LinguaTransl

VdÜ veranstaltet auf Leipziger Buchmesse Aktionstag für angemessene und redliche Honorierung

2007-11-13T07:28:00.000-08:00

Seit fünf Jahren gibt es das neue Urhebervertragsrecht. Erklärtes Ziel dieses Gesetzes ist, einen skandalösen Zustand zu beenden. Bis 2002 bestimmten Verwerter urheberrechtlicher Leistungen die Honorare praktisch allein. Mit gravierenden Folgen:
Seit Jahrzehnten sinkt das Einkommen der Literaturübersetzer im Verhältnis zu den Lebenshaltungskosten. Mit einem durchschnittlichen Einkommen von 1.000 Euro im Monat leben sie an der Armutsgrenze, mit Kindern mitten in Hartz IV. Das neue Urhebervertragsrecht räumt ihnen endlich einen Anspruch auf angemessene Vergütung ein.
Als angemessen kann laut Gesetz nur gelten, worüber sich Urheberverbände und Verwerter in fairen und freien Verhandlungen geeinigt haben. Leider lassen sich die Verlage nach wie vor nicht auf echte Verhandlungen mit den Literaturübersetzern ein, sondern versuchen, die angemessene Vergütung ohne Rücksprache mit den Übersetzern allein zu bestimmen. Seit Kurzem nötigen sie die Übersetzer zum Abschluss neuer Übersetzungsverträge, die sie als großen Fortschritt verkaufen, die in Wahrheit jedoch ein Sparprogramm der Verlage auf Kosten der Übersetzer darstellen.
Die Literaturübersetzer sind weiterhin bereit, mit den Verlagen konstruktiv zu verhandeln und eine gemeinsame Vergütungsregel aufzustellen. Kernpunkte einer solchen Regel müssen höhere Grundhonorare und eine nicht verrechenbare Beteiligung an Verkaufs- und Nebenrechtserlösen sein. Nur dann wird es auch künftig Weltliteratur in guter deutscher Übersetzung geben.

Beijing E-C Translation freelance portal

2007-11-13T07:16:00.000-08:00

Beijing E-C Translation (BEC), a localization and translation service provider, has unveiled the freelance portal release of its self-developed Project Management System. After one year of successful operation of this system, the freelance portal provides a point for BEC’s freelancers to real-time access this internal system to get project assignment, make delivery and check the related information. The web-based system is software that was customized specially for BEC’s own project management process to offer a combination of functionality in project, resource and client information, and finance management.

2008-2009 GALA Board

2007-10-25T06:14:00.000-07:00

The results of the 2008-2009 GALA Board elections were announced at the annual GALA meeting held during the Localization World Seattle conference on October 16-18, 2007. Sixteen candidates participated in this year’s election.

The membership elected the following four members for two-year terms on the GALA Board: Matthias Caesar (Locatech, Germany), María Gabriela Morales (Rosario Traducciones y Servicios, Argentina), André Pellet (Welocalize, USA), Peter Reynolds (Idiom Technologies, Inc., USA).

Current Board members Kim Harris (text & form, Germany) and Arancha Caballero (TSG, Spain) will continue to serve their terms through the end of 2008. The current Board and incoming members have already begun working on the transition, which will officially take place on January 1, 2008.

MultiLing now in Germany

2007-10-25T06:13:00.001-07:00

MultiLing, a translation and localization services provider, now has a branch in Stamberg, Germany. Founded in 1988, MultiLing currently operates with representatives in 21 countries. Its translators are supported by MultiLing’s proprietary translation memory tool FORTIS and terminology management system SEMANTIS.

MS kauft Facebook

2007-10-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

Palo Alto - Microsoft erhielt den Zuschlag für 1,6 Prozent von Facebook, wie die beiden Firmen heute erklärten. Auch der Suchmaschinenbetreiber Google habe mitgeboten. Grundlage des Deals ist eine Bewertung des Unternehmens mit 15 Milliarden Dollar. Mark Zuckerberg gründete die Internetplattform vor vier Jahren im Studentenwohnheim der Harvard-Universität.

Wie Microsoft weiter mitteilte, schloss der Konzern einen exklusiven Vertrag mit Facebook über Werberechte ab. Der Softwareriese baut damit die Marketingpartnerschaft aus, die er im vergangenen Jahr mit Facebook gestartet hatte.

Facebook befindet sich derzeit noch in Privatbesitz und hat ein rasantes Wachstum vorgelegt. Die Seite kommt mittlerweile auf knapp 50 Millionen Mitglieder und ist damit zu einem ernsten Konkurrenten für MySpace geworden, die Medienzar Rupert Murdoch gekauft hat.

LinguaTransl Sold!

2007-10-18T01:20:00.000-07:00

LinguaTransl is being bought by Masters of Translation, a small translations company situated in Mannheim.

LinguaTransl is looking for a buyer!

2007-10-17T05:12:00.000-07:00

If interested, pls contact sales@linguatransl.com

2007-10-04T04:36:00.000-07:00

Freelance translators: finding reliable clients and agencies

A freelance translator, in common with any other freelance professional, will have one main business objective…ensuring an adequate supply of work in order to maintain a pre-determined acceptable level of income.

Now whether the preferred mode of working is to have a steady stream of continuous work, or to be able to take up a contract periodically; securing a source of work, although their first objective, might result in all their efforts coming to naught if it is not found to be reliable…so what steps should a freelance translator take in order to find reliable clients and agencies?

A freelancer will generally have two approaches to securing work; firstly by sourcing it entirely themselves usually via a website and secondly, by contracting with a translation agency.

Let us look at the first of these options and how a freelance translator might ensure the reliability of their clients. Before proceeding though, let us define our terms…by ‘reliability’, we of course mean the clients’ reliability in paying for the services, as invoiced, within the stipulated invoice period.

The first thing that a freelancer should have in place is a set of ‘terms and conditions’ on their website. This will, even before a client has proceeded to the commissioning stage, set the ground rules upon which both parties are to proceed. Now the exact methodology will differ between freelancers, but some follow this up with a signed contract before proceeding and others state on their website that by proceeding, the client is deemed to have accepted the T’s and C’s.

Another must, is talking to the client. By actually conversing, it is possible to get a ‘feel’ for the client and in addition, any unforeseen snags often become apparent such as; false expectations on both sides or requirements for purchase order numbers before proceeding etc.

A final step that is always well worth the effort is that of a cursory investigation of the client. This is only possible, of course, if the client is a company rather than an individual, however, a quick look at the clients’ website will, once again, give a feel for the client.

Let us now look at the second alternative that a freelancer has to securing business, that of going through an agency.

An agency is actually a very good option for any freelancer inasmuch as it takes away the need for most admin tasks and likewise credit control tasks, and allows freelancers to spend time doing what they do best…translating.

So how does a freelancer ensure that they are engaging with a reputable, reliable agency? Firstly, a quick check at Companies House will reveal how long a company has been trading and a slightly more detailed enquiry will yield a copy of the company’s accounts. This will give a very good indication of the size of the company and thus its reliability.

Another good indicator is the location of a company’s offices. If the company is located in a major city, this can be another good indicator that it is doing well enough to maintain this type of overhead, thus, a company offering document translation services in London, for instance, could be deemed to be fairly reliable.

Possibly the best way, however, of identifying a quality translation company is their membership of an industry affiliated professional body. The main body that covers translation companies UK and worldwide is the ATC. The ATC or Association of Translation Companies has very strict entry criteria and by virtue of these, any member can be deemed to be reliable by any freelancer looking to start a business relationship with them.

Whatever option a freelancer chooses in order to secure work, either by attracting clients directly via the web or by working through an agency, by carrying out the suggestions above, there is a very good chance that the resultant clients will be reliable clients.

Lingo24 Translation Services

Yahoo to buy Zimbra

2007-09-18T23:34:00.000-07:00

Yahoo announced Monday that it has agreed to buy Zimbra, a maker of Web-based e-mail software, for $350 million in cash, providing the clearest indication yet of how the Internet giant is changing course to compete against rivals like Google.

Clay Tablet Technologies partners with Xtra Translation Services

2007-09-06T02:06:00.000-07:00

Clay Tablet Technologies, a provider of translation integration software that connects content management systems to translation systems, has further expanded into the European market by signing translation provider and consulting firm XTRA Translation Services as a Clay Tablet partner. XTRA Translation Services specializes in providing consulting, localization and translation services to large Pan-European clients such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard.

Read more: multilingual.com

Copper Translation to join LinguaLinx

2007-09-06T02:03:00.000-07:00

LinguaLinx Language Solutions, Inc., a translation and communications company, has announced that Copper Translation Service has joined its ranks. Ferris Copper founded Copper Publications after retiring from General Electric. A chance translation request transitioned the company into a translation services provider. The Copper staff will relocate from its Gansevoort, New York, location to LinguaLinx headquarters in Schenectady, New York.

Trusted Translations Inc in Manhattan

2007-09-06T02:00:00.000-07:00

Trusted Translations, Inc., a full-service English-to-Spanish translation vendor, has opened operations in Manhattan to serve the New York City Metro Market. The new center will focus on providing direct Spanish translation services to businesses, government entities and nonprofit organizations in the New York City metro area.

SDL TRADOS integrates with ProZ.com

2007-08-16T05:05:00.000-07:00

SDL International, a provider of global information management solutions, has announced a strategic partnership with ProZ.com, a web 2.0 platform for the exchange of translation services and resources, including the integration of the SDL TRADOS Certification credential into its translator community. Outsourcers at ProZ.com now have a means of requiring SDL TRADOS or SDLX Certification when posting to the job board or searching the directory, and also when using the new ProZ.com Connect! sourcing and vendor management platform. Translators at Proz.com are now able to showcase their SDL TRADOS Certification credentials.

Read more: proz.com or multilingual.com

Translation Quality Assurance Tools Survey

2007-08-01T02:33:00.000-07:00

Palex is performing a translation community survey to evaluate the acceptance of translation quality assurance (QA) tools by the translation community, to define where such tools currently are, their advantages and disadvantages, and to visualize their future capabilities and role in the translation process. The survey will run from August 1 to September 28, 2007. Survey respondents who provide e-mail addresses will be able to receive the survey analysis as soon as the survey is closed.

In parallel with the survey, Palex will test and benchmark translation QA tools currently available in the market. The survey and benchmarking results will be presented at the 29th Translating and the Computer conference that will tale place on November 29-30, 2007, in London and will also appear in industry-related publications.

Read more: multilingual.com

ANTHEA opens Ontario office

2007-08-01T02:28:00.000-07:00

ANTHEA Languages, a provider of translation and publishing services, has opened a new office in Markham, Ontario, Canada. ANTHEA delivers translation and localization services to major companies worldwide, including Sanofi Aventis, Roche Diagnostics, Schneider Electric, Philips and IBM Corp.

Eriksen recognized in Women's Enterprise USA

2007-07-20T04:16:00.000-07:00

Eriksen Translations was named as one of the 100 women-owned business enterprises impacting supplier diversity in the summer 2007 issue of Women's Enterprise USA magazine. The language services provider was certified by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council in 2001 and has successfully leveraged the relationships it has formed with supplier diversity executives to expand its reach within major corporations.

Read more: multilingual.com

Gross, Grösser, Google

2007-07-04T04:18:00.000-07:00

Google kauft und kauft: Mittlerweile gehören mehr als 100 Webdienste zum Imperium von Sergey Brin und Larry Page. Der Übernahmekandidat der Woche ist GrandCentral, eine Start-up-Firma, die "Eine Telefonnummer, ein Leben lang" verspricht. Egal, wie oft man umzieht - einloggen, die neuen Nummern eingeben, und eine Umleitung wird aktiviert. Bisher ist dieser Dienst nur in den USA und Kanada verfügbar. Die Verträge seien unterschrieben, heißt es in der gut informierten Blogosphere. Der Angriff von Google auf den Onlinetelefonanbieter Skype geht weiter.

Source: Vanity Fair

Alchemy sets up collaboration with Proz.com

2007-06-28T06:14:00.000-07:00

Alchemy Software Development Ltd., creators of visual localization and translation solutions, have announced the beginning of a collaboration with ProZ.com, an enabling and sourcing platform for language professionals. Through ProZ.com's online community, members will be able to learn about, download and deploy Alchemy CATALYST 7.0 Translator Pro at preferential pricing and backed by Alchemy's support team using ProZ.com's forum platform.

OpenOffice.org gets boost in China

2007-05-30T01:10:00.000-07:00

Sun Microsystems, the OpenOffice.org community and Redflag have announced a unified focus on integrating new features in the Chinese localization of OpenOffice.org. Under the provisions of the agreement, Beijing Redflag Chinese 2000, which produces the OpenOffice.org-based RedOffice, will add to the open source project approximately 50 engineers, some of whom have been working on the OpenOffice.org project since the second half of 2006.

OpenOffice.org is a key implementation of OpenDocument Format, the ISO 26300 open standard file format for office applications that is vendor neutral.

Read more: multilingual.com

TransPerfect selected as Cannes supplier

2007-05-22T03:23:00.000-07:00

TransPerfect Translations, a provider of multicultural communication and translation services, has been named as a supplier for the 54th Annual Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival -- June 17-23, 2007, Cannes, France -- a week-long exhibition celebrating the most innovative new work in film, press, interactive, radio, media, direct marketing and sales promotion. Up to 10,000 delegates from over 75 countries will attend the festival in 2007, and over 25,000 award entries will be submitted from around the world. TransPerfect offers a wide array of solutions for brand-conscious companies looking to launch multilingual/multicultural campaigns, such as copy adaptation, cultural consulting, brand research, multilingual typesetting and broadcasting services.

June 1, 2007

2007-05-15T06:30:00.000-07:00

Translating and the Computer 29 - Call for Papers

London, UK

Supported by the British Computer Society Natural Language Group, European Association for Machine Translation, International Association for Machine Translation, Institute of Linguists and Institute of Translating and Interpreting. Sponsored by The Institute of Localisation Professionals (TILP).

Association for Information Management, ASLIB, The Holywell Centre, 1 Phipp Street, London EC2A 4PS UK, 44-20-7613-3031, Fax: 44-20-7613-5080, e-mail: training@aslib.com, Web:http://www.aslib.com/conferences

Proz.com appoints advertising sales manager

2007-05-15T06:24:00.001-07:00

ProZ.com, an enabling and sourcing platform for language professionals, has announced the appointment of Andrew MacFadyen as its advertising sales manager. A media sales professional and online marketing consultant, MacFadyen previously held the top sales position for The McNeill Group, the national publishers firm best known in the globalization industry for driving media revenue for the American Translators Association.

across systems and madcap software partner

2007-05-15T06:22:00.000-07:00

across Systems, a provider of corporate translation management software, and MadCap Software, a multi-channel content authoring company, have announced a partnership to combine technical content creation with advanced translation and localization. Through integrated software from MadCap and across, technical documentation professionals will be able to publish best-in-class multilingual user manuals, online Help systems, and other corporate content for the international market from a single source. Through their strategic partnership, the two companies will enable integration between MadCap Lingo, Flare and Blaze (to be launched in late 2007), and the across Language Server, a platform for the entire translation process.

Arancho hires sales director

2007-05-15T06:20:00.000-07:00

The Arancho Group, which provides multilingual documentation management and localization solutions, has transferred the Rimini, Italy head office to larger space within the city. As part of the expansion, Arancho has hired Lisard Jiménez as sales director. Jiménez brings over 11 years of industry experience to Arancho.

Neues Vergütungsmodell für Übersetzer vorgestellt

2007-05-03T06:45:00.000-07:00

Auf der Jahrestagung der Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Publikumsverlage in München wurde das "Münchner Modell“, eine umfassende Branchenregelung zur Übersetzervergütung, vorgestellt.

Das Modell sieht eine Garantiezahlung vor, die sich am bisherigen Seitenhonorar orientiert; dazu eine prozentuale Beteiligung an jedem verkauften Exemplar und an allen Erlösen aus der weiteren Nutzung der Übersetzung. Wie bei den Autoren ist das Garantiehonorar auch im Falle eines wirtschaftlichen Misserfolgs nicht zurück zu zahlen. Außerdem soll ein Solidarfonds geschaffen werden, der aus Bestsellererlösen gespeist wird, aus dem insbesondere Übersetzer anspruchsvoller und schwerverkäuflicher Werke zusätzliche Honorare erhalten können.

Seitdem das neue Urhebergesetz im Jahr 2002 in Kraft getreten ist, wird zwischen Autoren, Übersetzern und Verlagen darum gerungen, wie es umzusetzen sei. Strittig dabei ist der Begriff der „angemessenen Vergütung“. Mit den Autoren konnten sich die Belletristikverlage bereits 2005 einigen, mit den Übersetzern bisher nicht. Aufgrund der bestehenden Rechtsunsicherheit sind Übersetzungen in der Belletristik bereits um 30 Prozent rückläufig, was weder im Interesse der Übersetzer noch der Verlage sein kann.