Do you think that the translator must do the identical format of the source text?
Thread poster: Dalia Nour
Dalia Nour
Dalia Nour  Identity Verified
Egypt
Local time: 17:01
Member (2018)
English to Arabic
+ ...
May 11, 2020

Hello,

One of the companies emailed me for a collaboration, they gave me a sample for a translation in a PowerPoint document. They told me that they need the same identical format with no errors.

I have translated the text (English to Arabic) which is really challenging and did my best to come up with similar PowerPoint format.

They emailed me back, telling me that my translation is almost perfect but they are not totally satisfied about the format of my
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Hello,

One of the companies emailed me for a collaboration, they gave me a sample for a translation in a PowerPoint document. They told me that they need the same identical format with no errors.

I have translated the text (English to Arabic) which is really challenging and did my best to come up with similar PowerPoint format.

They emailed me back, telling me that my translation is almost perfect but they are not totally satisfied about the format of my PowerPoint.

I have to do an identical format for any document they sent including the LOGO which is not allowed to screen it or take it as copy & paste!

They want to see my CREATIVITY in putting the logo also.

All that with the lowest offered rate $0.05 per word.

Note: If I made any mistake in the translation or even in the formatting, a penalty will be applied. They will deduct from the translation fee!

I'm wondering Now, Is the translator responsible about doing the perfect identical format for the document such as (PowerPoint, PDF....etc)?!

Should I concentrate on the translation itself or imagining the exact way of creating the original document?

I forget to tell you they required high translation capacity per day also (10-15) pages per day.

Share with me your thoughts please.

What do you feel about their requirement?

Thanks in advance,
Dalia
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Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 16:01
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Dalia May 11, 2020

Dalia Nour wrote:
Is the translator responsible about doing the perfect identical format for the document such as (PowerPoint, PDF....etc)?


Well, you could say the translator is responsible for anything that he accepts responsibility for. One should only accept responsibility for recreating logos etc. in the target language if you are capable of producing it well. If not, then you should tell your client that your service is limited to translating editable text or "wordprocessing text".

Generally speaking (I mean, if nothing specific was agreed between client and translator and the client asks only for a "translation" with similar/identical formatting and layout), for PPT and PDF files, the translator is responsible for translating the paragraphs, sentences, lists and headings and anything else whose formatting can be set using the most basic formatting tools. Anything that is so advanced that it requires graphic design skills or creating images in external programs is outside the scope of the translator's normal duty.

It is good that this client had made their wishes (and penalties) known, because now you know to avoid them. They expect too much. They expect the translator to do the graphic design. They do not want to spend time, effort and money on liaising between the translator and their own graphic designer. They basically want you to hire a graphic designer yourself and pay him a share of 5c per word for the number of words in the graphic. I don't often use the J word, but in this case I will: they're a joke.


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Dalia Nour
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Dalia Nour
Dalia Nour  Identity Verified
Egypt
Local time: 17:01
Member (2018)
English to Arabic
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you so much Mr. Samuel for sharing your point of view, May 11, 2020

Actually, I think also that they expect too much. I have wanted to make sure that I'm not the ONLY person who think so. The translator is not a super hero who can translate a perfect translation for over daily translation capacity with perfect formatting in a specific short deadline, on the other hand, you will get only 5 cents per word.

I don't think that any professional translator will accept such requirements.

To be honest, I got angry because I didn't know their
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Actually, I think also that they expect too much. I have wanted to make sure that I'm not the ONLY person who think so. The translator is not a super hero who can translate a perfect translation for over daily translation capacity with perfect formatting in a specific short deadline, on the other hand, you will get only 5 cents per word.

I don't think that any professional translator will accept such requirements.

To be honest, I got angry because I didn't know their requirements before performing the test.










[Edited at 2020-05-11 22:39 GMT]

[Edited at 2020-05-11 22:40 GMT]

[Edited at 2020-05-11 22:40 GMT]
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Tom in London
marijaflora
 


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Do you think that the translator must do the identical format of the source text?







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