| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: How often are you asked to assess other people's test translations? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How often are you asked to assess other people's test translations?".
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| | | | | Never (in the last 15 years) | Oct 1, 2023 |
I was asked once or twice a long time ago, but I did pass on the offer. In general, I don't like editing/reviewing/proofreading. I only do it for two agencies because I know the translator and what I can expect quality-wise: she is an excellent professional.
| | | | Lingua 5B 
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 15:21
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
No, and I would be too expensive for the job. Based on what they offer, I may only conclude that test translation assessors work extremely cheaply.
| | | | Iulia Parvu
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:21
Member (2022)
English to Romanian
+ ...
| Only occasionally... | Oct 1, 2023 |
...and if the pay is at least decent. I've recently had an "offer" to evaluate 200-word translation samples for $1 apiece. Just mentioning it so that you can all laugh (or cry), too.
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Kay Denney
France
Local time: 15:21
French to English
I used to when I worked in-house at an agency, but as a freelancer, never.
Iulia Parvu wrote:
...and if the pay is at least decent. I've recently had an "offer" to evaluate 200-word translation samples for $1 apiece. Just mentioning it so that you can all laugh (or cry), too.
To be honest, I could tell within a minute or so whether the translation was any good. There were three or four pitfalls that most translators would fall right into, and the same people also didn't bother with running a spell check. I only spent more than a couple of minutes on those who ran the spell check properly and navigated the pitfalls competently. I probably managed to assess nearly 30 tests an hour like that. Given the pittance I was paid, my boss was quids in.
| | | | Iulia Parvu
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:21
Member (2022)
English to Romanian
+ ...
[Editat la 2023-10-01 14:27 GMT]
| | | | Iulia Parvu
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:21
Member (2022)
English to Romanian
+ ...
Kay Denney wrote: I used to when I worked in-house at an agency, but as a freelancer, never. Iulia Parvu wrote:
...and if the pay is at least decent. I've recently had an "offer" to evaluate 200-word translation samples for $1 apiece. Just mentioning it so that you can all laugh (or cry), too. To be honest, I could tell within a minute or so whether the translation was any good. There were three or four pitfalls that most translators would fall right into, and the same people also didn't bother with running a spell check. I only spent more than a couple of minutes on those who ran the spell check properly and navigated the pitfalls competently. I probably managed to assess nearly 30 tests an hour like that. Given the pittance I was paid, my boss was quids in.
I agree; however, the assessment involved writing down the types of errors with examples. It wasn't just a simple YES or NO task.
| | | | Liena Vijupe
Latvia
Local time: 16:21
Member (2014)
French to Latvian
+ ...
| Occasionally, but I usually refuse | Oct 1, 2023 |
Lingua 5B wrote:
No, and I would be too expensive for the job. Based on what they offer, I may only conclude that test translation assessors work extremely cheaply.
Based on the few times I've submitted my own translations for a test and received them back with corrections, I can conclude the same. On some occasions I've even wondered if the assessment was done by a human.
I've done it a couple times too. Telling whether a translation is good or not (or maybe not so good, but has a potential to be good with just a little bit of work/attention) is easy. What I hate is that they usually ask to document and explain everything for those who don't even know my language and that just takes too much of my time.
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Nikolay Novitskiy
Russian Federation
Local time: 18:21
Member (2018)
English to Russian
| Often. And I love doing assessments! | Oct 2, 2023 |
Each time I make an assessment, I find ways to improve the style, the fluency, etc. I call those amendments "preferential" of course. And when I find a real mistake... I'm jubilant! And yes, I explain ERRRRYTHING to the client and to the tanslator themselves - as thoroughly as possible! What was corrected and why.
And of course I tell'em that the assessed work was good and fluent (if itreally was), and that it became even better with my precious help.
And well... it pay... See more Each time I make an assessment, I find ways to improve the style, the fluency, etc. I call those amendments "preferential" of course. And when I find a real mistake... I'm jubilant! And yes, I explain ERRRRYTHING to the client and to the tanslator themselves - as thoroughly as possible! What was corrected and why.
And of course I tell'em that the assessed work was good and fluent (if itreally was), and that it became even better with my precious help.
And well... it pays off. They keep sending me assessment tasks of all sorts, and they agree to my higher rates  'cause I'm such a Pro! ▲ Collapse
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I've been asked this year for the first time and I hope it will happen again.
At first I was a little reluctant, but, to my surprise, I loved doing it.
It gave me the chance to see how other people would translate the same text and I learned a lot.
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Like twice a month, usually pieces that require flow and proper writing, besides perfect understanding (words and point) and formal correctness.
Even with such content, many have their first draft processed by MT, which shows in the final translation - sigh.
I occasionally read good translations, but they're too few and far apart for my liking.
I do this service for long-standing agency clients only (so that I contribute to the process of being made 'redundant'), I charg... See more Like twice a month, usually pieces that require flow and proper writing, besides perfect understanding (words and point) and formal correctness.
Even with such content, many have their first draft processed by MT, which shows in the final translation - sigh.
I occasionally read good translations, but they're too few and far apart for my liking.
I do this service for long-standing agency clients only (so that I contribute to the process of being made 'redundant'), I charge an hourly rate and there's no disguised 'productivity' target.
Philippe ▲ Collapse
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 16:21
Member
English to Turkish
| Digging your own grave? | Oct 2, 2023 |
Philippe Etienne wrote:
I do this service for long-standing agency clients only (so that I contribute to the process of being made 'redundant')
By that I suppose you mean helping other existing translators get the chop as a result of the new (cheaper) blood coming in? But your position there is secure?
I remember reading a post by a Turkish translator who said after having assessed a test translation for an agency, he never heard from them again for jobs... This kind of explains why some people feel the need to nip things in the bud...
[Edited at 2023-10-02 13:06 GMT]
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Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 15:21
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Nikolay Novitskiy wrote:
Each time I make an assessment, I find ways to improve the style, the fluency, etc. I call those amendments "preferential" of course. And when I find a real mistake... I'm jubilant! And yes, I explain ERRRRYTHING to the client and to the tanslator themselves - as thoroughly as possible! What was corrected and why.
Those that make preferential amendments often miss real mistakes. I saw this time and time again. They replace synonyms just for the sake of it, then miss a huge blatant mistranslation (a critical error). Are those peanut paying reviewers?
| | | | | Whenever my company is hiring | Oct 2, 2023 |
I'm not a freelancer, and it's my job to screen candidates and to create translation tests from time to time. I don't think a reviewer should just send back the correct translation and call it a day: what I do instead is write a critical review of the test translation where I explain what's wrong with it and why it's wrong – and highlight the good points as well. So, every candidate gets 100% human feedback on their work. The longest reviews go to candidates who get the passing grade: t... See more I'm not a freelancer, and it's my job to screen candidates and to create translation tests from time to time. I don't think a reviewer should just send back the correct translation and call it a day: what I do instead is write a critical review of the test translation where I explain what's wrong with it and why it's wrong – and highlight the good points as well. So, every candidate gets 100% human feedback on their work. The longest reviews go to candidates who get the passing grade: they often make the same mistakes as those who fail but there's always something that tells me they can do better so I really go into details explaining why I chose to give them a chance and what practices they should adopt or abandon. Of course, I also give examples of better translations. Maybe some of those who'd fail could also do better if they tried harder, but their tests just failed to communicate that ability. I never received indignant replies to my reviews claiming that they were bulls**t; instead, some candidates would thank me for them ▲ Collapse
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Baran Keki wrote:
...By that I suppose you mean helping other existing translators get the chop as a result of the new (cheap) blood coming in? But your position there is secure?...
I am not told why translators are assessed. I take the money. Perhaps to populate their provider databases, to increase their capacity in my language pair because of new business, or to replace me from next month. My position with those long standing agencies is as secure as being freelance. I might be digging my own grave, but at least it's humanly dug, without MT-powered shovel stepping in uninvited. It's dug more slowly, but the pit is much better-looking.
So I likely lose some business in the process, with the agency redirecting some of their projects towards new blood, but I am also assigned new clients of theirs.
I also like to believe that new translators don't remain cheap for long when in demand, so competition based on price alone may be marginal.
Philippe
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