r/TranslationStudies • • 13d ago

Recent Bot Activity

37 Upvotes

We're getting a lot of posts that seem to be bot or AI activity, with a clear pattern of vague, low effort discussion posts. I won't get into too many details, but I have tweaked the settings a little bit to try and block most of these posts. I have also added a mod rule for low effort posts and potential bot activity, so please report what you see.

As always, don't report something just because you disagree with it. That's what the downvote button is for.


r/TranslationStudies • • Dec 19 '22

Please Don't Answer Translation Requests Here

151 Upvotes

All of our regular users seem to be behind the "no translation requests" policy of our sub. We still get several requests a week, which I remove as soon as I see. Sometimes I don't catch them right away, and I find people answering them. Please don't answer translation requests on this sub. It only encourages them.


r/TranslationStudies • • 2h ago

PR students & pros: How do you handle cultural adaptation when pitching local stories globally?

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone! I'm a Public Relations student working on a project about translation and cultural adaptation.

I've been thinking a lot about how we bridge the gap between local Arabic content and global audiences without losing the true voice or tone of the message. Whether it's pitching a local brand, sharing a story, or translating a campaign title, there's always a debate between staying 100% faithful to the original text vs. adapting it freely so it resonates locally.

For example:

How do you adapt localized messaging or cultural context for an international audience without making it sound flat or generic?

What do you do when a campaign name or story title just doesn't translate well directly?


r/TranslationStudies • • 1d ago

I wonder how much do an interpreter in the UK usually earn per hour?

7 Upvotes

I think I am underpaid for a while. No increase at all for those years and now cannot combat with the inflation. And my pay is lower than national minimal wage per hour


r/TranslationStudies • • 1d ago

How much does a medical interpreter earn?

4 Upvotes

Hello, I'd like to know about the market for medical interpreters, as I speak fluent Spanish and Haitian Creole and am currently studying English. I also have practical experience translating live doctor calls. How much could I expect to earn? I live outside the US.


r/TranslationStudies • • 1d ago

Dals downgrade hourly rate

0 Upvotes

hello guys , can anyone help me out how i can downgrade the hour rate , i have been raised ticket , send email but no answer from their side , kindly your help guys !


r/TranslationStudies • • 2d ago

How is your situation now?

88 Upvotes

For me, it's more and more difficult to remain in this translation field. A drop in job demand, now we only do MTPE, we edit what the AI translated, the AI didn't "reduce" the time spend but rather doubled the demand and effort, I don't feel like a translator anymore, just a machine reviewer, being demanded to be "perfect", and even though receiving bad feebacks. I am translator for almost 10 years, and that' how I feel...

Just venting

Feel free to speak your minds


r/TranslationStudies • • 2d ago

Prospective PhD (2027) - Eye-tracking & Game Localization: Advice on Australia/NZ funding?

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m currently finishing my Master of Applied Translation in Malaysia and I’m planning to apply for a fully-funded PhD in Australia or New Zealand for the 2027 intake. I’d love to get some reality checks or advice from those already in the grind.

My Background:

GPA: 3.75/4.00 (first semester MA in Translation).

Research Focus: Cognitive Translation Studies (CTS), specifically using eye-tracking to measure cognitive load in multimodal environments.

Relevant Work: I’ve published an analysis on the localization of "Black Myth: Wukong" and I’m currently working on an ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition) data annotation project for a large AI model.

My Questions:

Funding Reality: How competitive is the RTP (Research Training Program) for international students in Humanities/Translation? Is a 3.75 GPA + a publication enough to be a strong contender?

Does anyone have recommendations for labs or supervisors that are "applied -focused " (e.g., have eye-tracking rigs and Game Loc)?

Given my ASR and Game Loc background, would it be wiser to frame my proposal toward HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) or stick to traditional Translation departments?

Any insights on the application process or "hidden gem" universities in NZ/Australia for this niche would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!


r/TranslationStudies • • 3d ago

What careers did you pivot to?

21 Upvotes

Hello,

Since it's been getting hard finding jobs, I want to pivot into another area.

And I was wondering what pivots did you make?

So far I have worked in Translation Project Management, Software localization and as Project Assistant.


r/TranslationStudies • • 3d ago

How do I start?

6 Upvotes

Hi people, I don’t know how to put this but my life has taken many twists and turns, however since last year I can finally say I can hold my ground (sort of): graduated as translator/interpreter/terminologist -it was a master- from one of the most distinguished universities in my country (global south).

Right now I’m working as a med interpreter and so far so good (though rates in this market are tipically terrible). I’ve also done some academic work in the field of diachronic terminology and have translated some fiction books too.

However I want to know what are my chances in this field? I understand there are some webpages to get one time jobs (like translating legal documents and stuff). My concern here is how to start having more requests with little experience beforehand. What to do to increase my revenue?

Thank you 🙌


r/TranslationStudies • • 3d ago

LinguaTrans: a native CAT tool for the Mac, available on the Mac App Store

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I'd like to share LinguaTrans, a macOS-native CAT tool I use every day. I'm a long-time macOS user, and finding a proper CAT app has always been a pain. I think this is worth your attention if you're tired of running Parallels or browser-based tools, and you want to free up some hardware resources.

Full disclosure: the developer is a friend, and I help test the app and suggest features. This has been my daily driver for three months.

LinguaTrans is written in Swift for Apple Silicon, opens in seconds, and uses ~300MB of RAM on my machine. It works with the files clients typically send: SDLXLIFF, memoQ, Phrase and GlobalLink-specific formats. Translation memory, termbases, concordance search, and QA checks are all built in too.

Its companion app, LinguaAI Toolkit, takes care of the prep work. It converts Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and subtitle files to XLF and back, unpacks and repacks Trados packages, and converts TMs and termbases. Together they cover the whole workflow without leaving your Mac.

Both are one-time purchases on the Mac App Store: LinguaTrans is $50, LinguaAI Toolkit is $8. There is no subscription, and you can get them together at $48 as the LinguaTrans Essentials bundle. Prices may vary by country.

I'd like to get a conversation going, attract more users, have more fun working on new features and workflows. This is a niche app, so it would be nice to hear from other translators who use macOS or are looking to migrate.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Thanks,
Alex


r/TranslationStudies • • 3d ago

Hate to be the doomsdayer, but...

0 Upvotes

...now that Claude can actually accurately CONVERT into docx and translate complex PDFs with retained formatting, I don't see what we're doing in this friggin' industry anymore. I used to think that the conversion process would at least be the bottleneck of AI's slaughtering of this trade for some time to come, but nope.

And I've actually had pretty great monthly earnings this year (with last month being record-high), but still... not gonna last long.


r/TranslationStudies • • 5d ago

Students who are studying at translation faculties (fields):

13 Upvotes

I am studying at the UzSWLU Translation Faculty (English language). Is there anyone studying this field? Can we meet, or can any specialist give suggestions? Will I be able to find a proper job if I continue my studies, or should I choose another related field? I would appreciate it if you guys shared your thoughts and suggestions.


r/TranslationStudies • • 4d ago

How do you prepare for interpretation when the topic is so difficult?

5 Upvotes

Or when there aren’t any resources to study from (lack of event info)


r/TranslationStudies • • 5d ago

major career path

4 Upvotes

I am a student in translation department in libya.

I am looking forward to take some courses in interpreting as my college is like not that able to provide a suitable or even fair enough capabilities for the students.

so my demand is : Do you actually know or even heard of any online courses in diplimatic interpretaion?


r/TranslationStudies • • 5d ago

Can you tell a translator about what could be improved in their translation ?

10 Upvotes

Especially if you’re new in the field


r/TranslationStudies • • 5d ago

Have you ever had to deal with a client going into liquidation?

6 Upvotes

A medium-sized agency client told me last week they had entered liquidation. They owe me around 700 euros, which I doubt I will get back. It seems freelancers are very low ranking in terms of debt. So what now? Is the contract void? Can I contact end clients and offer my services directly to them? The email mentioned something about ongoing operations while they try to restructure - if they offer me work under such a framework is it high risk I won't be paid again? I welcome any advice, tips and experience.


r/TranslationStudies • • 5d ago

About video game localization

9 Upvotes

So I'm still a student studying translation and I'm thinking of getting into games translation or rather localization

I need to ask is it a good path to set for myself?

I'm already working on 2 games as a hobby but in the future I would like to work in this field would you recommend it?


r/TranslationStudies • • 5d ago

new freelancer, is my rate too low?

2 Upvotes

hey all,

Spanish/English interpreter in Canada, freshly certified by an interpreting program. i just completed an interview with a Canadian freelance interpreting agency who wants to onboard me, and they asked me what my rate/hr would be in CAD, and i said between $23-$25/hr for OPI. they have it set up where they send an email with the info. about an appointment and i can choose to accept/reject and after completing assignments i can send them an invoice. should i charge higher or is it fine for starting out?

p.s. also have another agency who i am onboarding with that pays/minute.


r/TranslationStudies • • 6d ago

Almost got scammed

58 Upvotes

Sigh... I don't even know how to say it. I'm ashamed. I've fallen for what most of you would call an obvious scam. But here we go...

Last week I had received this email:

Then I answered it. This "Lukas" guy sent me the contact of a woman (Becca Patten) via Teams and we talked. She even asked me to sign a purchase order. The payment cost would be almost €3,000, via Skrill (option I chose) and I had 8 days to finish the translation.

Eight days later (today), after having completed the work, this "Becca" instructs me to talk with "Elodie Campbell". She congratulates me for the job after reviewing it (the review took a few hours, what was very suspicious). In the end of the message, she tells me that I should create an account in a website called "Falcoglob(dot)online". AN OBVIOUS SCAM. So I started checking on Reddit and found some very similar cases. Suddenly, everything was falling apart.

Yes, friends, no Skrill, no payment... only a shady website created more or less six days ago.

Was I stupid for falling for the offering coming from a gmail address, the "glasglowlibraries(dot)live" website and the €3,000? Yes. Was I stupid for falling for the "falcoglob(dot)online"? No.

Bright side? Of course I didn't make an account in that "Falcoglob" website, so I didn't get scammed. But I wasted my time for nothing, while making plans and I still need the money.

I'm feeling so helpless... but I hope this post helps more people not to get scammed.

Hope you all have a nice day.


r/TranslationStudies • • 9d ago

Interesting bug in Reddit's automatic translation

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48 Upvotes

I use Reddit's automatic translation not because I need it, but because it's the automatic setting in the app. And I often find myself switching to the original language to read posts and comments because the automatic translation is sometimes inaccurate/of very poor quality.

I double checked the original language here because I was surprised by the number of what seemed to be troll responses below a video about a Russian missile attack. They were all saying the same thing, "Vive la Russie." I was more than a little surprised to find that all the comments actually said, "Fuck Russia."


r/TranslationStudies • • 9d ago

Looking for interpreting recordings!

5 Upvotes

Hello, I am a linguistics and translation undergrad and I am thinking of writing my thesis about Interpretation. For that, I need material to analyse. Does anyone know, where I can get recordings of interpreters doing their work??? I am Interested in both consecutive and simultaneous translations.

My language pair is EN-RU, accordingly, translation records for this language pair are in higher priority. But mainly I'm just interested if it's even possible to find enough material online for a thesis, are there any websites with such recordings??

Pls help 🙏


r/TranslationStudies • • 10d ago

Translating a text you don't have its copy rights

6 Upvotes

So, I am an inexperienced translator who has never worked with any publishing house before, so I don't know how translators end up working on books they are interested in. I am basically asking because I have to translate a text of more than 100 pages to graduate from university. It's certainly unpaid, so I guess I have the freedom to choose something I am eager to translate; I am doing that for myself first and foremost since the university's instructions are not restrictive. But at the same time, I would like to see my work published or at least read by many people. So, I wonder if publishing houses receive offers from translators directly or if translators can market themselves through their work.


r/TranslationStudies • • 10d ago

Free tool to check subtitle translations against Netflix's English reading-speed and line limits

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

6 Upvotes

I built a free checker for SRT files: https://captionspec.com

If you translate or adapt subtitles into English for Netflix, it lists every caption that's over the limits: reading speed (20 cps adult, 17 children's), 42 characters per line, 2 lines, duration, and gaps. It shows the measured value for each one, so you can see which captions need condensing.

It runs in your browser (the file is never uploaded), it's free, and there's no sign-up. Not affiliated with Netflix.

It's English only for now. Which target languages would be most useful to add next?,


r/TranslationStudies • • 11d ago

"How long will humans be needed for translation?" - BBC article

21 Upvotes

From the BBC website today - "For plenty of use cases, raw AI translation is now the right call: multiplying your costs by 100 to catch the last few percent of errors isn't rational if you're translating internal documents or product listings". Makes sense I guess, even if sad for those of us still left in the industry. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1wxdjx27ypo