"Louise Bremner" <dame_zumari@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1gsdji1.1rq0v7h1v8fqN%dame_zumari@yahoo.com...
> Ryan Ginstrom <ginstrom@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > You could get a job butt-wiping^H^H proofreading translations into
English
> > by native Japanese speakers with a questionable grasp of the English
> > language.
>
> The trouble with that sort of job is, I found, that there's always going
> to be some translator or later-stage editor who will pick up on the fact
> that the rewriter is not from the USA and so could not possibly
> understand the subtle nuances of the English required for the preferred
> market. Never mind that such translators and editors couldn't either, by
> the same logic....

I recently did a translation, and had it come back with all instances of
"-ize" changed to "-ise." I called up the client and asked what was up, and
they told me that since the poster was for a conference in France, they
wanted it in British English, so could I please change it to British
English? I said sure, why not? So as an added bonus I changed all instances
of "color" to "colour."

> A much more interesting version of that job involves rewriting technical
> papers written in English by Japanese researchers, for publication
> abroad. But that requires specialist knowledge of the subject.

I have a couple jobs like this. It can be a good gig, especially when the
writer has a decent grasp of English.

The recipe for bitterness is when the native Japanese translator + native
English-speaking checker combination is being used as a cost-cutting
measure. The manure that comes out of 99% of those translators is simply
beyond repair.

A close second is the kind of client that says "we want it translated by a
Japanese to make sure the translator understands it, then we'll have you
'check' it."

-- 
Regards,
Ryan Ginstrom
ryang@gol.com