Poll: Has your most interesting translation project been in your field of specialization? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Has your most interesting translation project been in your field of specialization?".
This poll was originally submitted by Jenn Mercer. View the poll results »
| | | | | No, sth absolutely different | Jun 15, 2010 |
Being a medical doctor I specialize in English to Polish medical translations, but my most interesting project was Polish to English translation of history of a village - actually it was a part of "The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland" edited in the 19th century - really fascinating and really tough work
| | | | Michael Harris 
Germany
Local time: 03:05
Member (2006)
German to English
because I tend to avoid translating in fields I am not specialised in:-)
| | | | | Hard to pick "most interesting" | Jun 15, 2010 |
A lot of my projects are really interesting. It would be hard to choose. Some are in my areas of specialization, others aren't.
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Anne Carnot
France
Local time: 03:05
Member (2009)
English to French
| Same here... | Jun 15, 2010 |
Michael Harris wrote:
because I tend to avoid translating in fields I am not specialised in:-)
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 03:05
Spanish to English
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The question/notion of my "specialization" always leaves me perplexed. I find it scary. Specializing in one field to me suggests being inadequate (=useless) in others. I am told by clients and friends that I am "expert" in a few fields, which is nice of them but doesn't convince me 100%. You don't need to be a brain surgeon to translate works on brain surgery.
I abhor those proz ads demanding translators who "specialize" in one field, which often prevents me applying for the job, and I ... See more The question/notion of my "specialization" always leaves me perplexed. I find it scary. Specializing in one field to me suggests being inadequate (=useless) in others. I am told by clients and friends that I am "expert" in a few fields, which is nice of them but doesn't convince me 100%. You don't need to be a brain surgeon to translate works on brain surgery.
I abhor those proz ads demanding translators who "specialize" in one field, which often prevents me applying for the job, and I feel is tantamount to discrimination.
I recently applied for one such job (veterinary medicine) which they initially gave the translation to a "specialist" (a qualified vet) and asked me simply to revise it. After the swathe of errors (in the technical vocab) I found and corrected, they now send me the translations directly. Proof of the pudding and all that....
Some agencies have commented when I mention this that they do so because they are fed up with "translators" telling them they are competent in a field just to get the work, then turn out to be less than able to turn out a decent draft.
Many agencies now also make offers when they do not actually have the work they claim to, saying they are "expanding their translator database" (read: trying to set up a business) and I wish the site would filter them out somehow.
There are a lot of desperate people out their who will make all sorts of claims just to get some work ... ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tatty
Local time: 03:05
Spanish to English
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| Favourite translations! | Jun 15, 2010 |
No I don't have any favourite translations, it's all work to me.
| | | | Parrot
Spain
Local time: 03:05
Spanish to English
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I didn't quite know how to deal with this, which is a frequent case. I specialise in one of the multidisciplinary fields involved in such titles as "A History of Hydraulic Engineering", but it's not, strictly speaking, my specialisation.
Otherwise, I love most of my legal cases, and yes, I specialise in them.
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It was a field I work in but not all that often. I translated a user manual for a software used for assessing criminal behaviour. It wasn't really all that technical and had a lot of interesting elements of ciminology, psychology and statistics. It was also a large project so it paid well! I am due to get another project soon from the same client, about youth gangs.
I also did one recently, not translation but revision of a large report on wildlife and parks management in west afric... See more It was a field I work in but not all that often. I translated a user manual for a software used for assessing criminal behaviour. It wasn't really all that technical and had a lot of interesting elements of ciminology, psychology and statistics. It was also a large project so it paid well! I am due to get another project soon from the same client, about youth gangs.
I also did one recently, not translation but revision of a large report on wildlife and parks management in west africa...a lot of latin animal names and geographical information that was fascinating. I thought, I have to go to this place and see some of these animals!
[Edited at 2010-06-15 19:29 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Yaotl Altan
Mexico
Local time: 19:05
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
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Generally speaking, it was a patent about biometric features recognition to be used in cinemas or stadiums so that a criminal could be detected. I know it's being used in the UK.
| | | | Rebecca Garber
Local time: 21:05
Member (2005)
German to English
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| In a related field, but not my specialization | Jun 15, 2010 |
I have a book translation on the history of the Roman legal system. Which is before my historical speciality (medieval). However, it involves rhetoric and also the interpretation of historical documents (whom can we believe, to what degree), which is very close to my doctoral work.
It's been really fun. My biggest fear is that I will not be able to do justice to some rather lively presentations of Roman trials.
| | | | | So many good projects in various fields | Jun 15, 2010 |
I work in quite a few fields. At different times due to reasons beyond my control my preferences changed from politics to finance to industry to defense to geology and oil and back. I liked many projects finding something new and exciting regardless of whether they related to ballistic missiles or stock market. Therefore, I cannot say whether my favorite ones belonged to a certain one (or few) of my chosen fields of expertise.
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I particularly enjoyed translating an article based on some research into the wealth of 18th century households in villages and small towns in a cloth producing area of Spain (Palencia for the cognoscenti) as revealed by the inventories that were carried out on the deaths of householders. Tedious? No, fascinating. In this time of such consumerism, the short lists of cotton nightshirts and wool stuffed mattresses, together with a few items of furniture, have been high up in my mind ever since. ... See more I particularly enjoyed translating an article based on some research into the wealth of 18th century households in villages and small towns in a cloth producing area of Spain (Palencia for the cognoscenti) as revealed by the inventories that were carried out on the deaths of householders. Tedious? No, fascinating. In this time of such consumerism, the short lists of cotton nightshirts and wool stuffed mattresses, together with a few items of furniture, have been high up in my mind ever since.
Miles away from my specialization at the time, but I made it my business to learn a great deal more in order to continue to work with this client, who has provided me with stimulating texts ever since.
[Edited at 2010-06-16 07:39 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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