Translation - art & business » Lighter side of trans/interp »
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Off topic: This translation is killing me
Thread poster: Edward Potter
maryblack
maryblack  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 03:35
Member (2013)
Spanish to English
+ ...
look before you accept, and charge by the hour for proofreading Jul 6, 2010

These are my two strategies to avoid the same situation, which I think we've all been through!

Experience has taught me that: 1) I never, ever accept a proofreading job without seeing the original. If I see an original like that I either refuse it or offer to re-translate it (i.e,. looking at the original - there next to nothing you could use from that "translation"); and 2) if I do accept a proofreading job, unless its proofing the work of a translator I know and whose work I respe... See more
These are my two strategies to avoid the same situation, which I think we've all been through!

Experience has taught me that: 1) I never, ever accept a proofreading job without seeing the original. If I see an original like that I either refuse it or offer to re-translate it (i.e,. looking at the original - there next to nothing you could use from that "translation"); and 2) if I do accept a proofreading job, unless its proofing the work of a translator I know and whose work I respect, I will charge by the hour, and charge dearly. Frankly, either I need to earn a mint to deal with something that bad, or I'd rather just skip it.

Hang in there!!!! ▲ Collapse
 
Edward Potter
Edward Potter  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:35
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Update Jul 6, 2010

Thanks to everyone for their comments.

I just created this thread to do some venting. Everything was under control from the start. It was a good customer and I am being compensated for the effort.

I did the, ugh, work, then nicely commented that it would be better to start from scratch.

As it turned out they had another batch of the same material today, this time in the source language. Life is so much easier this way!
 
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This translation is killing me






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