been omitted, or when the translated text is incomprehensible. This work is often done within an agency by a project manager (not necessarily a linguist) whose native language is the same as the target language but who does not necessarily have a perfect understanding of the source language (it goes without saying that the agency nevertheless charges the client an « editing » rate). If this task is entrusted to a linguist, he or she will charge up to 20% of their translation rate. Proofreading can also be entrusted to someone who is very competent in the field covered by the text (for example, a surgeon if the text describes new surgical instruments). This person will have precise knowledge of the terms and turns of phrase used in documents written for professionals in the sector, even if he or she does not speak the source language (if the specialist has any questions, he or she is put in direct contact with the translator who can explain what was translated and how). In this case, the rate is as high as – if not higher than – the editing rate.

You can also ask request a ‘Super Deluxe’ service: translation + editing by a second linguist + proofreading by a technician/expert. I dream of one day having such a demanding customer!