Weird situation
 

Hi everybody!

So I have this weird thing happening to me right now. Right now I am in France and I am trying to relocate to England.

A few weeks ago I was in England and I attended a seminar in my professional field where I met the PR manager of a company. This person gave me her email address and said I could email her my CV (I knew the person in charge of the seminar was a person from this company before I attended it and I knew this company is looking for someone who have the skills I have). She forwarded my CV to the recruiter of the company and a few weeks later he phoned me and we arranged a date for an interview (this won't be until a few weeks).

So everything was fine and suddenly he sent me an email where he asked for my help! He has a text which needs to be translated and he wonders if I can help him because he knows I speak French! I'm so desperate to find a job in England that I answered yes! I got the documents today and there's quite a few documents, I didn't expect this to be soooo long!

So I'm a bit dubious now, what should I do?

Is this normal from a british employer? My friends tell me that they take me for a fool...

Need your help please :confused:

Re: Weird situation
 

I would say Yes of course, I would be delighted to help. My normal fee for translation is 0,08€ per word and I can deliver the translation by (whenever). Please confirm that this is this acceptable.

He'll be impressed by how business-like you are.

Was there anything in his mail that indicated that he's expecting you to do this for free, or are you assuming?

Hopefully you have a UK bank account to get paid to.

Re: Weird situation
 

Thanks for you quick reply ;)

I will PM you the whole conversation and you can tell me what you think :ohmy:

I wish I had read your post before I replied to his email, your answer was perfect haha!

I'm not a translator, it's not my job so I would feel guilty to charge the same amount as a real translator would charge ;)

Re: Weird situation
 

Hmm, what ET suggests is certainly business-like but may not come over very well. You are probably in the best place to make a judgement about how this plays into your aspirations. If this were a job you were being offered in France you would probably do handstands if they asked you to!

Re: Weird situation
 

I didn't mention it in my topic but I am not a translator, this has nothing to do with my job!

Thanks for your reply InVinoVeritas :)

You're right if it was a french employer I would tell them to... well you know what I would tell them!

Re: Weird situation
 

I'd be surprised if he is expecting it done for free. When you say to somebody, in a professional context, 'I need this doing, can you help me?' you don't normally mean, as a favour.

Re: Weird situation
 

I would email back stating you was unaware at how big the document was going to be also ask them if they are aware you are not a professional translator. Tell them that you believe it might be best for them if they seek a professional translator as you do not in all honesty feel that you have the required skill set to take on such a big job. If they are happy for you to do the job ask them what monetary figure they would be looking at paying you for it.

Re: Weird situation
 

Imho your not a translator so you shouldn't engage in that kind of work full stop, to a professional employer in the UK undertaking this task would make you a liability you have no way of knowing what he is going to do with your interpretation of his documents and ultimately you could be stringing yourself up.

Is speaking French part of the competencies for the role your aiming for?

Re: Weird situation
 

If you don't feel able to do it, obviously don't do it. I assumed from what you said that you felt competent.

Re: Weird situation
 

The document itself is not difficult to translate but a bit long (1500 words I think with a lot of figures), however I don't have a degree in translation or anything equivalent.

Re: Weird situation
 

Not many translators do have degrees in translation ;) there aren't many universities that offer them.
Usually you take a test, and if you pass, you're a translator.
I think you said it's a translation into French. It's normal for a translator to translate into their native language only. I don't know if French is your native language. My French is pretty good (modesty is my middle name) but I would never ever accept a job translating into French.
If you're not native French you could tell him you're not a translator but you can help him to understand it if that's all he wants. If you are native French and you feel competent to do it, I would stick with my first reply. 1,500 words is too much for a favour, it would be half a day's work for most translators that don't use CAT tools. Don't take our work away from us and do it for free ;)

Re: Weird situation
 

You didn't say whether it's English-to-French or the contrary. As you are French, NEVER accept to translate into English unless you have an English person competent in the subject matter, to read it through with you.
You don't actually need a degree to be a translator, I didn't have one... And from my experience, 1500 words is a relative short text!
Translators should have professional insurance, in case they make world-shattering mistakes, which is quite possible if you don't know the subject matter. I never accepted work where I wasn't comfortable with the subject matter....
I would think carefully about accepting this work....
P.S. I never translated anything into French unless OH read it through (in which case he could have done it himself....)

Re: Weird situation
 

It does all depend on the context. If the purpose of the document is legal or commercial you could recommend a qualified translator, if it's just for him to get the gist of what something means then you could perhaps do a favour to show willing. If it's a computer-based document then either of you could do a babel or google translate (if he knows how).

Re: Weird situation
 

You must have gone it some then, dmu!

Here are a few discussions between professional translators on how many words they reckon they can translate properly in a day.
Poll results
How many words per day can you translate on a day-to-day basis? (Getting established)
How many pages on average should a translator be able to translate per day? (Getting established)

I can do 3,000 words in less than a day if pushed - but after that my brain is so done in that I have to take the rest of the day off, so nothing gained.

Re: Weird situation
 

Yes French is my mother tongue, even though my father is british I grew up in France and always attended french schools so obviously my French is much better than my English.

I know that in France you have to be 'traducteur assermenté' and I am pretty sure there is no equivalent in England.

I think I will stick with (to? ha i'm not even sure see how bad my English is) your answer Eurotrash, it's the best thing to answer (Eurotrash sent me a PM with this idea).

So the answer would be something like:

'Hi!

I've had a look and it will take some time, I did not expect these documents to be so long to be honest and thought I could do it quickly this evening, however it will take longer than what I expected and I won't have the time to do it until end of the week as I only have a bit of time during the evenings this week! Is there a budget for this?'

What do you think? Thank you

Re: Weird situation
 

It's hard to express what I want to say because I don't want to be rude or indelicate.

'I've had a look and it will take some time, I did not expect these documents to be so long! To be honest I thought I could do it quickly this evening, however it will take longer than what I expected and I won't have the time to finish it until the end of the week. Is it ok for you? What's your budget for this project?/Is there a budget for this?'

Re: Weird situation
 

Change "than what I expected" to "than I expected" (than what = noooo!) and personally I think that's an excellent reply.

Maybe "I was expecting it to be something I could do quickly this evening" rather than "to be honest etc" - you don't have to make excuses, just state facts.

Re: Weird situation
 

Sounds great to me - just take out the "what" between "than" and "I"

Re: Weird situation
 

You're right 'than what' is awful, I'm exhausted hence this unforgivable mistake ('ce à quoi je m'attendais' in French).

'I've had a look and it will take some time, I did not expect these documents to be so long! I thought I could do it quickly this evening, however it will take longer than I expected and I probably won't have the time to finish it until the end of the week. Is it ok for you and is there a budget for this?'

I removed the 'to be honest' which was a bit too much.

Re: Weird situation
 

Nitpicky I know but I would keep it as you did first time, have 'Is this OK for you?' as one sentence and 'Is there a budget for this?' as a separate sentence. More effective I think.
Go for it, and I really hope you get the job if it's what you want.

Re: Weird situation
 

Thank EuroTrash, I just sent it.

We'll see what will happen but I think it is wrong to work for free if it's not just a 'sample' to show how you work.

Re: Weird situation
 

:lol:
Depending on the urgency, I could do 20 pages of solid text (each of 30 lines, = 300 words) in a day, if pushed. I refused once, and that particular work went to an English confrère in the UK, and I lost an otherwise good client...
On the other hand it would probably take me a day to translate 10 lines of literary text, AND it would sound like a translation!
@Babyposer
My two daughters have the same problem, in the other direction. They were born and bred in France and, although theoretically bilingual, still make mistakes in English sometimes, esp. ever since they left home.

Re: Weird situation
 

If they prefer to have a degree-qualified translator then I can give you a contact. UK guy who was at school in Paris but mother tongue is English.
Degree from Durham university. Currently doing freelance translating.

Re: Weird situation
 

100% bilingual is almost impossible I guess! I'm still learning new words in French and English and this will probably last my whole life.

Re: Weird situation
 

:thumbsup:
I'm still learning both (esp. modern expressions in English - I'm still using slang used in the 60s:eek:)

Re: Weird situation
 

No reply yet. Don't know what to think.. we'll see :fingerscrossed:

Re: Weird situation
 

Somedoby told me a few days ago that a "woman who does" is a "cleaning lady". Never heard it before and I'm still sceptical :lol:

Re: Weird situation
 

Let's not talk about "a woman who doesn't" then!

Re: Weird situation
 

Thats slang for wife:lol:

Re: Weird situation
 

It might be a generational thing, but I as a Senior would say "Ethel does for me on Tuesdays" (if she did so).

Re: Weird situation
 

.....and Fifi does for others on Friday night. Ooh la la! :o

Re: Weird situation
 

Lewd frivolity aside, that's correct. But I think its a very old fashioned phrase associated with a certain not very educated, lower middle class sort in the 1950s.

Edit: I think "une bonne" is the nearest in French but I stand to be corrected.

Re: Weird situation
 

That's what I mean, it's a generational thing - I must have picked it up in the 50s and it's stuck.
I would have said a "bonne" is a maid. The French equivalent of a charlady (is that expression still used nowadays?) is simply "femme de ménage" or the politically correct "employée de maison"/"auxiliaire de vie".

Re: Weird situation
 

dmu, I don't really see anything generational about a "woman that does", possibly "charlady". You're right that "une bonne" is a maid, and anyone working in an office who complained about "la bonne qui fait mal son travail" would sound somewhat grotesque.
In French there's also the terribly politically correct "technicienne de surface" for a cleaner.
PB

Re: Weird situation
 

The phrase was used regularly in BBC comedy radio shows in the 50s and 60s. Among the many priceless 'Sandy and Jules' skits on 'Around the Horne' was when they knocked on his door and said: 'Allo mister 'orne, my name's Sandy and this is Jules, we've come to do for you...

Novo and your inexhaustible memory, or maybe Tweedie, will surely come up with the odd Youtube scene with that memorable pair!
Blackie

Re: Weird situation
 

Aaaaah, a blast from the past! You've got me all nostalgic now. "The Navy Lark", "Hancock's Half-Hour", "The Goon Show", among others.... :)

Re: Weird situation
 

I was brought up in a middle-class environment, and distinctly recall hearing the expression 'woman that does' relating to visiting charladies during neighbourly discussions etc.

With apologies to Novo, veering off-topic again, (with more lightheartedness than lewd frivolity), and especially as I was prompted with the mention of 'Sandy and Jules' and 'Around the Horne' - a program that I loved and always listened to, here's a brief clip that should bring back memories for other young 'uns like myself.

Re: Weird situation
 

Ooooooo! Bold, very bold!

Re: Weird situation
 

and the Clitheroe kid.

The only way Kenneth Horne got away with it was the public were generally too naïve to understand the innuendos.
I recorded lots of these programs and listened to them over and over. :thumbsup:

Re: Weird situation
 

I've forgotten. What's this thread about again?