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The Allure and Risks of Translations Too Fast

September 8, 2015

Would anyone be comforted the next time they take a commercial flight if the pilot introduced themselves as the “fastest pilot in the skies?” Might one wonder whether a pilot that values speed so much would achieve it at the expense of air safety? Would a symphony conductor directing any of Beethoven’s nine symphonies at twice the tempo intended by the master […]

What Our Translators Eat For Breakfast

August 10, 2015

What do our translators eat for breakfast? Why even ask the question? Asking the question gives us an opportunity to mention that our translators eat whatever they want for breakfast, most likely in accordance with the local custom in their respective native countries. That’s because in order to provide the most authentic translations possible to our […]

The Allure and Risks of Translations Too Fast

September 8, 2015

What Our Translators Eat For Breakfast

August 10, 2015

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The Allure and Risks of Translations Too Fast

September 8, 2015

Would a symphony conductor directing any of Beethoven’s nine symphonies at twice the tempo intended by the master composer be acclaimed as a musical visionary? Of course not. A faster symphony is by no means a better or more inspiring symphony.

Still we see advertisements from commercial translation companies promoting their services as the “fastest, quickest, having the shortest project schedules,” and variations on this theme. These organizations publicly stake out their claims as the “fast food representatives” in the translation industry.

We suppose it’s possible that in these translation companies where speed of translation is so highly valued that translators are somehow psychologically programmed to perform skilled translation of complex texts at a significantly faster rate than other mere mortal translators. They are the ‘Jason Bournes’ of the translation industry (but then there are those awful headaches and frustrating identity memory lapses we imagine).

Still we wonder if performing translation services with speed foremost in mind might result in:

Statistically higher error rates
Corners being cut in QA
Less overall quality of attention invested in the translation process

Many professional translators state their daily translation capacity in the range of 2000-3000 words per day, depending on the complexity and subject matter of the project. Other things being equal, we agree that the speed at which high quality translations occur should be as fast as possible.

For emphasis we’ll state it again … as fast as possible. Although when your organization’s reputation is on the line … just not faster.

What Our Translators Eat For Breakfast

August 10, 2015

What do our translators eat for breakfast? Why even ask the question?

Asking the question gives us an opportunity to mention that our translators eat whatever they want for breakfast, most likely in accordance with the local custom in their respective native countries. That’s because in order to provide the most authentic translations possible to our clients, our translators don’t work in our US office. Instead they work from their respective countries of origin where they speak their native languages every day.

So with that in mind shown below are a few typical breakfasts from countries where some of our translators originate and work from:

In Brazil

“Coffee is a very important part of the Brazilian breakfast. Many Brazilians enjoy pingado, or warm milk with sweetened coffee, served in a glass.” — About Food

In China

“Many Chinese enjoy having a bowl of noodles for breakfast, and there are a wide variety of noodle dishes to choose from.” — China Highlights

In France

“A French person might enjoy some of last night’s baguette lightly toasted with a spoonful of jam (not jelly).” — the baguette diet

In Egypt

“The staple of the Egyptian breakfast, ‘fool’ is how it’s pronounced and it means Fava Beans.” — Food of Egypt

In Russia

“Typical fast breakfast is a pair of sandwiches with cheese or sausage (kolbasa). Russian sandwiches differ from US sandwiches a lot – it is usually a slice of bread, often some butter and a slice or two of cheese.” — Understand Russia

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

The Allure and Risks of Translations Too Fast

What Our Translators Eat For Breakfast

The Allure and Risks of Translations Too Fast

What Our Translators Eat For Breakfast

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

The Allure and Risks of Translations Too Fast

What Our Translators Eat For Breakfast

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