FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
Up to 300 words in the source text - $30 USD After 300 words - $0.10 per source word Please see the 'Services & Rates' section of my website for more info.
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
I'm fascinated by languages and linguistics! One day, I want to go to Spain and study the minority languages that are spoken there, such as Aragonese and Leonese. I take an analytical and meticulous approach to language, and to translation in particular. I also have an attention to detail that allows me to preserve the meaning of a text across the language gap. I get a lot of satisfaction from putting these skills to use, and combined with my love for language, translation seemed to me to be a perfect fit!
- What questions should customers think through before talking to professionals about their project?
Translating is definitely not taking each word in the source language and changing it to it's equivalent in the target language. It's more like re-writing the entire text. Remember those writing prompts in school that asked you to describe something 'in your own words'? Translating is sort of like that, except your 'own words' are an altogether different language. Languages have different grammar rules, conventions, idiomatic expressions, cultural references, etc. It's impossible to translate a text word-for-word without an awkward, ugly, or even incomprehensible result. A translator's goal is to make sure the people who read the translated text receive the same information and ideas as those who read the source text, without feeling as if it 'sounds' like a translation.