A Practical Guide for Translators

by Geoffrey Samuelsson-Brown

This is the fifth revised edition of the best-selling A Practical Guide for Translators. It looks at the profession of translator on the basis of developments over the last few years and encourages both practitioners and buyers of translation services to view translation as a highly-qualified, skilled profession and not just a cost-led word mill. The book is intended principally for those who have little or no practical experience of translation in a commercial environment. It offers comprehensive advice on all aspects relevant to the would-be translator and, whilst intended mainly for those who wish to go freelance, it is also relevant to the staff translator as a guide to organisation of work and time. Advice is given on how to set up as a translator, from the purchase of equipment to the acquisition of clients. The process of translation is discussed from initial enquiry to delivery of the finished product. Hints are given on how to assess requirements, how to charge for work, how to research and use source material, and how to present the finished product. Guidance is given on where to obtain further advice and professional contacts. This revised edition updates practices in the translation profession and considers the impact of web-based translation offerings. Industry and commerce rely heavily on the skills of the human translator and his ability to make intellectual decisions that is, as yet, beyond the capacity of computer-aided translation.

Genres: Linguistics

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 3, 1993

Reviews

[Rita P Smits · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great book for anyone who wants to start working as a translator and feels that he/she does not know where to start.

It includes every practical piece of info you might need, including reflections on how to manage your own business, how to handle clients or how much investment you'll have to make in terms of equipment if you want to start as a freelancer - it even has some illustrations showing the ideal physical position you should adopt! Sadly, a lot of this information is outdated (especially everything related to automation), or pointless for anyone with minimal knowledge on the subject.

I recommend skimming through it if you can access it on a library and you're interested in the "work" aspect of the translation industry.

[Sylwia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This edition of the book, although useful in some matters, is unfortunately clearly a product of its time. I suspect the newest edition would be much more helpful for people looking into translation nowadays, especially in terms of technology described. Still, I have to say that certain aspects of the book were very good and it was well written in general.

[A K Markussen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fair enough book but it is very out of date. Written in 1998 (the edition that I read), this book is very outdated in terms of the processes that it describes to use computers to translate. I believe that a newer edition of this book would be more helpful.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are starting out as a freelance translator or would like a career as such and got no idea where to begin or would like advice on certain areas - this is the book to get. It is the best one I've found on the market for this purpose and I can't praise it enough. The book is all about the business side of setting up and being a freelance translator.The author covers the following:

How to become a translator
Bilingualism - the myths and the truth
The client's viewpoint
Running a translation business
Your working environment and the tools of the trade
Machine translation and computer-aided translation
Sources of reference, date retrieval and file management
Quality control and accountability
Presentation and delivery of translations
What to do if things go wrong
Professional organisations for translators
Planning your exit strategy
An appendix further gives Translators organisations, and links. The advice can obviously applied to any language combination. Samuelsson-Brown's writing is very clear, with plenty of relevant examples from real life settings whilst never being unnecessarily academic.

This book has given me the confidence to be able to tackle the business side of being a Freelance Translator right from the first step (where do I even start with this…) and to make sure that you don't forget anything with such a big undertaking (i.e. do I need insurance and what type, what equipment do I really need and what will be a luxury). I have referred it again and again and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone wanting to break into Freelance Translations. All advice is UK-relevant.

[Grazyna Nawrocka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the book is published in England, and is relatively old (2004), it contains a lot of useful information for anybody who wants to start a translation business.