CAN ONE SURVIVE AS A FREELANCE TRANSLATOR?

By Sakini Mohd Said

This is the first of the two part series dwelling into the career as a
translator and the translation work itself.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- Can one survive solely working as a
freelance translator?

If the earnings of translators here is anything to go by, then a career as a
full time or a freelance translator is worth giving a try.

With a good command in the languages being the capital added with a reading
culture to keep abreast with developments, one can become a translator earning a
decent income at the least.


NOT GLAMOROUS LIKE OTHER PROFESSIONS

As for those who are unaware of the industry's potential, they may shrug off
the profession thinking they won't be able to earn much.

Moreover, the work of a translator is not as glamorous like the legal,
medical or teaching profession unlike in the West where translators are a well
regarded profession.

In Malaysia, it is rare to hear someone saying that his/her career of choice
will be a translator after completing college or university education.

Such lack of interest on the profession is nothing new for the Coordinator
of the Translation Division of the National Translation Institute of Malaysia
(ITNM) Jurina Pieei.

"Thus it is not an understatement to say that this field has yet to be fully
recognised though the translation industry has a huge impact," she said in a
media report published last year.


THE TRANSLATION INDUSTRY

"This is a big industry," said a lecturer in translation studies at the
Humanities Studies Centre of Science University Malaysia (USM), Associate
Professor Dr Hasuria Che Omar.

She said that this industry is not limited to book and document translation
work but also covers the work of interpreters and in providing subtitles.

"There is a wide scope for translators, for example in the world of
translation we have the interpreters. We see interpreters play their role during
seminars or in courts of law translating from one language to another to relay
the message.

"Other than being an interpreter, they could also do the 'voice over' during
games/events or translate a language through sign language, all part of the
translation industry," she told Bernama recently.

Explaining further, she said, the society has benefited tremendously from
the translation industry though they may not realise this.

For example many have taken for granted the subtitles of TV programmes and
movies translated into their language to help them understand better.

"Translating subtitles in films, TV shows, VCD and DVD is part of the
industry.

"Regardless of the variations, there are ample employment opportunities in
the translation industry that promises good income for those willing to go the
extra mile," said Dr Hasuria who is also the vice president of the Malaysian
Translators' Association.

However, for this article the focus is more on translating written texts -
books and documents.


STOPPED WORK TO BECOME A TRANSLATOR

A translator's work has nothing to do with the studies in the languages
though this will definitely help in the profession.

After graduating with a degree in survey from Technology University Malaysia
(UTM) Muhammad Razin Ong Abdullah surprisingly took up a profession that is
totally unrelated to what he studied for - translator.

He joined the translation industry in 1991 when he was appointed as the
Language Planning and Translation Officer with Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (The
Institute of Language and Literature - DBP), a government body responsible for
coordinating the use of the Malay language in Malaysia.

It all began during an UTM alumni meet where a translation course was also
organised and that spurred him to choose a profession as a translater.

"After the course, DBP called me for an academic book translation project,
and if I'm not mistaken it was under the 'nadi' project. This prompted my
interest in this field and finally I was offered the job as a fulltime
translator," he said.

After working with DBP for seven years, he sought a difference experience in
translating with DTP Enterprise Sdn Bhd through the role of managing editor and
with Book Online Sdn Bhd through the role of web editor before deciding in March
2001 to become a freelance translator.


CAN ONE SURVIVE AS A FREE LANCE TRANSLATOR?

"Nonetheless, one needs good discipline, must be willing to work hard and
must have good contacts in the industry in transforming words into money and
making the undertaking a viable business," he said.

Muhammad Razin who specialises in translating texts that are technical in
nature noted that he has been surviving successfully as a free lance translator.

"I can still survive and I have been supporting the family through the
income from translation. But as a freelancer I have to go the extra mile to get
translation work.

"In a month, my income is between RM$3,000 (US$1,000) and RM$4,000
(US$1,333). This line certainly promises lucrative income, only that you have to
work hard," said Muhammad Razin who translates from English to Malay and
vice-versa.

On the rates he charges, he said it all depends on the individual
translators including the language to be translated into, the complexity, the
number of words and the translators' experience is also taken into account.

"If the text is simple, the charges are RM0.30 sen (US$0.10 cent)or RM0.40
sen per word (US$0.13 cents). If it is highly technical and complicated, the
charges differ and are set after discussing with the client," he said.


CAN EARN WELL IF YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES

His views is shared by another freelance translator, Amir Muslim who started
working as a freelance translator in 2001. Before involving himself in the
profession, he had worked as a reporter with the international desk of a Malay
daily Harian Metro.

He decided to become a freelance translator as he liked working on his own.

According to Amir, freelance translating is just like any other business
that calls for strategy to win over the customer's attention and bring in the
profit.

"There is good prospect in this line of work and one can survive like how I
did over the last 11 years. Like other businesses, there are products and our
products are the good command in the language, expertise in translating and
knowledge.

"For the products that we have, we have to find brilliant ways to market
them. We have to look for clients.

"What more, when our career has been established, the projects will be
flowing in as people already know who we are and how we work," he said.

However, he did not want to reveal his earnings.

Amir who specialises in translating from English to Malay noted that almost
all of his translation works came from ITNM.