| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: Could you have completed your last project without an Internet connection? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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It was done in the client's online platform.
| | | | Ailsa Campbell 
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:51
French to English
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| not for work needing journal access | Nov 24, 2015 |
It clearly depends on the sort of translation work you do (but I agree, it's an odd question in this day and age). I certainly need it for everything I do. The last job? I could probably have done most of the bare translation - specialised and within my competence, but I also had to find original quotations from books and articles. I.e. my author had himself translated quotations from French, German and English into Italian. I don't translate them back into English - I find the originals (mostly... See more It clearly depends on the sort of translation work you do (but I agree, it's an odd question in this day and age). I certainly need it for everything I do. The last job? I could probably have done most of the bare translation - specialised and within my competence, but I also had to find original quotations from books and articles. I.e. my author had himself translated quotations from French, German and English into Italian. I don't translate them back into English - I find the originals (mostly on JSTOR). Some would no doubt say that isn't the work of a translator, but to my mind this is essential, and I certainly could not possibly do without the internet for this sort of work. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 21:51
English to Spanish
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| Windy Internet? | Nov 24, 2015 |
Michael Harris wrote: Julian Holmes wrote:
Quite frankly, in this day and age, an Internet connection is taken for granted. So, why this question? It's like asking if there are any translators out there still living in the Dark Ages?
You'd be paddling up whatsit creek if you didn't have an an Internet connection. And, besides, you would not be taking part in this poll. Duh! I must admit that a couple of years ago when I went Hungary for 6 weeks in a row and used to work in the garden, it all depended on which way the wind was blowing if you had internet or not, fortunately things have changed in the mean time, but it was a problem then - mobile not landline.
As Dylan sang, ♫ the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind ♪♫
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 21:51
English to Spanish
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| Internet thingy | Nov 24, 2015 |
It's a thought-provoking question that touches on modes of delivery, ways of working with external sources and communications with customers and colleagues. However, I don't need no shtinkin' Internet to write my translations.
While WordPerfect keeps collecting dust, I use MS Word to write my texts. As a colleague said here, I can use my smartphone to send the files via Dropbox or Box.com (or Gmail Drive) and then email the download link to my client.
But it's not a sma... See more It's a thought-provoking question that touches on modes of delivery, ways of working with external sources and communications with customers and colleagues. However, I don't need no shtinkin' Internet to write my translations.
While WordPerfect keeps collecting dust, I use MS Word to write my texts. As a colleague said here, I can use my smartphone to send the files via Dropbox or Box.com (or Gmail Drive) and then email the download link to my client.
But it's not a smartphone because the thing is smart but because it's meant for use by smart people like you and me. ▲ Collapse
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Noura Tawil
Syria
Local time: 04:51
Member (2013)
English to Arabic
Julian Holmes wrote:
Quite frankly, in this day and age, an Internet connection is taken for granted. So, why this question? It's like asking if there are any translators out there still living in the Dark Ages?
Imagine, my friend, living where I live (God forbid!). The scenario of waking up to a dead internet connection won't seem too unlikely anymore
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 10:51
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Okay. So, how do you cope when the Net is down and you have to deliver in 5 minutes time?
Do your customers realize this may happen frequently/from time to time? And are they sympathetic? Also, do phones work in your part of the world when Internet connections are dead? I.e. if the Net is down, is everything down?
Unfortunately, we are all slaves to being 'wired' to do business as translators and 24/7 connectivity is the taken-for-granted modus operandi these days. I would dre... See more Okay. So, how do you cope when the Net is down and you have to deliver in 5 minutes time?
Do your customers realize this may happen frequently/from time to time? And are they sympathetic? Also, do phones work in your part of the world when Internet connections are dead? I.e. if the Net is down, is everything down?
Unfortunately, we are all slaves to being 'wired' to do business as translators and 24/7 connectivity is the taken-for-granted modus operandi these days. I would dread having to go back to delivering by FAX or modem again.
Please do tell us more about what is happening and what it's like to be a translator in Syria right now. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Ditto, aswell | Nov 25, 2015 |
Teresa Borges wrote: Mary Worby wrote:
I could have completed the translation but not returned it.
Translating is not the problem, but delivering the project? Pigeons? Snail mail?
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Because I use the Internet not only for research but also to test collocations--i.e., make sure the word combinations I use are common enough to occur more than once. If I find no matches, it usually means that what I'm saying is highly uncommon and might not be understood by the reader.
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Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 22:51
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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| Without the internet, | Nov 25, 2015 |
We can certainly translate, using TM, paper dictionaries and other sources. But we would not be able to send the translation to the client. They will certainly not accept a hardcopy by courier. So yes, we can translate without the internet, but no we cannot work without it.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 03:51
Spanish to English
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Jenny Forbes wrote:
I think some respondents have missed the point of this poll - I don't think it's asking whether you could have transmitted your last project other than electronically, but whether you could have done the necessary research without the Internet.
Fair enough, but when my internet goes down, I can always go somewhere that does have Internet, such as cybercafes, bars etc. The local library has free Wi-Fi and I often see groups of young people fiddling with their smartphones around the town Hall doorway, so I suppose that is a hotspot too.
Then again, if the poll is surmising about a scenario where all the Internet connections worldwide are on the fritz, then I'm afraid that kind of apocalyptic situation is just too unbearable for me to think about.
[Edited at 2015-11-25 08:23 GMT]
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 03:51
Spanish to English
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| Stuff happens... | Nov 25, 2015 |
Mario Chavez wrote: As Dylan sang, ♫ the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind ♪♫
High winds bent and broke my wifi antenna a couple of years ago... and my friend down the road's was struck by lightning last week, he had to come and use my wifi for 3 days...
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 03:51
Spanish to English
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Muriel Vasconcellos wrote:
Because I use the Internet not only for research but also to test collocations--i.e., make sure the word combinations I use are common enough to occur more than once. If I find no matches, it usually means that what I'm saying is highly uncommon and might not be understood by the reader.
I do this all the time, and find the Google stats on how many examples of the phrase it finds helpful when choosing synonyms, turns of phrase, clichés, etc.
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Noura Tawil
Syria
Local time: 04:51
Member (2013)
English to Arabic
Julian Holmes wrote:
Okay. So, how do you cope when the Net is down and you have to deliver in 5 minutes time?
Do your customers realize this may happen frequently/from time to time? And are they sympathetic? Also, do phones work in your part of the world when Internet connections are dead? I.e. if the Net is down, is everything down?
Unfortunately, we are all slaves to being 'wired' to do business as translators and 24/7 connectivity is the taken-for-granted modus operandi these days. I would dread having to go back to delivering by FAX or modem again.
Please do tell us more about what is happening and what it's like to be a translator in Syria right now.
Hi Julian
I would do just what anyone else anywhere in the world would if their internet connection went dead just minutes before delivery... Like trying my alternative 3G connection; and if that was dead too (It only happened twice during the past two years, and thankfully never in a critical time... Great luck, perhaps!), then I might go out and see if my parents' internet provider was luckier that day, or find an internet cafe with a working connection.
I took a habit of delivering my work as soon as I finish it, and of biting LESS than what I can chew. This provides some flexibility should technical or greater problems arise.
Regarding your other question, it has never happened that all communication means went down together (Thank goodness!), landlines never do, but that's only because till now I don't exactly live in one of the active war zones in Syria.
However, I think that what this poll is trying to find out, is how much translators rely on online resources to get their translations done (research wise), not if they could receive and send jobs if there was no internet
I do rely on online resources quite a lot (especially for medical translations), but I could manage some of my jobs without online research (such as the long-term pedagogical/parenting project that I'm working on this year).
[Edited at 2015-11-25 21:47 GMT]
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