De foarte multe ori, am primit, atunci cand am solicitat o colaborare, texte pe care sa le traduc, ca un test. Mi-amintesc ca o firma mi-a trimis un mail cu patru documente…. Personal, mi se pare necesar un test. In felul acesta, ca traducator, stiu ca daca sunt acceptata inseamna ca am dovedit asta prim munca si probabil am fost selectata dintr-un numar x de traducatori. Apoi, se creeaza si alta legatura cu cel cu care colaborezi, pentru ca are incredere in tine si stie, in mare, ce poti. In America, insa, lucrurile se pare ca stau altfel, iar traducatorul pune problema la modul: “dau teste moca sau acestea ar trebui platite?”.
Many translation clients request free translations as a precondition for a paid assignment. Is this a reasonable request? And if so, what is a reasonable size of a test translation that will give the client an idea of the translator’s capabilities, yet is unlikely to be resold, possibly supplemented by other “test” translations, to the client’s client. The Code of Professional Conduct and Business Practices” of the American Translators Association stipulates: “As an employer or contractor of translators and/or interpreters, … I will not require translators or interpreters to do unpaid work for the prospect of a paid assignment.” Is this a reasonable rule for translation buyers? (Note that it does not prohibit translators from doing free test translations.) How common is the abusive practice of using test translations as freebies to be used by or resold to the final customer? Some translators refuse to do free translations. Others establish a limit of X words they are willing to do free of charge. Again others charge for test translations, but credit the amount paid against the price of the actual assignment. How should the translator respond when asked to do free work against the prospect of a paid assignment?
Am dat si peste o idee la care, de mlte ori, m-am gandit si eu si alti amici care se ocupa cu acest lucru. Faptul ca este posibil ca unele dintre testele respective sa fie, in fapt, texte care merg apoi la clienti. Cu alte cuvinte, tu faci o munca pe care altul ia bani, dar tu nu te alegi cu nimic. Si, recunos, nu o data am avut aceasta senzatie.
Test translations may be reasonable but are unnecessary. Definitely, they could even be abused by clients. First of all, if a client is able to evaluate the quality of a sample translation, the person has to be a pretty competent translation quality evaluator who knows much about translation quality assessment criteria. Any translator who deals with such clients has to be extremely careful when providing sample translations, especially those translated from client-selected passages. Theoretically, though unlikely, a client may contact five or ten professionals and ask each to translate part of a document, which may be joined together to create a free translation. Some adjustment may be necessary but that is not difficult for mediocre translators or translation sales representatives to complete. In my humble view, free translation samples should not be provided, and client-selected passages must not be rendered for free.
Raspunsul de mai jos mi se pare excelent si cheia problemei.
The question is: could a client learn about the translator’s competence without a test translation?
In most cases, the answer is yes. If a translator has published some translations, it is easier. One thing a published translator could do, for example, is create a translation folder that contains samples of different genres. If a client wants to review it, the translator may simply show it to him/her. Alternately, the translator may just refer the client to the publications. Unpublished translators, on the other hand, may keep copies or passages of the translations that have been rendered for previous clients (of non-confidential nature, of course), which may be reviewed by a client in the presence of the translator. Needless to say, such a folder, especially one with a substantial amount of unpublished work or clients’ documents, is not suitable to loan, for one never knows what may happen when a client takes it away. Personally, I have several pieces of translation stolen, or rather, I suspect so. Two individuals have even retranslated two of my own translations rendered from my own English stories. They simply changed some words and placed their names as translators under mine (as author). Experience warns us against insufficient protection for translation copyright, which is dwarfed by that of original works.
