Five Tools Available Free to Translator Freelancers

Machine translation has been a great boost for the translation industry, but few believe that it is as good as a human translator. Machine translations have not yet taken over as the main way of facilitating a translation. Virtually all human translators use tools available through machine translation websites. Here are five examples of free tools that translation services can use to improve their work.

Google drive

Google Drive has turned out to be an extremely useful tool for freelancers who are translators, especially when they have to communicate with clients from the other side of the world. Sometimes it is necessary for two translators to work on one document translation, even if it is just for proofreading purposes. The added bonus is that the ‘track changes’ facility can be used so that the other person working on the document can see the changes. 

Dropbox

Dropbox is an internet tool that surpasses email because it can handle far larger files which are easy to load and access. It is particularly useful for closing up distances between people as whoever you give access privileges too these people can share any of the files you choose.

WordPress

WordPress is a website tool that is just suitable for freelance translation services that are great at what they do and want to share it with the world and attract more clients. A translator can compile a brochure featuring examples of work and write a blog too on developments in the translation industry. Contact details can be provided and a place for comments as well. This is a great way for a freelance document translation provider to get firmly established in the translation world.

Skype

This is the all-in-one tool that connects the world. A translator can talk directly with a client; send attachments and text messages at no cost at all if Skype addresses have been shared. Skype uses what is called VOIP technology to link up individuals and translators globally as long as the two parties are connected to the Internet. 

Pixabay

A freelance translator who has his or her own website may wish to add images to brighten up the content. Pixabay is just the answer and it does not cost anything but has a stock of more than 490,000 photos and art illustrations available for freelance translators to access and use. 

So What’s So Different About Video Game Translation?

Have you ever had one of your kids try and explain a video game to you? It is as if they are speaking a completely different language to your own. In fact, many kids seem to speak in a different language anyway even when they aren’t discussing the latest video game!

You can imagine the challenges of translating the words and phrases which are unique to video games as a genre and to each specific video game as it emerges and evolves. Japanese video game creators and manufacturers have tussled with this unique set of language problems for years, but it is by no means confined to the difficulties in translating Japanese words and characters. 

The fact is that video game translation really requires a team of specialised translation services personnel who deal exclusively with video game language. That’s the ideal scenario, but it’s not always possible of course. The number of truly specialised video game translators is probably quite small. 

The challenges of video game translation for the professional translator are compounded by the fact that new terminology and characters are emerging all the time as video game creators attempt to develop new themes to keep their customers interested and promote sales. A lot of characters in video games are often culturally specific and it takes quite a lot of thinking on the part of the translator to convert these characters into an equivalent that will have the same sort of impact in a different language and cultural setting.

Of course, similar challenges exist when new films have appeared which use language which is obscure or specific to the setting of that film. Think of the Lord of the Rings, for instance. The setting is one taken from a Nordic (Scandinavian) base, with a Tolkienesque twist. Translating the utterances of elves and trolls into Arabic, Vietnamese and Hindi (just to name a few languages) is a major translation feat and yet it has been done because films like that have universal appeal which transcends borders. Video games are in a very similar group, with the added challenge that the language is often even more unique to a particular game. 

One thing is for sure and that is that video games are not going to go away any time soon and that means that there is plenty of scope for the translator who is contemplating a shift to professional translation services specialising in video game translation.