Lecture presented at Anglotic 2018

1. r
Translation as a Profesional
Activity: Skills, Tools and Market
Dra. Chelo Vargas Sierra
University of Valencia, 20th November 2018
IULMA, Universidad de Alicante

2. ¿Cuál es tu valor diferenciador?
My neighbour María can speak
English, so I’ll send her the tourist
brochure in PDF format so that
she can translate it. We need the
translation back tomorrow!

3. 3
Translated PDF
Will she be able
to submit it with
the same format,
as the original
text is?
Questionsarising from the previous situation…
PDF editing
Will María be
able to open the
PDF and edit it?
Professional
translator
Does knowing a second
language qualify a
person to be a
professional translator?
Speaking two
languages
Can a person who
speaks two languages
translate?
Time
Will she be able to
have the translation
ready in one day?
Translation problems
Will she know how to
translate all the cultural
items, proper nouns,
terminology, etc. the original
text contains?

4. 4
Content Overview
For this presentation
TOOLS
The most important tools in a
translator’s workbench.
MARKET
Some aspects about
translation market will be
presented.
CONCLUSIONS
A quick recap.
SKILLS
Necessary skills to be
developed when we want to
build up a translator’s profile.

6. UNE-EN-
15038:2006
Translation
services.
Service
requirements
A quality standard for
translation services
providers (an organisation
or person who supplies
translation services)
This standard sets out the:
•Basic requirements for the human
resources and process used in the
provision of translation services
•Client<->TSP relationship
•Procedures for translation services

7. Skills
Competence: Demonstrated ability to
apply knowledge and skill
7

8. 8
TRANSLATING
ability to translate
texts to the
required level
LINGUISTIC & TEXTUAL
(SL & TL)
Linguists should have full
comprehension of the SL and
a mastery of the TL.
Knowledge of the
conventions of the type of
text
CULTURAL
Translations should be done with
the target audience in mind with
respect to value systems,
behavioral standards and locale.
RESEARCH & INFOMINING
effectively acquire the additional
linguistic and specialized
knowledge. Experience in the use
of documentary resources
Five Categories
For COMPETENCES
TECHNICAL
Proficiency in hardware and
software tools necessary to carry
out the translations

9. 9
Higher Education Degree
In Translation
9
Equivalent Qualification
in other areas PLUS two years of
documented experience
translating
Five-year Experience
At least five years of professional
translation experience
How to acquire
These COMPETENCES

10. TECHNICAL COMPETENCE

11. 11
1 Translation Projects
Equipment necessary to
carry out translation
projects, as well as for the
confidential treatment,
storage, retrieval, archiving
and destruction of
documents and data
2 Communication Systems
Equipment for the necessary
communication systems,
software and hardware
3 Relevant Sources & Media
Access to relevant sources
and media
Technical Competence
Includes the ability to use the following RESOURCES

13. 13
Translation
&
Technologies
CAT tools
(TMS +
others)
AT
Postediting
Terminology
Management
Corpus
Automatic
Term
Extraction
Localization,
Subtitling &
Multimedia
Project
Management
Quality
Assurance
Internet,
Infomining

14. Workstation
(BC)

15. Workstation
Nowadays

16. 16
CAT Tools: the basics

17. 17
What is a CAT Tool?
Meaning and Scope
Acronym for Computer-Assisted
Translation Tool or Computer-Aided
Translation Tool
- Wide concept -> any software o
digital resource (dictionaries,
Internet, corpus, etc.) to help a
human translator during the
translation process.

18. 18
CAT
Tool
TMS
Termbases
Electronic
dictionaries
Corpora
Spellchecker
Internet
Social Media
Devices
Automatic
Translation
Word
processor
What is a CAT Tool?
Meaning and Scope

19. 19
What is a CAT Tool?
Meaning and Scope
TMS -> Translation Memory System:
a software that uses translation
memories (TM).
A TM is a database that stores source
segments along with their translations,
i.e., segment pairs.
TMS are also called CAT Tools

20. 20
What is a CAT Tool?
Meaning and Scope
Translate
Save
Reuse

21. It looks for
matches
What is a CAT Tool?
Basic performance

22. 22
What is a CAT Tool?
Meaning and Scope
Two main elements of every CAT tool:
- TM; and
- Termbase(s): a type of automatic
dictionary look-up.
- It is an integrated module within
the tool.
- Bilingual or multilingual
- It contains terms and their
associated information

23. What is a CAT Tool?
Basic performance
termbase

24. What is a CAT Tool?
Basic performance
termbase

25. 25
It stores the source/target
segment pairs (TUs)in a
special database (the TM)
STORE
It retrieves
translations when an
identical or similar
segment comes up
later
RETRIEVE
It automatically segments the ST
SEGMENT
What is a CAT Tool?
Performance of a TMS
HUMAN TRANSLATION

26. 26
It stores the source/target
segment pairs (TUs)in a
special database (the TM)
STORE
It retrieves
translations when an
identical or similar
segment comes up
later
RETRIEVE
It automatically segments the ST
SEGMENT
What is a CAT Tool?
Performance of a TMS
HUMAN TRANSLATION

27. 27
It stores the source/target
segment pairs (TUs)in a
special database (the TM)
STORE
It retrieves
translations when an
identical or similar
segment comes up
later
RETRIEVE
It automatically segments the ST
SEGMENT
What is a CAT Tool?
Performance of a TMS
HUMAN TRANSLATION

28. 28
It stores the source/target
segment pairs (TUs)in a
special database (the TM)
STORE
It retrieves
translations when an
identical or similar
segment comes up
later
RETRIEVE
It automatically segments the ST
SEGMENT
What is a CAT Tool?
Performance of a TMS
HUMAN TRANSLATION

29. 29CAT Tool Workflow
PRETRANSLATION
IMPORT ALIGNMENT IMPORT
IMPORT
TM TB
EXPORT
.XLIFF
.TMX
PREPRODUCTION
TRANSLATION
EXPORT
SOURCE FILES
TARGET FILES

30. XLIFF
Filters Filters
Source file
Editor
Target file
HTML DLL
EXE PowerPoint
InDesign
PHP SGML
FrameMaker
DOCX PDF
RTF
OpenOffice XLS
TXT XML
HTML DLL
EXE PowerPoint
InDesign
PHP SGML
FrameMaker
DOCX PDF
RTF
OpenOffice XLS
TXT XML
The Editor
Editor displays both the document to be translated and its
translation side by side

31. 31
The Editor
In SDL Trados Studio
XLIFF
(XML Localization Interchange
File Format)

32. 32
Main Files Involved
In any TEXT format
1. Source document
.SDLPRJ
2. Project
.SDLTM
3. TM 5. Bilingual file
.SDLXLIFF
.SDLTB
4. Termbase Others (.TMX)

33. CAT Tool
Types of installation
Cloud-based
(Software as a Service)
desktop or client-
server mode

34. Desktop-based CAT Tools

35. Collaborative
translation
environment(Cloud-
based SaaS )
Cloud-based CAT Tools

36. TRANSLATION MARKET
36

37. 37
Starting in the Translation Market
As a Translator
Be visible
Get certified
Prepare a detailed CV
Be active in social media
Stay connected

38. 38
Types of Customers
Sectors of Activity
Source: Rico & Aragón, 2016

39. 39
Customer Profile
Source: Rico & Aragón, 2016

40. 40
Number of Translation
Companies
Source: Rico & Aragón, 2016

41. 41
Working Languages
Source: Rico & Aragón, 2016
From SPANISH to…

42. 42
Working Languages
Source: Rico & Aragón, 2016
From X to SPANISH

43. 43
Monthly Labour Market Information
by Occupation
Source: Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE)
September, 2018 Philologists, Interpreters & Translators

44. 44
Labour Market Information
by Occupation (2014)
Source: Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE)
Year 2014 - Philologists, Interpreters & Translators

45. 45
Labour Market Information
by Occupation (2014)
Source: Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE)
Year 2014 - Philologists, Interpreters & Translators

46. 46
Labour Market Information
by Occupation (2014)
Source: Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE)
Year 2014 - Philologists, Interpreters & Translators

47. 47
Labour Market Information
by Occupation (2014)
Source: Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE)
Year 2014 - Philologists, Interpreters & Translators

48. • The Translator’s Home Companion:
https://goo.gl/VMZgSU
• TranslationDirectory.com (agencies per country):
https://goo.gl/u63nXM
• Blacklisted Translation Outsourcers (not free):
https://goo.gl/xMZif
Translation Agencies List
For Translators

49. Other Sites to Find a Job
For Translators

50. Other Sites to Find a Job
For Translators
• Online Workplaces:
• Proz.com
• Aquarius.net
• Translators Associations (e.g.: ASETRAD
[https://www.facebook.com/Asetrad/], La Xarxa
[https://www.facebook.com/xarxativ/]).
• EURES. The European Job Mobility Portal:
https://goo.gl/GCqfVw

51. Translation Rates
• Vademécum del traductor: https://goo.gl/gCscG6
• TranslatorsCafé: https://goo.gl/atMaaJ
• MondoAgit: https://goo.gl/BAZkfm

52. 52
Constant updating
Get out of your comfort zone. Emphasis should be
placed on continuous learning of the profession’s
new tools and processes.
Skills
Develop not only the translation skill, but add the
cultural, technical, linguistic, textual, research and
infomining skills -> Added Value.
Tools
A wide rage of tools involved in translation process,
being CAT tools crucial to the process.
Market
First, know the market, study the company you want
to work with. Then , be visible and be global!
Specialize in a specific subject, something you like.
RECAP
Key points to consider for your profesional future

53. 53
Professional translator
Do you think she was
able to properly
translate the brochure?
Ignoring translation
profession
Why didn’t the
Department of Tourism of
a town called Petrer
entrust this job to a
professional translator or
agency?
Questionsarising from the initial situation…

54. Questions?
Thanks for your attention!
Chelo Vargas Sierra, PhD
IULMA
University of Alicante
EMAIL
chelo.vargas@ua.es
Social Media
Twitter: @chelovargas