Book translations – Finding the right translation service provider

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Working with the right translation service provider is crucial to avoid the risk of devaluing your book. Do your research and find the most appropriate office that fits your needs.

To get the best results, here is a checklist that you should consider before making the big decision.

  • Ask for references
  • Clearly communicate your needs
  • Determine the deadline
  • Learn whether you’ll have full rights to the translation
  • Understand their book translation rates to make sure there are no extra costs or surprises in the end
  • Find out what the feedback process looks like and determine how often you can communicate with your provider

Working with EDMF on your book is a guarantee that you’ll receive the highest quality service.

Video Translation – Keeping Up With Multilingual Content in 2022

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It’s no secret that videos have become the most popular choice for content consumption today. Barely a day will go by without you watching a video, whether it’s on your smartphone when commuting to work, or on your laptop at home.

YouTube has over two billion users with more than one billion videos watched per day, so it’s no surprise we are bombarded with content. 86% of online marketers rely on videos to promote their content, while according to Hubspot, 61% of businesses used video as a marketing tool in 2016, but that number has now increased to 86% in 2022.

Multilingual content

With all this content being created, it’s no wonder that the demand for video translation is also rising. There’s no point in having great video marketing content about your company if the people in your target market can’t understand what you’re saying!

Video translation is quite a complex process that differs from simple text translation, and normally requires a team of experts. First and foremost, you need professional translators, one for each language you want to translate your video into. As with all professional translation projects, you’ll want people translating into their mother tongues.

For most online uses, subtitles or closed captions at the bottom of the video is the preferred option. According to Facebook, 85% of the videos viewed on its site are watched without sound, so captions are crucial for being able to follow what is said (subtitles assume the audience can hear the audio, while closed captioning assumes the audience cannot hear the audio).

How does it work?

There are various steps to the video translation process:

  • Transcription: first you have to transcribe the dialogue as well as any other relevant on-screen text in your video.
  • Timestamping: when your transcribed file is ready, you need to timestamp the text to make sure it appears at the right time in your video.
  • Translation: the transcribed text is then translated into your target language, and adjusted to make sure the target text also appears at the right time in your video.
  • Subtitle/caption files: once you have the text in the target language, it needs to be put into subtitle files so that the text can be displayed on the screen as the video plays.
  • Video editing: the last step is to integrate the translated files into your video file.

This is quite a simple overview of the video translation process, but it shows that there is quite a significant difference between this and a simple text translation. And we haven’t even delved into voice-overs either!

In an earlier blog post, we talked about transcreation, and with promotional texts or adverts in video format, you may find that this is what you need to get the message across, adding another facet to the translation process.

Whatever your requirements, if you want to broaden the reach of your video content, get in touch with us at EDMF to see how we can help you conquer those foreign markets.

How does online/remote interpreting work, and when should you use it?

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Remote interpreting allows translators and interpreters to work from anywhere in the world. It permits communication between different groups of people who do not speak the same language, and can be used for any type of event: a company video conference, an important meeting, a discussion with a multilingual audience, a webinar, an interview, etc. Since the pandemic, requests for this type of service have increased, and many companies now continue to use remote interpreting out of habit.

It is important to know that remote interpreting was practised long before the arrival of COVID-19 and its related health restrictions. Remote interpreting professionals and companies were already benefiting from it.

  • Interpreters are not required to travel, and only minimal technical equipment is required. They can interpret either from home or from their office where equipment is set up specifically for their work.
  • This type of interpreting costs less because transportation, accommodation and equipment rental services are not needed.
  • You can find specialists available immediately in the case of an urgent need. This process is better for emergencies because it avoids travel time for the language professionals as well as the complex logistics organisation of on-site events.

EDMF provides remote interpreting services.

Both our clients and attendees have always been satisfied with the experience.

Remote interpreting is sometimes preferred by both clients and language professionals alike, as they consider it to be more appropriate given the reduced cost compared to face-to-face interpreting, not to mention the convenience and flexibility.

Let us know if you think we can help you remotely with your next event!

Machine Translation – A blessing or a curse for the translation industry?

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Technology is everywhere. It’s difficult to find a part of our everyday lives that isn’t affected by it, and just when we get used to a particular app or process, something else comes along and turns things upside down again.

Technological progress is generally very positive, we like it when our lives become easier, or we can complete jobs more quickly, as a result.

The translation business is no different. We are coming across MT (machine translation) increasingly in our day-to-day work, quite inevitable with the advances in technology. Can it help the translation business? Yes it can. Is it a panacea, can we stop hiring translators? No chance.

What we are seeing at EDMF with MT is that it throws up a whole new series of problems that human translators need to tackle. Professional translators, by and large, are consistent creatures. When you conduct your research and decide on the translation of a technical term, you stick with it throughout the text, whether it is a 2-page analysis or a 100-page report.

MT pays no attention to consistency with vocabulary from one sentence to the next. A document can be a “report” in one sentence, a “review” in the next, and an “account” on the following page. All perfectly acceptable translations depending on the context, but very confusing to the reader of the translated text.

Also, MT doesn’t follow client terminology. Clients can have specific terms within their company, and sometimes within particular corporate divisions, that have to be applied. MT ignores these requests completely.

Interestingly though, the greatest problem and therefore risk with MT is when it almost does the job right, just not well enough, when it almost captures the original meaning of a sentence perfectly. At first glance, the translated sentence looks fine, but drilling down to the detail and the nuances you realise the operative word here is “almost”.

To an untrained eye, the text looks accurate and ready, but these are the errors that a professional linguist is trained to pick up on. Even more problematic is that some companies are deciding to rely solely on MT and forgo the use of human translation, “because it seems good enough and it’s cheaper”, so there is a real risk of such errors creating significant misunderstandings. Not to mention the problems that can arise if MT is used for business contracts or complex legal translations for example (yes, believe it or not, some firms are already doing this…), and the MT misses the crux of the sentence, thereby misleading the reader or user of the text, with unforeseeable consequences.

We cannot stick our heads in the sand, technology is here to stay, and we need to integrate it into our processes. However, nothing at the minute can substitute for human intelligence and the skills of a trained and qualified translator. Don’t hesitate to contact us at EDMF if you’d prefer not to run the risk with your company’s reputation!

Written by Douglas Arnott

 

Accent vs. Dialect, Sociolect, Idiolect, Slang

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So what’s the actual difference between accents and dialects? And how do people develop such different pronunciations or words or grammar rules for one language? It might sound like a simple question, but it’s not.

Let’s start with the definitions. Both terms “dialect” and “accent” refer to a distinctive way of using a specific language and are often associated with a particular country, region, or social class.

A dialect is a language variant with noticeable grammar, vocabulary, or pronunciation differences. An essential characteristic of a dialect is that it should be intelligible to other speakers of the same language. That means that the speakers can understand others and express themselves in most situations.

An accent is a specific manner of pronunciation. So, an accent is a subordinate part of a dialect, while a dialect is a subordinate part of a language.

Everyone (yes, even you) has an accent and dialect, and it’s also possible to have more than one. Accents and dialects can represent the region you’re from, your ethnicity or race, age, religious group, and many other aspects of your upbringing. It’s also common for people to switch their accents or dialects, either unintentionally or deliberately, as they move through the world, depending on whom they’re talking to and where they are. It affects every person, in every language, whether it’s the one you grew up using or a new one you’re studying.

Have you ever heard of the term sociolect? And what is an idiolect?

Sociolect is a dialect dictated by your class/position in society. Examples include school jargon used between school children, criminal jargon, office jargon, etc. Idiolect is an individual’s use of language.

You might also think about how slang and dialect are different?

The term slang refers to words and phrases, whereas dialect is a way of speaking. Slang is not always region-specific like dialect. It presents itself in communities.

Language and social interaction go hand in hand. Social interaction is a crucial part of understanding the different terms mentioned above.

The impact of translation on the world

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The history of translation and the impact of linguists has allowed us to learn about cultures and civilisations that existed many centuries ago. Although the history of translation spans centuries, it has also been a powerful tool in helping to bridge the gap between cultural barriers, which remains true to this day.

How it started
Translation has a patron saint, Jerome, and he was named as the guardian for the profession after he translated the Bible in the 5th century. He wanted to create a version for those who only spoke Latin. He called it the Vulgata. Saint Jerome was the first translator who distinguished between secular (profane) and religious translation. The Bible is the first and the most translated book in the world. The translation is celebrated on 30 September, marking St. Jerome’s death. It’s known as International Translation Day.

The future of translation
Translation enables effective communication between people around the world. It is a courier for the transmission of knowledge, a protector of cultural heritage, and essential to the development of a global economy.

Nowadays, you can find everything you need on the internet, and translation is no exception. The written word allows society to express multitudes of opinions, ideas and insights. Being able to understand these expressions remains a fundamental right.

As we look to the future, we can expect to see translation entering more and more into the technological age. Though there is an underlying fear that human translators may one day be replaced by machines, that day is still far in the future.

All in all, the global market for translation services will continue to grow as the world continues to globalise. The translation industry will remain essential in helping society stay connected.

Hungarian books in English

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Our current quarantine and partial lock-down certainly has its challenges, but it also provides an opportunity to do something different. Hungary has a rich history of writers and authors, many of whom have been translated into English, and the English-language books can be ordered online.

The Paul Street Boys (Pál utcai fiúk) by Ferenc Molnár

There are some gems of Hungarian literature out there, dating from roughly the 1900s to the present day. For example The Paul Street Boys (Pál utcai fiúk) by Ferenc Molnár. Set in March 1889 in Budapest, it tells the story of the rivalry between the Paul Street boys and the ‘boys with crimson shirts’. It is a tale of friendship, heroic sacrifice, betrayal, the different versions of strength and power and the value of each person, no matter how big or small.

 

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Eclipse of the Crescent Moon (Egri Csillagok) by Géza Gárdonyi

Moving further back in time we have Eclipse of the Crescent Moon (Egri Csillagok) by Géza Gárdonyi, another classic that every Hungarian knows well. The narrative revolves around the Turkish siege of the castle of Eger in 1552, as well as the siege of Buda, the Hungarian capital. The plot takes place during the time of the Turkish occupation in the 16th century, and follows the two main characters, Gergely Bornemissza and Éva Cecey, from their childhood to the victory of the defenders of Eger Castle.

 

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Sándor Márai entitled Embers (A Gyertyák Csonkig Égnek)

Sándor Márai wrote many poems, essays and plays, but was also a successful novel-writer His novel Embers (A Gyertyák Csonkig Égnek) was published in 1942, and it features two old friends who meet again after decades have passed and talk all night to catch up. As we get into the story, one of them morphs into an accuser while the other is the accused. It is a story of friendship, betrayal, fidelity, and the emotional suspense keeps you interested all the way through

 

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Fatelessness (Sorstalanság) by Imre Kertész, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2002.

The fourth book in our series brings us closer to the present day and is of course Fatelessness (Sorstalanság) by Imre Kertész, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2002.

Fatelessness follows the life of a teenage Jewish boy in Hungary in the 1940s. A coming-of-age story in the horrible circumstances of a concentration camp and how he reacts to it all. It is not an easy topic, but Kertész’s style and his brilliance in dealing with difficult issues delicately make it a must-read. It has also been turned into a movie, with Ennio Morricone composing the music and Daniel Craig making an appearance as well.

 

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Magda Szabó: The Door

The Door is based on actual events; the author portrays a crucial episode of her life in a breathtakingly beautiful way. The protagonist is Emerenc Szeredás; it is through her that themes of loneliness, sins, forgiveness and hidden scars are told. It is a beautiful, personal confession of the author that deeply touched readers both in Hungary and abroad. Written in 1987, the first edition sold out in just a week. It has been translated into English, German and a further 32 languages. It was also turned into a movie, featuring Helen Mirren in the role of the protagonist.

 

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We hope you enjoy reading these four pieces of Hungarian literature in English, and let us know what you thought of them!

Transcreation – How Cross-Market Copywriting Helps Businesses Globally

Transcreation – How Cross-Market Copywriting Helps Businesses Globally

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Industries evolve over time. It’s a must, because if you don’t, or can’t, you find yourself left by the wayside.

While transcreation isn’t a new concept in global business, it is certainly now much more in demand by our clients at EDMF. Let’s take a look at why.

What is transcreation?

Coined from the words “translation” and “creation”, transcreation could be construed to mean creative translation, or perhaps cross-market copywriting. In reality, you have translation on the one side, transcreation on the other, and between the two you will find marketing translation.

Sometimes, just translating the words you see in front of you is the right idea. This can be the best approach when translating a technical manual, when what matters is that the reader understands what the exact equivalent of a particular component is in their language.

Yet other times, opting to translate like this will bring you up very short indeed. It’s not only the meaning that needs conveyed, you have to take into account cultural differences and harness them for mostly marketing purposes. It is no surprise that this is often required mostly with advertising or promotional texts, and also with websites. A complex website translation, for example, may well require translation, marketing translation and transcreation, and can involve several translators working together.

Why do I need it?

When you ask for a text to be translated, you obviously want it to have the same impact on your target-reader audience as it does with your original audience. That’s a given. But sometimes finding the equivalent word is not enough. Transcreation digs that bit further and looks at the emotional reaction triggered by a text, with a view to eliciting the same response in the translated language.

This is where the language professional is given freer rein than they might with conventional translations. Since it’s not so much the words and their literal meaning that count, but what effect they have on the reader, the transcreator is able to stray from the original text in order to achieve that goal, possibly even recreating everything if need be.

Transcreation in practice

One good example of transcreation is Intel, who changed its English slogan, “Intel: Sponsors of Tomorrow”, to “Intel: In Love with the Future” for its slogan in Brazil, because they had realised that in Portuguese this would otherwise imply the company would not deliver promptly as promised.

Transcreation in websites can also involve using different colour schemes or layouts, and sometimes it can even impact on the product. Red Bull, for example, changed the colours of its energy drink when entering the Chinese market. It switched to red and gold because these colours are deemed to bring good fortune in China.

I need transcreation. Where should I go?

There are many examples of companies who failed to do their research and had to rebrand newly launched products as a result, throwing money out of the window in the process. But with a bit of forethought, and the right partner, you can avoid the pitfalls with taking your product or service to other countries.

Contact EDMF today to find out more about how we can help promote your brand in today’s global market.

Interview with Iain Lindsay, the UK’s Ambassador to Hungary

Interview with Iain Lindsay, the UK’s Ambassador to Hungary

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We don’t think anyone really needs an introduction to Iain Lindsay, the UK’s Ambassador to Hungary. Thanks largely to his social media endeavours he is extremely well known in the country. We can find him on the street wearing his kilt to present memories of Hungarian-Scottish relationships, but also see him reciting Hungarian poems on YouTube.

A multilingual ambassador, we asked him about his personal background with languages, and delved into the complex, serious, and unknown world of diplomatic translation and interpreting.

Iain, how many languages do you speak, and what was your first encounter with a foreign language?

I’ve learnt four languages: French, Japanese, Romanian and Hungarian. I can still get by in the first three, but I find that I am very much a ‘one foreign language in the brain at any time’ linguist.  Two of my most embarrassing moments while learning Hungarian at the University of Debrecen were when I tried to hold conversations in Japanese and Romanian. I learnt French from an early age, probably 6 or 7 years old.

We need to ask you as a Scot, do you speak Gaelic?

No, I’m afraid to say that I don’t, although I have tried learning. I have a few Gaelic textbooks at home. It’s a lovely language and I am glad that there has been something of a Gaelic revival in recent years.

We understand learning foreign languages is compulsory for UK diplomatic staff. If it wasn’t would you still learn, and why? Which language would you most like to speak?

Learning languages is not compulsory as such, but it would be unusual to find a British diplomat who has not had to learn a foreign language. For jobs overseas in non-English speaking countries we decide whether the diplomat needs to speak the local language to do their job, so-called ‘speaker’ positions. If they do, then to what level? B1, C1, C2?

For example, among the several British diplomats at the British Embassy in Budapest only I and my deputy need Hungarian (to C1 level) for our jobs. So both of us have had intensive full-time pre-arrival Hungarian training, in my case 7 months, in my deputy’s case a year (the length of time it takes a full-time learner to get to C1 Hungarian).

However, we offer optional language training to all diplomats (and their spouses/partners) being posted overseas into ‘non-speaker’ jobs, which provides a basic level of language training intended to help with day to day living. The number of hours allocated will depend on the degree of difficulty of the language, but will range between 110 and 250 hours.  So we really take language training seriously.

If I didn’t have to learn languages I would still do so as it not only enables better communication but opens up a whole world of insights into another country, its history, its culture and its people.  The next language I would like to learn is Italian, but my greatest regret is that I did not learn Arabic when I was Ambassador in Bahrain, because it was not necessary for my job given that 95% of Bahrainis speak English and, as some of my friends pointed out, the Bahraini Royal family and government ministers speak better English than me!

How much do you use your languages in your working life?

Not as much as you might think.  In the Embassy I speak English and just occasional social Hungarian. External meetings are usually in English with some social Hungarian at the start and finish. When I give a speech some it will be in Hungarian, depending upon the event and the audience. Interviews are usually in English, with a few Hungarian sentences thrown in, although I have given some recent interviews in just Hungarian, like with Nők Lapja and RTL Klub for example. Social media interviews are usually in Hungarian, and I write bilingual Instagram stories.

For which occasions do you take an interpreter, and when do you manage alone?

Only very occasionally for meetings given that they are usually in English! All the TV stations will provide an interpreter, although I have promised ATV that I will give an interview once just in Hungarian.

Have you ever noticed your interpreter making a mistake and subtly corrected it?

No!  I have been very fortunate with my interpreters, most of whom I now know well.

What value does good quality translation and interpreting provide for you as Ambassador, and within the Embassy as a whole?

It’s essential! Without it I would be lost! All my Hungarian staff are bilingual so they provide me with excellent English language briefing for meetings and events. The only time they do produce work for me in Hungarian is writing speeches, parts of speeches or simple speaking notes. So it’s not really translation work as such, although some of the material they work with, e.g. lines to take from London, they will have translated into Hungarian.

Are you good at accents?

Yes, also I’m a reasonably good mimic, which I think helps. But it has taken me a long time to develop a Hungarian accent, and I’m still not there. By comparison, I think I picked up Japanese and Romanian accents reasonably quickly.

If you had to retire to a non-English-speaking country, which one would you choose and why?

I really, really like Hungary….but my wife and I have often talked about living in Italy. We love the place, the ambience and the people.  And the food and wine aren’t bad either!

*Iain Lindsay joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1980 and has spent much of his career in Asia Pacific, serving in Tokyo (twice), Hong Kong and Canberra. He was Deputy Head of Mission and Political Counsellor in Bucharest from 2003-2007, working on Romania’s accession to NATO and the EU. Prior to that he served as a foreign policy adviser to the Romanian Foreign Minister. He was Deputy Head of Mission and Director, Trade and Investment at the British Consulate General in Hong Kong from 2007-2011. The Queen awarded him an OBE in 2002.

He was appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Hungary from 30 March 2016.

Merry Christmas!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

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“Christmas! ‘Tis the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.”

~Washington Irving