After been in the piles of work for some time, we need to stop ourselves for a break, to take a look at the world around us. Because amidst the busy-ness, time never does stop for anyone. So when we stopped to look around, things have already changed so much that one may not be able to recognise or follow up.

Same goes for the world of translation… 5 years ago when you want to look for these companies to assist you in translation, you can only find a few under yellow pages. However now if you were to look into yellow pages again, you will find more of such providers, big or small.

Does this mean the pie is getting smaller?

According to “The World is Flat”, it seems that now the world has become more globalised and that even smaller companies can compete with the large corporations in the business world, and they not only can compete within their home country, they can also compete globally, thanks to the availability of the world wide web.

And of course with globalisation, comes the need for people to communicate more with counterparts who may not understand one’s own language. So the need for translation and interpretation increases.

However with the increase in the demand for such services, there is also a need to ensure that the quality provided is maintained at its highest. Translation is a skill which not many people, although whom seem to be able to speak a couple of languages, are apt in. Same like the world, translators also need to keep improving and changing and look at the bigger picture – the World.

And anyway, that’s why we’ve also changed our blog outlook.

This headline was written by ANDREW ADAM NEWMAN on June 28, 2009 for the New York Times at:

Translators Wanted at LinkedIn. The Pay? $0 an Hour.

It says this: “About half of the 42 million members of LinkedIn, the online professional networking Web site, are outside the United States, and to further expand internationally, the company hopes to be translated into more than its current four languages — English, Spanish, French and German. But when LinkedIn asked thousands of its translator members to complete a survey this month that asked whether they would consider volunteering to translate the site into other languages, many said “nyet.””

If it were you, would you do this job for free? It really is a controversy. Right now, I’m even having a split mind whether I would do it. It takes up much time and effort. If I get more sales and recognition from doing this, yes, perhaps I would.

For those who would accept the job, I salut your courage and time, but hope that you can consider twice or thrice or even ten times, because everything we do, these intentions can be interpreted differently along the way.

In the Singapore context, anyone can be a linguist! We are a bunch who can speak English (being our first language), Mandrin, Malay, and for some of us who have been living with grandparents since young, can maybe speak languages like Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, etc. This is not so much of a difficult feat, since we grow up in this environment. I used to joke with some clients who asked me whether I do any translation. I said “Yes of course. So if you need to interpret anything in Hokkien or Teochew, please look for me!” And usually, I get laughs.

Because simply, there’s no translation requirement for most of these dialects.

Unlike some Singaporean translators whom we know, not only are they effectively bilingual in both English and Mandrin, some of them even went on to master a third or even a forth language! Personally, I really admire their courage. Having recently tried to pick up French, I realise it is not an easy task. Every language has its uniqueness, and one has to be emersed in that environment in order to become a language specialist. Sometimes, even the natives might not know as much!

Thus for this, kudos to all linguists out there! I really admire your courage and determination to help us all bridge cultures. The world is smaller because of you!

I wake early this morning to go for jogging.  A habit that is long forgotten but I pick it again to keep myself fit and healthy.  And perhaps, to jump start my “engine” for a wonderful day ahead!

Usually, I would play a motivation cd in my little “cargo van”  to perk myself up mentally…if the physical exercise did not work on me.  Today, I am listening to Joe Girard.  In case, you are wondering who is Joe Girard.  He is the world’s Greatest Salesman.  During his 15 year selling career, he had sold 13,001 new cars and trucks, and all at retail.  This is a guiness record and is still has not been broken yet.

While listening to the cd, my attention is drawn to him mentioning that “honesty is the best policy”.  I truely agreed with him that when faced with a difficult situation and if we are caught in between, it would be wise that we own up to our fault and tell the truth to our friends and colleagues.

If we betray the trust between both parties, we might not win back that trust again.  This is especially true in our translation work.  If we find out that certain terms are not properly translated, then we need to highlight to the client.  The client will definitely not be pleased to hear about the mistakes.  We will also be reprimand by them.

But at least, we are able to maintain the friendship between both parties.  If we admit to our mistakes with the best intention of resolving the issues, our client will understand it and accept us better.  In a way, we may even solidify the working relationship further.

I truely believe that Honesty is even more important in our everyday’s dealing be it in business, our working place or with our loved ones than ever before.

I have tried interpretation myself, be it simultaneous or consecutive. It feels as if you are a split person, having the left side working quite differently from the right side of your brains! The ears would listen in 1 language, and the mouth would reproduce the words in another language, almost at the same time.

A good interpretor does not allow for a lag in the speech. He or she will start almost at the same time as the speaker. It is as if the interpretor is the speaker! It takes a lot of knowledge on the topic as well as understandingof the speaker. If the interpretor has worked with the same speaker for some time, he or she will be able to guess what the speaker want to say in the next sentence. This takes a lot of practise, and not to say, much more energy and concentration on the matter.

Why more energy? A good interpretor not only translates verbally the words, he or she would transfer the emotions of the speaker to the audience too!

Not all translators can be interpretors. For translation, you have all the time in the world to slowly “digest” the source and “spit out” the translated words. It is not so for interpretation. Even for consecutive interpretation. You would only have that sentence length of time to process the source and form the correct words.

It is a very challenging job and I did enjoy my experiences as an interpretor. So, for those who would like to try out interpretation, you can start with listening to some audio and translate on the spot. You can record what you have interpreted, so that you can check back on your translation later on.

Have fun!

Seeing that translators are now becoming the up and coming industry, this shows how closely knitted our world has become. The need to communicate with our counterparts in other parts of the world has made this industry boom over the past few years.

Translation has now become a BIG part of our lives, knowing that with globalisation and migration of people, culture and businesses, it is ever so important to know other languages.

I used to learn French, and while I dragged my feet to the language school ever twice a week, I used to wonder whether I would ever need the language, since most people that I come into contact with at that time speak English or Chinese. However decades down the road, I master the courage to take up the language again, because now the need has come for us to communicate with clients overseas! Well, everything starts and happens for a reason, isn’t it?

The article in TIMES magazine has really pleasantly amazed me, and I see this industry still growing as the need to reach a wider network of people increases. Thus we are in a very exciting role, with more opportunities to translate different kinds of materials, and learn much more than what 1 culture can offer to another.

3 Cheers to the Translators in the World! 

I have just finished reading “The Fifth Mountain” by Paulo Coelho.  For those who do not know him yet, he is the same author who wrote the international bestseller “The Alchemist”.  This book “The Alchemist”  has been translated into over 60 different types of languages and has sold over 75 millions copies!

As I am reading “The Fifth Mountain”, I found that it is immensely intriguing and it keeps me reading on to find out what will happen to the main character, Elijah.  It is a story about a person finding his own courage and commitment to his higher purpose.  All of us have our higher purpose when we are born, but many of us choose to ignore or defy that purpose.

Well for me, this book brings a great sense of inspiration to me.  I will follow my instinct and achieve my higher purpose in life – to serve mankind through better communication and education.

Because Paulo is a Brazillian writer, so I assume that the book is written in Portugese and translated into English and other languages.  Kudos to the translators who did a marvellous job.  The whole book is very well written and the principles behind it are timeless.  I believe the team of translators and editors have spent lots and lots of time doing research, translating, proofreading, re-editing and proofreading the content before it is good enough to be published.  The team effort and synergy is enormous.

I guess the translators and editors have a great responsibility to the author and the readers.  The writing style and flow must be consistent  without losing any flavour as compared to the original copy.

We are in the midst of doing a book translation.  Hence, we can share their feelings and responsibilities.  We will definitely keep you update on our new book launch.

For those who would like to have a read of the reviews or to get the book, here’s it:

Recently, I just watch this movie “Slumdog Millionaire”. It is a very compelling movie illustrating a man’s journey in finding his own dreams, true love and destiny.

It strikes a deep thought for me. We will never know our true purpose until we step out and start this self-discovery journey. We just gonna keep on believing and taking actions towards our dream.

When I first joined my friend’s translation company, a lot of my people (even my family members) start to question me. Are you making the right move? What if the situation does not turn out the way that you want? Are you getting enough to spend each month? Blah…Blah…Blah. Lot of negativities being thrown to me.

I have been with my company for almost 2 years now. Looking back, it has been a very fruitful experience for me. We have led our company to new heights each year. Our team of translators has also grown in size to over one hundred till now. This is definitely a more challenging experience than my previous engineering job. Besides equipping with good translation skills, I also need to do project management, sales and marketing and leading my own translator teams. The true joy is seeing your company and yourself growing daily.

If you ask me, what it takes to be a Successful Translator? Is it…
a) Passion
b) Perseverance
c) Continuous Learning
d) Continuous Improvement

Well, my answer is all of the above. Hopefully at the end of our journey, we would become a better person to our society and this world. And not forgetting, to fulfill our ultimate destiny and purpose in life.

Well, some said it is written.

Often, we will get client inquiring for translation service when in fact, they require interpretation service. Then we will spend the next few minutes explaining to them what is the difference between the two terms.

So why people get mix up with the 2 terms? People associate translation as “converting” from one language to another language. So anything to do with language conversion, it will mean translation whether it is for document or verbal. Interestingly, interpretation means oral translation.

I will usually explain to them that if anything that is to do with writing or brochure, it is translation. And if anything that is verbal, it is interpretation. Upon hearing this, our client is more aware of the difference. Hence they can tell their inquiry to us clearly. In this way, we can also tend to their inquiries faster.
This is what we call effective communication and good services to our clients.

So do you know the difference between translation and interpretation now?

Many people may get confuse over the difference between copywriting and translation. They are sets of very different specialised skills. Where copywriting is using words to sell or promote a person, business, opinion or idea, translation is to interpret the meaning of a text and communicate that in a different language.

Although clients may seek not to have the text in a direct translation form (which is supposed to be so, given that structures of sentences formed in different languages varies), translators do not regurgitate directly what is being given and spit out in the exact same way as it was in the source language. The translator should take into account the localisation required. The flow of the sentences translated within that paragraph should flow in its target language, and not force it to flow like the source texts.

We should not equate translators to copywriters. Copywriters are creative people responsible for an advertisement’s verbal or textual content, and they are in charge of bringing out the vibrancy of the copy that will sway the audience.

So do put this in mind when you are looking for that copywriter or translator to do your job. Know what you want, so that the people serving you can give you their best.