Protecting Your Identity

Whether you are a translation client or a translation service provider, your identity is at risk of being stolen by translation identity thieves. Stolen client information is used by these scammers to dupe unsuspecting translators into offering services that are not paid for. The scam can go further where the translator loses money and reputation.

For the translators, their stolen identity is used to swindle unsuspecting clients of their money only to be presented with shoddily translated work.

Whether you are a client or a translator, how can you protect your identity against theft by internet scammers?  Read more...

How To Retain Freelance Translation Clients

How to retain freelance clients is a thought that preoccupies many freelancers’ thoughts most of the time. Why is this so important? Unlike a fulltime job, freelancing tasks and services can be here now and no more the next minute. Retaining clients, especially good ones, is paramount for continued earnings. Although every client is different, there is an overall similarity among clients. This includes what they love and hate in a freelance service provider.

Identifying these factors will not only endear you to clients but it will also make them come to you and even pass good words about you to their friends.  Read more...

Freelance Translation Rates

How do you set the right price for your translation work? You don’t want to set your prices so high that you discourage potential clients from coming for your services. On the other hand, you don’t want to sell yourself short. You need to feel well-compensated for the work you have done. One question many new translators ask is whether they should post their rates for potential clients to see. While this may help clients to determine whether your services are within their budget, it can play against you. This is because:  Read more...

• Every translation job is unique

How to Avoid Translation Scams

How to avoid translation scams is a question that occupies many translators’ mind. The industry is not spared from this vice and so every translator must be vigilant to be safe.

How Translation Scams Work

One of the main aims of these con artists is to get the resume/CV of a reputable translator. From these, they make some changes that a client may not immediately note to be a ‘doctored’ document. With such a CV or resume, they impersonate another translator and get hired for translation jobs they are not qualified for. In this case the client who hires them pays and gets shoddy translation work.  Read more...

Wycliffe Bible Translators

The bible is one of the most translated and distributed book in history. Wycliffe bible translators are among the many organizations that make this possible. Who are Wycliffe Bible Translators and what do they do?

A brief history of Wycliffe Bible Translators indicates that the name is derived from John Wycliffe who is known for translating the first English Bible. The modern group of Wycliffe translators was started in 1942. The aim of these translators is to get the Bible, God’s Word into the hands of all people in a language they understand. To achieve this Wycliffe Associates work ‘smart, not harder’ as posted in the ‘Mission Network News online’ of January 12, 2015.  Read more...

How to Make Over 100k as a Translator

There is a significant number of translators who have broken the $100K mark in their annual income. There are several ways of achieving this feat. Some of these are discussed below.

1. Language chosen

In the U.S translators who specialize in certain languages earn more than others. Top on the list are Middle East and Asia languages. Among these are:

• Japanese
• Arabic
• Chinese

Other well-paying languages are Dutch, Spanish, French and German. A person working in this niche is more likely to make 100K a year as a translator than another engaging in Italian or Portuguese translation that generally pay low rates.  Read more...

Transcription vs Translation

In linguistic studies, transcription and translation are commonly used terms. Although both terms refer to spoken language, they are distinctly different. The only thing they have in common is that they are used in the documentation and at times recording of words so that they can be understood by another person not necessarily the originator of the words or the one who translated or transcribed the words.

What is Transcription?  Read more...

Lowest Paying Translation Languages

A freelance translator’s work can be unpredictable. Landing a high paying translation job is desirable but also knowing about the low paying ones is important for comparison purposes. What determines the rates of translation from one language to another?

The main determining factor is demand. If the need for translators exceeds the available service providers, the pay for translating to these languages goes up. For example in the U.S, demand for translators in the following languages is very high and the pay for translators in their specific niche is correspondingly high.  Read more...

• Chinese
• Japanese

International Business Translation

International business translation needs vary from one industry to another. There is no one-fits-all approach to this growing service. However, there are common factors that all business owners or decision makers must keep in mind in order to achieve their global marketing goals. The outline can be modified to appeal to any of the major industries that need translation. These include:

• Tourism and international travel
• Legal services
• Medical services
• Financial services
• ICT
• Website localization
• Immigration services

The 5 common international business translation considerations are discussed below.

1. Qualifications  Read more...

Website Localization

What is Website Localization?

Many businesses desire to reach a global audience and translation service websites are no exception. A challenge arises when the existing site doesn’t reflect the language and culture of the target audience. Adapting such a website to meet these two needs easily solves the problem. This adaptation goes beyond translating the wording of the website. It needs to consider the dialect of the local language. Other considerations include:  Read more...

• Images that the clients can identify with. This includes color codes, photos and graphics.
• Site design that reflects the lifestyle of the target clients