Statements and FAQ
.
.
.
"Do you use CAT tools?"
Please feel free to visit this short post to find a compact answer to this question.
If absolutely required, translation service including CAT tools is possible. It might simply need a bit longer (CAT tools bug frequency) and lead to a lower delivery quality, even more if inclusion of foreign TM's is expected. Especially with larger TM's, generated by larger group of translators, e.g. with server-based/cloud based TM's, this indeed can be a serious quality diminishing factor. You can click to a very short black humor comment, a comment that however can give you an idea how crucial that question can become when dealing with sensitive official, corporate materials. The comment might be black humor, however, it's not fiction. Therefore - clients preferring not to take unnecessary risks, searching for real expert translations, for quality deliverables beyond pure marketing lingo just claiming quality, are invited to contact directly. Provided internal documents (glossary, termbases and translation memories provided by the company client) are however of course taken into account as much as all other usual research grounds (like, for example, the terminology used by the company in question on their own public webpages), the resulting choices for terms in question being always a result of carefully taking all of these into account.
"Do you use MT (Machine Translation)?"
No. Please do not misunderstand MT. They work - sometimes - fine as a help to understand a content written in a foreign language, to give you a "general idea" of it. If you use MT from time to time for this purpose, you know they can't handle even this task flawlessly - they are absolutely useless for generating content in another language.
They should also not be understood as proofreaders for translations. The best way to assure yourself of the delivered quality is to hire an experienced qualified proofreader for this task, an indispensable step for translations of official materials.
However, back-checking the proofreading result with the original translator is a step APK Translation extremely values, since it can happen occasionally that proofreaders change a translation to the worse. APK Translation offers a back-check of the proofreading with no extra charge, with a detailed report regarding the proofreading result.
"The translation will be done by a native?"
For heaven's sake, of course... Not only by just a native, but by a highly qualified expert native.
Just being native is not a qualification for translations, at least if you wish a quality result, a translation not coming with a series of mistakes that natives without further qualifications simply regularly tend to make. Just think about the tendency for orthographical mistakes and wrong terminology in your own native language, when you look around the web: be aware that your clients will spot them immediately. Do you really wish your website or your marketing material to come with mistakes like you see on forums and similar open pages? So if not, then you probably prefer an expert result - a translation done by a native with high expertise and qualifications.
"Do you offer your services for every kind of text?"
Serious translation services offer highest quality only for their real fields of specialization and expertise.
I offer a quality service for the following range of texts, materials and documents:
1.) PR/Media/Journalism/Editorial Content (Core Specialization) (qualified specialization)
3.) Law General (Terms and Conditions, Contracts) (specialization by experience)
4.) Marketing material, Website Localization, IT/Software Localization, Financial, Technical/Engineering (Manuals, Operating Instructions)
(specialization by experience)
2.) "Hobby Specialization" (actually the field I prefer to work in, love to work in, am additionally extra-qualified in and am able and willing to offer some nice
discounts in): Arts, Literature.
"How much can I get for, let's say, 0.02USD per word? Are you available for 0.04? What about 0.07?"
Interesting question, thank you for asking. Please kindly take a look at this discussion. In case the project is expected to be done in a professional way, please feel free to contact. But as you have read, the translation will be done by a qualified native in the target language. Aside of this, the translation quality of course also depends on the question whether a translator has vivid daily contact with the target language. Translators residing in the target country can offer only reasonable rates, corresponding with typical expenses in that country.
"Hm... not sure... then you're probably too expensive for us..."
Well. How expensive will a world trip ticket for your material be, i.e. a translation that is simply resold from one agency to another around the globe until it finally ends on a dubious job board, taken by an unqualified "I cann do itt" provider, or even worse, by a Google Translator fraudster? How expensive will the negative outcome of a poor translation be? Did you already check that risk? Sure you are willing to take it? As you probably know, poor translation results are hard to hide - feel free to take a look at a discussion among translation professionals about an incredibly appalling poor translation result as just one example among many. And feel free to come back in case you decide to avoid such a business risk.
OK, so is there... a possibility to shorten this question up? We really just need an estimation of the project costs...
The rates are set out on my ProZ.com profile page (they are in the bottom third of the profile text).
"Depending on the source document" means that certain texts and documents require more time for translation than others. This depends on the purpose of the text and its target audience (language level), the field/area (the business in question), the density of specialized terminology, the file format of the source material and a number of other aspects. You will get a detailed quote for the translation of your document upon direct contact.
"I have some... special material that is not on your list. However, taking a look at your references I am sure your services would be perfect for us. Are there materials that you refuse to translate?"
Yes.
"But..."
Hm-hm.
"Is there a way to order a translation directly?"
Yes, of course. For direct orders: please get in contact via mail for details - you can email via ProZ.com. Please note that you don't have to sign up there for a direct mail. This way simply helps a bit preventing from spam.
Terms for direct translation orders: 100% Prepayment for smaller projects, 50% for middle size, for larger projects it will be for sure possible to find an appropriate milestone solution. For clients in the translation industry with a top BB record on ProZ, European standard payment terms apply (payment due upon delivery with up to 30 days waiting time).
"I have a larger project and would need some additional material before I can assign it. Can I get a translation sample?"
Sure, you can get translation samples. Feel free to contact directly via the direct mail feature on Proz.com. However, please note that these translation samples do already exist. In case you need an additional sample for your own planned project, I offer of course availability for a small, paid test translation order for that purpose.
"Why can't I find a telephone number anywhere on this page?"
I can call you back upon request. However, the communication for preparing of a translation project needs written form, the best way to contact is via the ProZ.com direct mail feature. (There are simply experiences with very diversified views of clients regarding typical office hours. After receipt of urgent requests arriving at the answering machine on late night December 24th, Sunday in the middle of the night and similar, even from business clients in the same time zone, I finally decided to stick with written communication via email - and since ordering a translation requires written form anyway, I think a telephone number is redundant. You can get a skype contact in case you plan a longer project and wish to have the possibility for written chats aside of email communication.)
What if I am not satisfied with the deliverable?"
Talking from experience, there is a much higher risk that the professional translation you receive afterwards lands in the hands of unqualified personnel, changing the result to the worse. With a professional work flow, a client unsatisfied with the translation would be extremely suprising, but of course - just for the sake of completeness and in order to reply to such a theoretical question - of course, in case of non-satisfaction the project will stay in progress until you're completely confident with the translation. For example, by detailed explanation why a particular term was chosen in given context, providing appropriate references for the term in question and in general, by thorough replies to any of your possible questions regarding the provided translation.
Please note that for clients who send the translation result to an independent proofreader, I offer back-checking of the proofreading result with no extra charge, with a detailed report regarding the proofreading result.
"Now I scrolled down, I can't see this page's title anymore. You offer translation services for the language pairs..."
English to German (EN>DE) and Polish to German (PL>DE). Native in target, qualified in target, residing in target country.
Which means I do offer neither Austrian (exceptions may apply) nor Swiss (no exceptions) as the target language, variants of source language (even aside of EN[US] and EN[UK]) possible. Some additional variants for the target language (German variants) possible, get in contact for details about this please.
Can I deduct my translation order from taxes?
Could you repeat this question, please? Of course you will get an invoice with all information needed for presenting it to your tax authority. Whether you can deduct it as an expense from your own taxes is a question for your taxes consultant, not me (sorry, I don't offer tax consulting, it's translation). But of course: a normal business expenses pdf invoice to add it to your annual commercial expenses documents containing all data needed for this.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Do you use CAT tools?"
Please feel free to visit this short post to find a compact answer to this question.
If absolutely required, translation service including CAT tools is possible. It might simply need a bit longer (CAT tools bug frequency) and lead to a lower delivery quality, even more if inclusion of foreign TM's is expected. Especially with larger TM's, generated by larger group of translators, e.g. with server-based/cloud based TM's, this indeed can be a serious quality diminishing factor. You can click to a very short black humor comment, a comment that however can give you an idea how crucial that question can become when dealing with sensitive official, corporate materials. The comment might be black humor, however, it's not fiction. Therefore - clients preferring not to take unnecessary risks, searching for real expert translations, for quality deliverables beyond pure marketing lingo just claiming quality, are invited to contact directly. Provided internal documents (glossary, termbases and translation memories provided by the company client) are however of course taken into account as much as all other usual research grounds (like, for example, the terminology used by the company in question on their own public webpages), the resulting choices for terms in question being always a result of carefully taking all of these into account.
"Do you use MT (Machine Translation)?"
No. Please do not misunderstand MT. They work - sometimes - fine as a help to understand a content written in a foreign language, to give you a "general idea" of it. If you use MT from time to time for this purpose, you know they can't handle even this task flawlessly - they are absolutely useless for generating content in another language.
They should also not be understood as proofreaders for translations. The best way to assure yourself of the delivered quality is to hire an experienced qualified proofreader for this task, an indispensable step for translations of official materials.
However, back-checking the proofreading result with the original translator is a step APK Translation extremely values, since it can happen occasionally that proofreaders change a translation to the worse. APK Translation offers a back-check of the proofreading with no extra charge, with a detailed report regarding the proofreading result.
"The translation will be done by a native?"
For heaven's sake, of course... Not only by just a native, but by a highly qualified expert native.
Just being native is not a qualification for translations, at least if you wish a quality result, a translation not coming with a series of mistakes that natives without further qualifications simply regularly tend to make. Just think about the tendency for orthographical mistakes and wrong terminology in your own native language, when you look around the web: be aware that your clients will spot them immediately. Do you really wish your website or your marketing material to come with mistakes like you see on forums and similar open pages? So if not, then you probably prefer an expert result - a translation done by a native with high expertise and qualifications.
"Do you offer your services for every kind of text?"
Serious translation services offer highest quality only for their real fields of specialization and expertise.
I offer a quality service for the following range of texts, materials and documents:
1.) PR/Media/Journalism/Editorial Content (Core Specialization) (qualified specialization)
3.) Law General (Terms and Conditions, Contracts) (specialization by experience)
4.) Marketing material, Website Localization, IT/Software Localization, Financial, Technical/Engineering (Manuals, Operating Instructions)
(specialization by experience)
2.) "Hobby Specialization" (actually the field I prefer to work in, love to work in, am additionally extra-qualified in and am able and willing to offer some nice
discounts in): Arts, Literature.
"How much can I get for, let's say, 0.02USD per word? Are you available for 0.04? What about 0.07?"
Interesting question, thank you for asking. Please kindly take a look at this discussion. In case the project is expected to be done in a professional way, please feel free to contact. But as you have read, the translation will be done by a qualified native in the target language. Aside of this, the translation quality of course also depends on the question whether a translator has vivid daily contact with the target language. Translators residing in the target country can offer only reasonable rates, corresponding with typical expenses in that country.
"Hm... not sure... then you're probably too expensive for us..."
Well. How expensive will a world trip ticket for your material be, i.e. a translation that is simply resold from one agency to another around the globe until it finally ends on a dubious job board, taken by an unqualified "I cann do itt" provider, or even worse, by a Google Translator fraudster? How expensive will the negative outcome of a poor translation be? Did you already check that risk? Sure you are willing to take it? As you probably know, poor translation results are hard to hide - feel free to take a look at a discussion among translation professionals about an incredibly appalling poor translation result as just one example among many. And feel free to come back in case you decide to avoid such a business risk.
OK, so is there... a possibility to shorten this question up? We really just need an estimation of the project costs...
The rates are set out on my ProZ.com profile page (they are in the bottom third of the profile text).
"Depending on the source document" means that certain texts and documents require more time for translation than others. This depends on the purpose of the text and its target audience (language level), the field/area (the business in question), the density of specialized terminology, the file format of the source material and a number of other aspects. You will get a detailed quote for the translation of your document upon direct contact.
"I have some... special material that is not on your list. However, taking a look at your references I am sure your services would be perfect for us. Are there materials that you refuse to translate?"
Yes.
"But..."
Hm-hm.
"Is there a way to order a translation directly?"
Yes, of course. For direct orders: please get in contact via mail for details - you can email via ProZ.com. Please note that you don't have to sign up there for a direct mail. This way simply helps a bit preventing from spam.
Terms for direct translation orders: 100% Prepayment for smaller projects, 50% for middle size, for larger projects it will be for sure possible to find an appropriate milestone solution. For clients in the translation industry with a top BB record on ProZ, European standard payment terms apply (payment due upon delivery with up to 30 days waiting time).
"I have a larger project and would need some additional material before I can assign it. Can I get a translation sample?"
Sure, you can get translation samples. Feel free to contact directly via the direct mail feature on Proz.com. However, please note that these translation samples do already exist. In case you need an additional sample for your own planned project, I offer of course availability for a small, paid test translation order for that purpose.
"Why can't I find a telephone number anywhere on this page?"
I can call you back upon request. However, the communication for preparing of a translation project needs written form, the best way to contact is via the ProZ.com direct mail feature. (There are simply experiences with very diversified views of clients regarding typical office hours. After receipt of urgent requests arriving at the answering machine on late night December 24th, Sunday in the middle of the night and similar, even from business clients in the same time zone, I finally decided to stick with written communication via email - and since ordering a translation requires written form anyway, I think a telephone number is redundant. You can get a skype contact in case you plan a longer project and wish to have the possibility for written chats aside of email communication.)
What if I am not satisfied with the deliverable?"
Talking from experience, there is a much higher risk that the professional translation you receive afterwards lands in the hands of unqualified personnel, changing the result to the worse. With a professional work flow, a client unsatisfied with the translation would be extremely suprising, but of course - just for the sake of completeness and in order to reply to such a theoretical question - of course, in case of non-satisfaction the project will stay in progress until you're completely confident with the translation. For example, by detailed explanation why a particular term was chosen in given context, providing appropriate references for the term in question and in general, by thorough replies to any of your possible questions regarding the provided translation.
Please note that for clients who send the translation result to an independent proofreader, I offer back-checking of the proofreading result with no extra charge, with a detailed report regarding the proofreading result.
"Now I scrolled down, I can't see this page's title anymore. You offer translation services for the language pairs..."
English to German (EN>DE) and Polish to German (PL>DE). Native in target, qualified in target, residing in target country.
Which means I do offer neither Austrian (exceptions may apply) nor Swiss (no exceptions) as the target language, variants of source language (even aside of EN[US] and EN[UK]) possible. Some additional variants for the target language (German variants) possible, get in contact for details about this please.
Can I deduct my translation order from taxes?
Could you repeat this question, please? Of course you will get an invoice with all information needed for presenting it to your tax authority. Whether you can deduct it as an expense from your own taxes is a question for your taxes consultant, not me (sorry, I don't offer tax consulting, it's translation). But of course: a normal business expenses pdf invoice to add it to your annual commercial expenses documents containing all data needed for this.
.
.
.
.