VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Bish · Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 9:28 am Post subject: The state of translation...

I recently responded to an audition which was to be delivered in English, but the only copy available at the time was in French. I suspect they were on a fishing expedition. So, I translated a section of the text and submitted. I still don't know about the voice gig... but I was offered the translation gig as I "really captured what was being said". (Thanks to Liz for helping me with rates).

To me, this was a simple process... let Google translate do the heavy lifting, use my schoolboy-level French to round off the rough edges and then study the idioms and work out what was actually being said, rather than the literal meaning of words being used. It was pretty easy as it was a "cafe conversation". I accept that my British/European background allows me to view languages (especially French) as something not altogether alien. I'm probably as comfortable with it as certain Americans have become with Spanish (if that's not an over-simplification).

It's not my first time doing this... I did some Italian a couple of months back and everyone was very happy. I've also "polished" translations when they weren't done by a native English speaker (I think we've all had to do that though!)

As far as I can see, the translation business must have been hurt by services such as Google Translate. The translator can get a rough draft and then the work is all about grammar and idiom. Has the translation business been hit hard by these automated processes which now enable people like us (VOs etc.) to take on these duties? Should I have declined and sent them to a professional translator? ... Or is this value-add service that I should cultivate?
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

Bruce · Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 7:02 am Post subject:

If you're comfortable with it I'd keep doing it until the merde hits the ventilateur. It's plus business and could make you très précieux.

Pardon me. I have to go suck on a croissant now.

B
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I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

The translations to English I get from my European clients are sooooo baaaaaaaaad. Definitely go for it. A French Medical client told me "I apologize for the mistakes, you can do whatever you want with it. I trust you. I've been completely disappointed by all the different translators. I need this program in over a dozen languages, and all of the translations have been terrible."

Or something to that effect. Maybe I lost something in translation.

Google is good for translation, (I actually like Bing Translation better) but MyMemory.org is amazing. You can almost take their output as-is.

http://mymemory.translated.net/
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and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too!

Jen Gosnell · Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:25 pm Post subject:

I find this thread really interesting. I would venture that I could do the same from French or Spanish, possibly Italian. I've seen enough of it over the years in my language and singing studies that I don't find the idea intimidating at all.

I've been considering formalizing some ideas around script editing services, too, so maybe I'll add this to the pot, especially in light of Lance's comments about typical quality of translations. I can't say I see the down side for my business at this point in its development.
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Lizden · Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 5:26 pm Post subject:

Hmmmm...this is a little tough for me.

Translation is an art as much as a science and good translators are VERY precious indeed. Being fluent in both English & French, technically I COULD offer translation as an extra service, but I only do it rarely, and mostly for "easy" telephony scripts that I can do in my sleep.

Just because I can, doesn't mean that I want to.
Frankly, I hate translating. It is time consuming and an extremely precise practice. I was a simultaneous interpreter in my youth, and enjoyed that, but translation, not so much.

Mostly because I am so conscious of how many badly translated scripts I have been given to record, and how difficult it makes it for me to voice (some of which I have actually refused to record & sent back to the clients).

If it's anything over 200 words I either tell the client to get a professional translator to do it, or I recommend the translator I have used for years.

That said: if you feel comfortable enough in a foreign language to translate a script into English (translating INTO your mother tongue is always easier) then go for it! Just make sure that you are aware of any idioms so you don't make any glaring errors.

And as to computer translations? Do. NOT. get me started!
I have gotten more than I can count...and the comment is always the same: "What do you mean the translation doesn't make sense? The words are in French, aren't they?" Ummm....yeah....but not in any coherent order!
Explode

People are ALWAYS surprised when I can "tell" that it is a computer generated translation.

Anyway...all this to say that if you feel comfortable doing it, great!
If the client is happy: even better! Laugh

Let the sacks o' cash flow in! Laugh

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Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com

Mike Harrison · Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 5:50 pm Post subject:

Effective communication – the kind that’s supposed to engage and inspire for a positive, hopefully game-changing result – will be in real trouble when computer-translated scripts spoken by computer-generated voices are deemed ‘acceptable.’

Not at all a pleasant thought. I just threw up a little.
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Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
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heyguido · Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 7:14 pm Post subject:

I'm with Liz here....

I grew up around the world.... With interpreters and translators a part of everyday life.

Google Translate is the equivalent of pidgin English, at best.... And even worse when translating to other languages. Better than a guidebook? Yes. But effective communication? Doubtful.

And, even those who do it every day struggle to handle context and nuance.

Help a client out with an obvious error in translation? Absolutely.

But present yourself as an expert at the risk of your client's credibility?

Don't be that guy.
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Don Brookshire
"Wait.... They wanna PAY me for this?"

melissa eX · Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 10:03 pm Post subject:

I'm also with Liz and Don. I translate simple phone prompts - I used to do more but I don't have the time anymore and, like Liz, it's not my favorite activity. I typically outsource. There's so much more involved with translation than simply crafting coherent sentences out of a computer translated script. All of the things we ask before we record a script - who's speaking? who's the audience etc.etc are also involved in translation. Can you get that from a foreign language script with just a passing familiarity with the language? Will you know when something is being said tongue-in-cheek? If you take Spanish for example, that might depend upon the country the writer is from. The romance languages are much richer languages than English and to capture the subtleties you need to really know them well. You need to be very very careful with idioms and colloquialisms - there are many that seem to express the same thought but there are subtle differences depending upon where the person using them is from and who they're speaking to. And with just a familiarity with the language, how will you know something is an idiom in the first place - so you CAN look it up?
Then there are all those false cognates that can land you in hot water - the most obvious being - in Spanish - embarazada - which, whatever it may look like, does NOT mean embarrassed. It means pregnant. Oops.

and Lance

heyguido · Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 10:35 pm Post subject:

Yonie · CM Joined: 31 Aug 2011 Posts: 906

Google translate doesn't even help make it intelligible sometimes; I say this as a bilingual.

Lee Gordon · Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 1:07 am Post subject:

I think computer generated translations have to be just as good as computer generated voiceovers. cool

"Darmok at Tenagra when the walls fell."
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Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
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Bruce · Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 8:30 am Post subject:

And Spanish speakers don't always agree with other Spanish speakers...I guess due to regional and educational differences. Many, many times I'd have Spanish VO talent in my studio telling me how wrong the script word choices were even though it was written/translated by another Latin native.

Whatcha gonna do?

Hey, cool. Google Spanish translated the above into: Qué vas a hacer?

And was close enough in several others as I translated back and forth. I want to travel with a babel fish in my ear.

( http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Babel_Fish )

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

Bish · Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 8:46 am Post subject:

OK... this thread is imploding nicely... sequential Star Trek and HHGTTG references. Smile

Just to make it clear, in no way am I saying that Google translate (or whatever) are suitable tools for finished translation... just for a first pass to save looking up the actual "words". The meaning and use of these words is the difficult bit Smile

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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

Lizden · Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 8:59 am Post subject:

Peter, dahlink, sweetheart!
You know that when we spoke, I told you exactly this, right? Smile

(including the fact that I HATE translation Smile

)

The thing is, you are correct in saying that as a Brit you probably do have a better handle on Euro languages than "regular" folk, and I KNOW that you would never attempt to translated a 9000 word medical narration.
(right? Wink

)
The fact that the client said you understood the inherent meaning of the conversation and not just the words means you "get it." Yay!

Casual conversation might be easier, and again, if the client is happy, who am I to say that you shouldn't do it....it's those long scripts that were stuck in Google translate which are the bane of my existence.

And to get back to your point, yes, translators are feeling the pinch when it comes to this.
As VOs we are still dealing with HUMAN newbies.
Translators are up against Google.
Fun for them. Not.
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Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com

Lizden · Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:03 am Post subject:

Oh Don!!!!!