| Pages in topic: [1 2 3 4 5] > | Off topic: Game for a little competition? Thread poster: Denyce Seow
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Denyce Seow 
Singapore
Local time: 01:46
Member (2004)
Chinese to English
As some of you might already know, the Spanish forum community is pretty active with organising activities for its members. I am thinking.... maybe we can do something similar too. Here is a rough idea:
1) An English text is put up, and a deadline is given for interested translators to submit their translation.
2) Submissions are collected and consolidated.
3) All submissions are posted in the forum, but the names of the translators will not be revealed.... See more As some of you might already know, the Spanish forum community is pretty active with organising activities for its members. I am thinking.... maybe we can do something similar too. Here is a rough idea:
1) An English text is put up, and a deadline is given for interested translators to submit their translation.
2) Submissions are collected and consolidated.
3) All submissions are posted in the forum, but the names of the translators will not be revealed.
4) ALL translators, including those who did not submit any translation, will rank the top three translations within a certain deadline.
5) When the deadline is due, the coordinator will announce the names of the top three translators.
How does that sound? Do tell me if this is feasible or if there are other ideas. The purpose of this little competition is for all of us to take a reality check on our work standard and see how others work. It is supposed to be a healthy competition. You definitely need an open mind to participate.
[Edited at 2006-05-30 22:42]
[Edited at 2006-05-30 22:43] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jianjun Zhang
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:46
English to Chinese
+ ...
| This is not bad. | May 30, 2006 |
Surely a good idea. We can play and improve at the same time. This requires participants to have some spunk to get spanked by some pundits.
I suggest only the winners' names are published. And what is the reward? Well, personally I think the best reward is recognition from colleagues.
weiwei wrote: As some of you might already know, the Spanish forum community is pretty active with organising activities for its members. I am thinking.... maybe we can do something similar too. Here is a rough idea: 1) An English text is put up, and a deadline is given for interested translators to submit their translation. 2) Submissions are collected and consolidated. 3) All submissions are posted in the forum, but the names of the translators will not be revealed. 4) ALL translators, including those who did not submit any translation, will rank the top three translations within a certain deadline. 5) When the deadline is due, the coordinator will announce the names of the top three translators. How does that sound? Do tell me if this is feasible or if there are other ideas. The purpose of this little competition is for all of us to take a reality check on our work standard and see how others work. It is supposed to be a healthy competition. You definitely need an open mind to participate. [Edited at 2006-05-30 22:42] [Edited at 2006-05-30 22:43]
| | | | Denyce Seow
Singapore
Local time: 01:46
Member (2004)
Chinese to English
TOPIC STARTER | Regarding names and rewards | May 30, 2006 |
Jianjun Zhang wrote:
I suggest only the winners' names are published. And what is the reward? Well, personally I think the best reward is recognition from colleagues.
Yep, only the names of the top or top three translators will be announced.
Well, the experience is definitely a form of reward too.
[Edited at 2006-05-30 23:47]
| | | | Zhoudan
Local time: 01:46
English to Chinese
+ ...
| We need a coordinator | May 31, 2006 |
Great idea, and we need a coordinator.
weiwei wrote:
5) When the deadline is due, the coordinator will announce the names of the top three translators.
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Chinoise
Local time: 14:46
English to Chinese
+ ...
| Just another suggestion... | May 31, 2006 |
How about awarding a full membership to the top winner (Cost: $80.00 + browniz: 4000 )?
When will this competition be held? We might need to schedule another online conference to further discuss the details...
(FYI: I have earned enough browniz points to donate.)
[Редактировалось 2006-05-31 03:18]
| | | | Angus Woo
Local time: 01:46
Chinese to English
+ ...
| A good idea, yet obstables exist. | May 31, 2006 |
This is a fascinating idea. However, like all comeptitions, there are some practical issues to which answers are needed beforehand in order to carry out this competition in a fair and participative way. Otherwise this might in the end turn out to be an endless series of skirmishs if not a civil war in some sense which just might have a significant negative impact on the relatively benign and trustful atmosphere that we enjoy today.
The #1 question is who will be the judge or judges... See more This is a fascinating idea. However, like all comeptitions, there are some practical issues to which answers are needed beforehand in order to carry out this competition in a fair and participative way. Otherwise this might in the end turn out to be an endless series of skirmishs if not a civil war in some sense which just might have a significant negative impact on the relatively benign and trustful atmosphere that we enjoy today.
The #1 question is who will be the judge or judges? Given the fact that clearly there are more than one vernacular and almost everyone has his/her own field of specialty, therefore the organizers have to decided as a prerequisite that on whose judgement should all contestants rely, the sheer number of votes or the number of votes from those who have the relavant qualification? And the following question is...
I am sure you all know the same old story. I am in favor of this competition. Nonetheless, possible consequences must be considered in advance, so I suggest we clear out all the underlying ambiguities that could adulterate the process and then feel free to enjoy the adrenalin rush.
[Edited at 2006-05-31 02:33] ▲ Collapse
| | | | David Shen
United States
Local time: 10:46
English to Chinese
+ ...
| Great idea and it should be fun. | May 31, 2006 |
Cheers for a great idea Weiwei!
This sounds like a game of wits among the literati, let's keep this tradition alive. Are we going to make the phrases and sentences short, or make them long so who ever intends to win here end up starve?
The judge should be the majority I hope, any form of authority would take the fun away, nope.
| | | | chance (X)
French to Chinese
+ ...
| 我的英语水平就不用参赛了，汗颜 :D | May 31, 2006 |
如果需要，愿意为大家接稿和贴稿，保证快速和保密！
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Denyce Seow
Singapore
Local time: 01:46
Member (2004)
Chinese to English
TOPIC STARTER | English>Chinese | May 31, 2006 |
chance wrote:
如果需要，愿意为大家接稿和贴稿，保证快速和保密！
I was thinking that the first competition should be for an English into Chinese piece. This is because we have more native Chinese translators here than native English ones. I don't mind taking on the coordinator job, and, of course, I will be fast and keep confidentiality too! When it comes to a Chinese into English piece, I would love to participate, and maybe someone else, like chance, can volunteer as the coordinator.
The source text should not be too long. It should be around 300-500 words as a start. The reason is so that this little activity will not take up too much of your time. As for rewards, I am afraid I cannot offer what BBW has suggested. This is not organised by Proz, so I cannot offer any Kudoz points or Browniz. If BBW is willing to donate her Browniz, let's make this the "Betty Wang English-Chinese Translation Award". How's that???
Angus, you are definitely right with your concerns. I do recognise that this will not be a smooth ride. I would need all participants and judges to behave like adults and be professional, fair and objective. Concerning your question on who should be the judges, I thought we can let everyone vote. What do you think? It is just a little activity, and not some Oscars or Grammy award. I don't think we need to choose a panel of judges. That would kill the fun.
Denyce
| | | | Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Taiwan
Local time: 01:46
English to Chinese
+ ...
从工作的角度来看，文本的选择可能会有一点困难。困难在于专业的选择。大家都知道，我们平常翻译的东西都不会是文学性质的文本，一般牵涉到的是某个专业，比方说电子、电机、机械、医药卫生或化学及化工、一般法律或授权合同等类的文本。
但从游戏的角度来看，这样的竞赛倒蛮好玩的，因为如果纯粹为了好玩，倒可以不在乎文本属于那一类的。原则上，我... See more 从工作的角度来看，文本的选择可能会有一点困难。困难在于专业的选择。大家都知道，我们平常翻译的东西都不会是文学性质的文本，一般牵涉到的是某个专业，比方说电子、电机、机械、医药卫生或化学及化工、一般法律或授权合同等类的文本。
但从游戏的角度来看，这样的竞赛倒蛮好玩的，因为如果纯粹为了好玩，倒可以不在乎文本属于那一类的。原则上，我觉得当作游戏来玩，这会是个好练习，总比找特定的个人来单挑有意思多了。
同样的文本由不同的人翻译，每个人所表现的语文理解和转译的文字表达风格都会有不同，其中评审的并非仅文字是否优美，而是包含了对原文的理解是否透彻、转译的文字是否精确的判断。
采取不记名公审的办法，不失公允，可以试试看。也许我可以先挑出一些通识类的文本，贴出来让大家选择，决定采用哪个文本开始尝试竞赛。要不然也可以在欧美国家的报章杂志专栏选择通识性质的文本。
美国某些大报社的专栏往往有很有趣的文章出现，那些文章大体上都属于通识性质的，也就是什么专业都可能沾上一点边，但又不会太过于深入专业，所以适合一般人阅读。这种翻译练习应该会比较有趣些。
大家认为如何？ ▲ Collapse
| | | | Denyce Seow
Singapore
Local time: 01:46
Member (2004)
Chinese to English
TOPIC STARTER
Hmm, I was thinking of using a literature piece. I'm sure many of us here do not get a lot of opportunities to translate literature. Would be fun and definitely a real challenge on our writing skills. Moreover, since all of us have our own specialisations, it would not be fair if we chose an IT or automotive text.
[Edited at 2006-05-31 17:08]
| | | | Chinoise
Local time: 14:46
English to Chinese
+ ...
Frankly speaking, I don't even have time to read all the posts here. Accordingly, I won't participate in the competition or be one of the judges. However, I really don't mind sending along a “full membership”($80.00+ browniz: 4000) to the top winner in the name of all my colleagues here after the result is formally announced to the public —IMHO, competitions (or games) using incentives to motivate excellence virtually offer a... See more Frankly speaking, I don't even have time to read all the posts here. Accordingly, I won't participate in the competition or be one of the judges. However, I really don't mind sending along a “full membership”($80.00+ browniz: 4000) to the top winner in the name of all my colleagues here after the result is formally announced to the public —IMHO, competitions (or games) using incentives to motivate excellence virtually offer a win-win situation, and so it is with the KudoZ game (KudoZ winners get their points as rewards for helping others, and I've been strongly in favor of this mutually beneficial system for years.). Evidently, you are one of the best candidates to be the coordinator, but we still need another volunteer to collect the submissions and keep them strictly confidential. Besides, more people are needed to be the judges. Finally, IMO, only the number of the participants and the name(s) of the winner(s) will be released in the forum (Certainly, under the winners’ authorization, some of their works may be published in the forum). Furthermore, I also agree with you that 300 words would be sufficient enough, for most of the peers here are too busy to afford more time for translating longer pieces.
Well, this length requirement (300 wds) also reminds me of a famous Chinese idiom/saying “一叶知秋”, from which it can be inferred that one can catch a glimpse of the translation quality in terms of “faithfulness, fluency and elegance (gracefulness)” by reading a small portion of that piece. Nevertheless, even a single Chinese saying (like “一叶知秋”) has dozens of existing renditions. Here are some of them:
1) “A small sign can indicate a great trend”;
2) “It is a straw in the wind”;
3) “The first yellow leaf speaks for autumn”;
4) “When a leaf falls, you know that it is autumn”;
5) “The falling of one leaf heralds the autumn”;
6) “The falling leaves announce the approach of autumn”;
7) “A leaf is the herald of autumn”;
8) “One falling leaf is the indication of autumn”;
9) “The fall of a single leaf ushers in the autumn”
…
It's been great fun reading them all, but the rest is our headache: How many people will be the judges and how will they judge—openly or anonymously? I have no clue whatsoever...
P.S. Why not name it " ProZ.com English-Chinese Translation Award?" Personally, I believe in these two mottos: "Participation is more important than competition." + "Friendship First, Competition Second!"
.
weiwei wrote: I was thinking that the first competition should be for an English into Chinese piece. This is because we have more native Chinese translators here than native English ones. I don't mind taking on the coordinator job, and, of course, I will be fast and keep confidentiality too! When it comes to a Chinese into English piece, I would love to participate, and maybe someone else, like chance, can volunteer as the coordinator. The source text should not be too long. It should be around 300-500 words as a start. The reason is so that this little activity will not take up too much of your time. As for rewards, I am afraid I cannot offer what BBW has suggested. This is not organised by Proz, so I cannot offer any Kudoz points or Browniz. If BBW is willing to donate her Browniz, let's make this the "Betty Wang English-Chinese Translation Award". How's that??? Denyce
[Bearbeitet am 2006-06-01 01:29] ▲ Collapse
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Denyce Seow
Singapore
Local time: 01:46
Member (2004)
Chinese to English
TOPIC STARTER | A little elaboration... | May 31, 2006 |
Wow, Betty, this is really generous of you. It is definitely a good idea and a great incentive, but I'm just worried that the others will be disappointed when there are no prizes for the subsequent contests.
It seems that many of you still have questions on how this competition will go. Maybe I should elaborate a little...
1) The first contest will be a English-Chinese translation. An English text of bet... See more Wow, Betty, this is really generous of you. It is definitely a good idea and a great incentive, but I'm just worried that the others will be disappointed when there are no prizes for the subsequent contests.
It seems that many of you still have questions on how this competition will go. Maybe I should elaborate a little...
1) The first contest will be a English-Chinese translation. An English text of between 300 and 500 words is put up, and a deadline is given for interested translators to submit their translation to the coordinator.
2) Coordinator collects all submissions.
3) Coordinator posts all submissions in the forum. Names of the translators will not be revealed.
4) ALL of you, including those who did not submit any translation, will rank the top three translations within a certain deadline.
5) When the deadline is due, the coordinator will announce the names of the top three translators.
6) The first-place winner will get a special prize from Betty.
As I've said, it will not be a smooth ride to get this contest going. There are surely many rough edges to be smoothen out along the way. Feel free to raise your concerns, so we can discuss ways to resolve them.
[Edited at 2006-05-31 18:22] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Chinoise
Local time: 14:46
English to Chinese
+ ...
| Wow, you are such a fast reader :-) | May 31, 2006 |
Well, "Point 4)" arouses my same old question again: How will they rank them--- just publish their opinions openly here or send their votes directly to the coordinator? I'd like to hear what others say about this.
weiwei wrote:
4) ALL of you, including those who did not submit any translation, will rank the top three translations within a certain deadline.
[Bearbeitet am 2006-05-31 20:08]
| | | | Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Taiwan
Local time: 01:46
English to Chinese
+ ...
如果 Weiwei 想的是文學類的文本，我覺得英美現代短篇小說倒不錯，而且最好越近今日的短篇小說越好，也就是說還沒有中文翻譯的。我這兒倒有一堆每次旅行在機場隨手買的短篇小說，裡頭可以選出一些比較短些的出來試試。
至於獎勵，我覺得也應該，但為了繼續辦下去，不只 Betty 捐出的，我也同樣可以捐出 4000 點 BrowniZ 和一年的會員費 $80－－這倒不困難，我沒想到我本來一年只需要 4000 點 BrowniZ，但半年卻已積攢了超過四千點，所以捐出來獎勵參與這個活動的新生代翻譯人，倒很有意義，而只花 $80 就可以讀到好的小說翻譯，值得。
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