Dutch-English??? Thread poster: Peter Simon
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Peter Simon 
Netherlands
Local time: 04:40
English to Hungarian
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I was wondering about this project posted just now under "Dutch to English"; however, what I've found has flabbergasted me ... since when is "Übersetzung Geheimhaltungsvereinbarung" in Dutch? Duits, probably, but no, they really ask about Dutch. How deep can an agency sink? I wonder how many German translators will see their posting if it is posted under this note and requirement. And this from a 5-ranked BlueBoard agency in Germany! Congrats!
P. Simon
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You indicate that the agency is in Germany. I didn't look at it, but what tells you that the agreement itself is in German? I frequently get jobs from Spanish to English that are described in German by agencies in Germany and Switzerland.
| | | | Peter Simon
Netherlands
Local time: 04:40
English to Hungarian
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TOPIC STARTER | Is that so, Paul? | Feb 24, 2014 |
Then I'm sorry, but I would have guessed that Sp-E translators would not necessarily understand German at the gates. As a Dutch-E translator, I understand no German at all myself, that may have been my problem. I wouldn't have a clue about the topic I guess, even if I wanted to apply for the job ... I still find it strange, but that's life. Thanks for your help.
[Edited at 2014-02-24 14:06 GMT]
| | | | Kirsten Bodart
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:40
Dutch to English
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| Some agencies do this | Feb 24, 2014 |
I've seen this before and sometimes receive requests in Italian and Spanish for my language.
It may just be that the person filling in the description doesn't know enough English/Dutch or that they are looking for someone who can communicate in German, if necessary. You never know why they describe a job in a totally unrelated language.
I'd call it unusual rather than unacceptable.
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Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 22:40
German to English
| An annoyance | Feb 24, 2014 |
Although I rarely apply for jobs posted on Proz, I do think, however, that a job posting should be in one of the languages related to the translation job. Even a Google translation of the description would be more informative than, say, a posting for DE>EN using the Cyrillic alphabet, as was the case a few weeks ago.
| | | | Edwin den Boer
Netherlands
Local time: 04:40
Member (2009)
English to Dutch
| Ein Übersetzer braucht mehrere Sprachen | Jan 7, 2015 |
I'd say it would be helpful to have a basic understanding of more languages than the languages you're translating to and from. Not just for communicating with agencies, but also for finding information from sources like Wikipedia or a multilingual glossary.
Sometimes I manage to find information about mathematics or engineering subjects in German that isn't readily available in Dutch or English. On the other hand, my school French wasn't good enough to communicate with a French PM i... See more I'd say it would be helpful to have a basic understanding of more languages than the languages you're translating to and from. Not just for communicating with agencies, but also for finding information from sources like Wikipedia or a multilingual glossary.
Sometimes I manage to find information about mathematics or engineering subjects in German that isn't readily available in Dutch or English. On the other hand, my school French wasn't good enough to communicate with a French PM in French, unfortunately, so we had to use English.
Understanding related languages shouldn't be to hard for a linguist. I'd never hire a native Dutch translator who doesn't understand German at all, or a native Portugese translator who doesn't understand Spanish at all. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Peter Simon
Netherlands
Local time: 04:40
English to Hungarian
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TOPIC STARTER
Thank you for your viewpoint. And I agree with it completely. However, it looks like either you haven't checked who I am, or you have a limited understanding of history, to which all of us are slaves to.
If you were my age, you wouldn't start advising me about learning new languages. If you had been born where I was, you wouldn't have seen the point most of your life (without any possibility to travel and practice your languages), you'd probably have studies Russian at school and ha... See more Thank you for your viewpoint. And I agree with it completely. However, it looks like either you haven't checked who I am, or you have a limited understanding of history, to which all of us are slaves to.
If you were my age, you wouldn't start advising me about learning new languages. If you had been born where I was, you wouldn't have seen the point most of your life (without any possibility to travel and practice your languages), you'd probably have studies Russian at school and have since forgotten it through neglect (while you had the time and possibility to learn German and English), you could have visited 1 country in W-Eur. in 3 (three!) years with a budget of $50 for a month (while you can travel anywhere any time all over the world from where you were born), and you'd have worked your pants off, overtime as well, making ends meet at 3-400 EU per months (compare this to your situation). After that, you may have had the strength to learn a language for a month of the country you travel once a year - probably Slovak, Bulgarian, Rumanian, or Polish. Of which I haven't only studied Polish at all.
After all, I managed to start travelling later and study another 4 languages, but I still don't earn enough to travel extensively. Besides, I hated German as a language for a long time (I don't really know why any more, I have had very good German colleagues) and I've started Dutch above 50. Now that's enough for me thank you.
Now, if the 2nd war had been won by Germany, we wouldn't be discussing this at all. Also, if you hadn't managed to get a distance from German, you'd feel differently. For me, German is a touchy issue I'm afraid. With some effort, I could understand German, I just never feel like it. My main point, however, has been expressed by Kevin 11 months ago: an agency should advertise their jobs in one of the languages for the translation involved. They are agencies, mind you, they can always find someone to do it even if the project manager doesn't write in either language. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I think you should put yourself in their shoes | Jan 7, 2015 |
If you only spoke English, and you wanted a translation from Chinese to Japanese, you wouldn't post the job in either of those languages. You'd do it in English and hope that people understand.
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Peter Simon
Netherlands
Local time: 04:40
English to Hungarian
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TOPIC STARTER
It's not about what I speak - it's about the ad of an agency! Read the end of what I've written as well please ...
| | | | Edwin den Boer
Netherlands
Local time: 04:40
Member (2009)
English to Dutch
No need to take it personally, Peter. I want to have a general discussion on a public forum.
That's why I limited my last comment to *native* Dutch translators after checking your profile.
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