Hi, I’m Vivian from Elanso. I’m glad to share with you our new column “Star Translator”. More and more excellent Translators join us with the rapid development of Elanso, some of whom have completed projects on Elanso, but are still a step away from the Top Translators . They have shown their talent and strength to the Client with their action and effort!
Elanso will introduce these “Star Translators” to you from now on.Today we will talk to Maggielee about her life as a Translator!
Elanso Name: Maggielee Gender: Female
Working place: Zhengzhou, China
Profession: Translator
Translation Experience: 2 years
Language Pairs:
English -> Chinese Simplified (Interpretation)
Chinese Simplified -> English (Interpretation)
Chinese Simplified -> English (Translation)
English -> Chinese Simplified (Translation) Qualification: TEM 4, TEM 8, Japanese Level 1 (Henan Province)
Vivian: How long have you been working in the translation profession?
Maggielee: I have been engaged in the translation profession for almost two years ever since I graduated from the university. Firstly, I worked in the Translation Department in a company then followed by working in the International Trade Department. Both departments had good tie with translation.
Vivian: Does your existing job have any relevance to translation? Maggielee: Presently, I am working in a trading company where I am involved in most work. Since the international trade goes hand in hand with translation, a large volume of translating work is unavoidable.
Firstly, I need to translate the customers’ requirement for the convenience of quotation inquiry with manufacturers. Then I need to translate the factory’s quotation and product targets into English for customer’s reference. Occasionally, I need to visit the factory with my foreign boss as an interpreter including face-to-face negotiation with foreign customers. This really enhances my interpreting ability. The type of translation I am in is different from other common translations, which resemble a word-for-word exact translation of the original text. The international trade translation is a higher level translation. It is not only required to translate the customers’ or factories’ information into the needed communication, but also to embellish with the purpose of successful cooperation.
During my work in the foreign trade company, I have a chance to expose to many industries such as machinery, chemical processing, building materials, apparel and food. Key products involve crane, aerial lift vehicle, kneader, mixer, crusher, ball mill, titanium dioxide, caustic soda, lithopone, precipitated barium sulfate, bottom block, work clothes, and safety helmet. I am thankful to my work that enable me to broaden my horizon and accordingly to improve my translation ability.
Vivian: Your translations have had 100% of good feedback from the customers. Can you share your experience with other translators on how you went about achieving it? Maggielee: In my opinion, to win the favorable comment from the customer needs two points: correct attitude and excellent translation ability. To tell the truth, I really am grateful to the Elanso translation platform, which gives me a new outlook of translation profession. I no longer need to wait for windfalls from the traditional translation company’s leftover. I now seek the customer actively; communicate with the customer directly, and win the translation project on own merit and ability.
After winning the translation assignment, I take the translation work seriously by carefully, cautiously and repeatedly proof reading my translation and will not upload the translated document until I feel satisfied. This is so-called correct attitude.
The second and most important point is excellent translation ability. Even with the most correct attitude, if you have no excellent translation ability, you will not get the approval from the customer.
To improve my English, I usually like watching original English movie without the Chinese subtitle to sharpening my listening skill and my translating skill by attempting to translate the on-screen English subtitle. On the other hand, my work also gives me the chance to contact various kinds of industries. This broadens my knowledge and makes translation in the relevant industries a breeze. Daily accumulation and practice is crucial to maintain and improve the translation ability.
As a translator, we should be always honing our skills by translating materials, listening to English, reading more books, and having exposures to various industries to widen our knowledge. Only to broaden our view and knowledge, translation will come easy.
Vivian: Before your contact with Elanso, have you ever worked in any traditional translation company? Maggielee: I have worked with the traditional translation company before being in touch with Elanso. I was employed as a full time translator and interpreter for a translation company after graduation. It was backbreaking works and little commission given. Now I am a part time translator for a local translation company, and have brighter days.
Vivian: Under the traditional translation setting, translators are thought as being a weak professional community. They need to pay intermediary or commission fees. Some even suffer the financial losses through prices compression or refusal of payment after the completion of the work. What is your view on this? Maggielee: Under the traditional translation setting, translators are collectively a weak community. They often do not possess the facility to seek their own customers and can only work for translation companies as full time or part time translators. Obviously, a few of them do take part in online translation work.
Once hooked up with a translation company, they put themselves on the reactive position. The materials they get from the company are the excess works including the material beyond the ability of the company and the urgent materials. Therefore, after receiving the assignment, the translators usually have to continuously work long hours to deliver the work, and anxiously worry about payment settlement such as the timing and payment amount. Sometimes, some translation companies use various excuses to deduct or to refuse payment.
In my opinion, this is due to two reasons: The first reason is poor translation work by the translator, which results in reduction or refusal of payment by the customer and leads to the loss of the translation company. This is the translator’s problem. The translation company should not be criticized for reduction and refusal of payment. This also happened to our company. I want to make it clear that I am not taking side in the in the favor of our company. It was the translator that was not really not up to scratch. The translator should not have accepted the materials that he/she was not competent in, and hastily translated by translation software and submitted the work with numerous translation errors.
The second reason is due to the unethical translation company. The company reduces or refuses the payment to the translator when the customer withholds the payment or the company is unwilling to pay even for a quality translation. This is the ethical issue of the translation company. It is heard that some translation companies only pay the translator very small proportion of the translation fee or round off the payment in the company’s favor.
This is really below the belt. I would like them to tell me how they were paid by the customer. Having heard so many mistreatments of translators really made I am raged with anger. As a translator, I suggest that we should unite together, to improve our own translation ability, to expose unethical translation companies, and to recommend good translation companies.
Vivian: What do you consider as the differences of the working process between Elanso and the traditional translation services? Maggielee: There are very many differences between the online translation and the traditional translation processes. I herein only describe the most obvious differences:
1. Short payment cycle. Payment is probably the issue that is close to heart to translators. Traditional translation companies a long payment cycle. Generally, the translator only gets paid after the translation company received the payment from the customer, which can often last as long as two week to a month or longer. The translation companies often pay translators with long standing relationship monthly. Overall, translators have to wait a long time to get the payment. With entirely a new workflow, the Elanso online translation platform resolves the anxiety held by translators. So long as customer feels satisfied with the work, the translators will get the hard-earned payment.
2. Payment Protection. Working with the traditional translation company, translators always have to worry about the payment. They are concerned on the payment reduction or refusal of payment by the company. Due to the difficulties on the quality measurement of the translation work and wide variety of the types of translation, it is often difficult for translators to vindicate themselves when the translation companies use quality issue as an excuse for payment reduction.
In comparison, Elanso provides more payment protection. Translator can reach an agreement with the customer before undertaking the work. The payment will then be deposited into Elanso trusteeship center during the translation. The customer will request Elanso to release the payment to the translator after feeling satisfied with the translation. This advanced translation process, under Elanso’s supervision, provides the added payment security to translators.
3. Maximum client protection. Elanso’s online translation workflow, to the best of my understanding, differs from the traditional translation company by being the customer’s loyal housekeeper. Working with a traditional translation company, it is often difficult for the customer to benchmark the translation level of the company before hand, and cannot control translation quality after handing in the source material to the company. With Elanso, the customer can save more worry and energy. After posting the project online, the customer can select any translator among many translators in the competitive bidding. The customers can decide whether to release the payment based on the actual translation quality he/she is getting.
Vivian: Many translators feel that online translation is a complicated affair. What is your thought on this being a user of an online translation facility? Maggielee: In the past, I thought online translation was a complicated and insecure matter. However, after experiencing it, I find it is really safe and convenient. Elanso online translation process flow is very proper. It simultaneously secures the interests of both the customer and the translator. It facilitates a translation transaction between two parties that have never met each through an internet cable and an alipay card. It’s really so magical!
Vivian: Have you ever thought of becoming a SOHO translator? Maggielee: In the past, I undertook translation as an entertainment. I later took it as a profession. Now, I am eager to be a real SOHO translator. I like to translate and enjoy the sensation of my translation accomplishment. Previously, I liked to be a SOHO writer. Now, I prefer to be a SOHO translator of which I can undertake translation assignment whenever I feel like it or to have the freedom of arranging the use of my own time when I do not want to translate. I like the carefree lifestyle of a SOHO translator. Where possible, I would like to be a professional SOHO translator.
Vivian: Apart from the translators as part of the work requirements, do you translate articles of your interest? Maggielee: Of course I like translating other articles besides work. I like English and translation. Even though have to support myself through translation, deep down in my heart; I believe that English should be a mean for transmission, communication and exchange of culture rather than a tool to generate an income.
I love translating interesting articles or movies dialogues to amuse myself as well as to discuss translation matters with my classmates and colleagues. When I watch a movie with bad translation dialogues, I can get very upset, thinking that they lose our translators’ face. I will then attempt to translate the dialogue myself in hope to regain the honor for our profession.
Vivian: We appreciate Maggielee’s articles translated on Translation Community, and all her contribution to Elanso. Nice talking to Maggielee, wish her a great success as a Translator! If you would like to share with us your translation experience or your feeling on Elanso, please email to vivianzhang@Elanso.com, or join Elanso QQ Group at 52996515. 