1. Translation — Industry and
Career Information
Kim Vitray, Operations Manager
Ralph McElroy Translation Company
Austin, Texas

2. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Ralph McElroy Translation
Company
• In business since 1968
• One of the top 5 largest single-headquarters
companies (12-15 million words/year, 40 employees,
100+ regular contract translators)
• Primarily Japanese, German, Chinese, Dutch,
French, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian,
Spanish
• Technical translations (legal, scientific, medical)
and web site localization

3. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Translator Statistics
• 31% were born in the U.S.
• 31% are accredited by ATA
• 45% are full-time independent contractors
• 59% have master’s degree or higher
• 23% have 0-5 years experience
Source: 2003 ATA T&I Services Survey

4. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Definition of Translation
• Translation — “Rendition close enough to
the original not to alter any of its meaning,
full enough not to omit any detail, no matter
how seemingly insignificant, and elegant
enough to provide at least some of the
stylistic character of the original text”
Source: The Translator’s Handbook

5. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
10 Requisites for Professional
Translators
• Have thorough knowledge of both source
and target languages — vocabulary
equivalent to university education
• Be “at home” in both cultures
• Keep up with growth and changes in
languages and subject matters
Source: The Translator’s Handbook

6. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
10 Requisites for Professional
Translators
• Translate from another language into your
native language
• Translate in more than one area of
knowledge
• Have facility for writing, quickly and
accurately
• Develop good speed

7. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
10 Requisites for Professional
Translators
• Develop research skills and ability to
acquire and use references
• Use the latest technological developments
• Realize certain languages are in high
demand

8. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Being in Business for Yourself
• Résumé and cards
• Rate range and subject specialties
• Professional business materials
• Equipment, tools, and resources
• Recordkeeping and taxes, insurance
• Marketing and networking

9. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Translating for an Agency
• Pros
– they handle clients
– steadier flow of work
• Cons
– less independence
– less money

10. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Getting Started with an Agency
• Testing
• Confidentiality contract and independent
contractor statement
• Translator instruction manual, instruction
sheet, and templates
• “Beginner’s” rate
• Close review of first jobs

11. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Understanding Agencies
• Processes
• Schedules
• Formatting
• Quality
• Communication
• Type of work

12. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Top 10 Traits of an Ideal
Translator
• Format your résumé so that pertinent
points can be easily noted
– native language
– language pairs
– years of experience
– subject matter specializations
– representative types of projects

13. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Top 10 Traits of an Ideal
Translator
• Be accessible — check fax, e-mail, and
voice messages frequently
• Say "no" when necessary — but be open to
workable solutions
• Say "yes" to a nuisance job every now and
then
• Give advance notice of looming disaster
and bring up problems

14. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Top 10 Traits of an Ideal
Translator
• Express your preferences
– what you enjoy most
– what you hate
– what dictionaries you have
– how you prefer to receive work, get messages
– if you always or never work on weekends
– if you routinely work through the night so
please don't call before noon…anything!

15. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Top 10 Traits of an Ideal
Translator
• Miss only one deadline per job
• Keep up with the industry
• Teach your client — if you find yourself
mentally listing all the things you wish your
client knew, go ahead and offer some
education
• Turn in jobs early!

16. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Freelance Translating
• Pros
– lot of independence
– more money
• Cons
– developing and maintaining clientele
– maintaining steady work flow

17. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Types of Employers
• Law firms
• Corporations
• Federal, state, and local government
• Major organizations
• Publishers

18. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Common Misconceptions
• Anyone with two years of high school
language, or who lived in another country
for three years during early childhood, or
who can type in a foreign language, can
translate
• Translators can translate both ways just as
easily
Source: The Translator’s Handbook

19. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Common Misconceptions
• A good translator doesn’t need any
reference literature
• A good translator gets it right the first time,
without any editing or proofreading
• Translators will soon be replaced by
computers

20. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Common Misconceptions
• A 100-page technical manual that took four
months and three persons to write can be
translated by one translator in two days
• Translating is just replacing each word in
the source language with the same word in
the target language
• Spanish is Spanish, all around the world

21. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Computer-Aided Translation
(CAT)
• Translation memory or terminology
management tools that aid the human
translator in producing applicable kinds of
work better, faster, cheaper, easier
• Required by some agencies and end-user
clients

22. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Computer-Aided Translation
• Requisites
– electronic file
– consistently and well written
– sufficient length
– repetitive content and/or developed glossary
OR job that will be updated
• Star Transit, Trados, déjà vu, SDLX

23. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Interpreting — Required Skills
• Exceptional articulation
• High comfort level speaking in front of an
audience
• Complete ease in both languages
• Ability to listen, remember, and summarize
• Subject area knowledge and experience
Source: The Translator’s Handbook

24. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Interpreting — Required Skills
• Good people skills
– pleasing personality
– professional appearance
– good manners
– patience
– social savvy
– good sense of humor

25. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Types of Interpreting
• Consecutive — negotiations, social
services, court
• Escort — government related
• Phone (OPI) — customer service, 911
• Simultaneous — conferences (requires
equipment)
• Sight — documents done on the spot

26. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Interpreter Certification
• U.S. Federal Court
• Spanish, Haitian Creole, Navajo
• National Center for Interpretation Testing,
Research, and Policy, University of Arizona
• Proficiency level is 14+ years formal
education in both languages
• Some states

27. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Training Programs
• Austin (Texas) Community College
• University of Texas at El Paso
• Localization Institute
(www.localizationinstitute.com)
• Monterey Institute, California
• Bellevue College, Seattle
• New York University

28. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
American Translators
Association
• Over 9,000 members
• Conference
• Accreditation
• www.atanet.org
• Chronicle & directory
• $120 membership fee

29. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
National Association of Judiciary
Interpreters and Translators
• 900 members
• Conference
• www.najit.org
• Proteus & directory
• $95 membership fee

30. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Resources
• The Translator’s Handbook by Morry Sofer
• A Practical Guide to Localization by Bert
Esselink
• MultiLingual Computing & Technology
• FLEFO (CompuServe Foreign Language
Forum)

31. Ral ph mc el r o y t r an sl at i o n c o mpan y
Resources
• Web sites
– www.accurapid.com/journal
– www.lai.com/companion.html
– www.transref.org
– dictionaries & glossaries

32. 910 West Ave.
Austin, TX 78701
phone 472-6753
fax 472-4591
www.mcelroytranslation.com
Ralph McElroy Translation Co.