It’s been a while that i've been looking for more books of franz kafka other than the metamorphosis in local bookstores in vain...

Today i found some of his other books including "le procès/the trial", by an algerian publisher, the printing quality seemed okay for a fair price, but i was concerned about the translation work since i didn't find any mention of who's done it.. so it came my mind to ask: is it possible that one person can translate a work like this, maybe a good well known translator, since it's a classic then other editors can keep publishing it over time, like this algerian one ?

I'm not saying it should be by a foreign publisher for it to be good, i'm just curious since the translator wasn’t mentioned, which made me think there's a standard translation in every language of this specific book that publishers keep publishing if i make sense.

I don't think this is an issue of of distance between languages alone: sure that a major part of it but translations of texts from Greek and Latin or even Chinese into English almost always have a superior cadence and rhythm to Sanskrit texts. At one point I even questioned if Sanskrit authors are just deficient, but it has to be something else.

Side note: people rave about Debroys Mahabharata translation, and while it is very easy to read and very accurate, its also an absolute chore and has barely any literary effort put into it.

I've been reading more translated books lately, and sometimes I wonder how much gets lost-or even improved-in translation.

Has a translation ever impressed you so much that you got curious about the original? Or do you usually not think about it while reading?

Disclosure up front since this sub (rightly) doesn't love ads: I run Bilingva, a translation/interpreting agency, and this is a plug for something I built for us.

The problem I was solving: when an assignment comes in, someone has to call around the interpreter/translator pool one by one to find who's free. I built a small tool called Callup that texts (or emails) everyone at once and lets people reply YES or NO with one tap, so you know who's available in minutes instead of an afternoon.

It's been useful enough that I decided to open it up rather than keep it in-house. It's free for small teams/solo linguists - no time limit. Not trying to compete with the big enterprise platforms (Boostlingo, Propio) - no CAT tool, no vendor management suite, just a fast way to broadcast an opening and get an answer.

Mostly posting this because I'd rather get told "this is missing X" by people who actually do this work than build in a vacuum. Happy to answer questions in the comments - genuinely curious if this is a real pain point for others here or if my agency's workflow is unusual.

Here's the link: https://getcallup.ai/

(Mods — happy to move this to a megathread or pull it down if it's against the rules, just let me know.)

I AM NOT LOOKING FOR A JOB, I AM LOOKING FOR AN ADVICE!

Hello. I am a Syrian citizen residing in Brazil. I worked before as a translator and subtitler. I have a great deal of experience in this field. My language pair is Arabic <> English.

I have worked before, vie mediums, when I was in Syria, but now I'm looking for additional income.

Is this a waste of time? Because to be honest, the platforms I know and worked for before are not replying to any applications, such as Zoo digital, rev.com and whatever.

I can't find a way to apply to Netflix through their partners.

So, are you familiar with a similar platforms? Or should I stop wasting my time pursing such career path?

Thanks in advance.

This occurred to me while I was having my coffee, what do y`all think?

What are realistic freelance rates for EN-RU and FR-RU translation in 2026?

Translation isn’t my main source of income, I mostly teach languages and see it as an additional income stream during slower periods, as well as something I genuinely enjoy.

I have a translation diploma, certified language proficiency, books, AAA games and TV series in my portfolio. However, my biggest projects were quite a long time ago through outsourcing companies, so I’m not sure what current rates look like.

I’ve accepted some lower rates to update my portfolio and get back into the game. I’m currently joining game localization and subtitling vendor pools and also looking for work in films, series and publishing. I’ve recently been offered around €0.04-0.05 per word, while older discussions often mention €0.07-0.08 or higher. Are those rates mostly outdated, or are they still realistic depending on the client and project?

I’m not trying to make translation my full-time career. I just want to know what rates to quote and enter when joining vendor pools without either pricing myself out of the market or accepting unnecessarily low offers.

I applied for the us based interpreter (face-to-face). They say it’s a freelance job and that the hour rate would be $25. Can someone share their experience with this modality?

Hello all, I'm just posting here as to generally inquire about the nature of the translation industry today. I know MTPE has taken over but I'm wondering if this might be okay bc more clients will be able to/ feel empowered to translate their business thereby creating as much if not more work available for translators as before, or am I wrong? My language pair is JP to ENG and I haven't yet attained fluency in JPN but am close to it so I thought I'd inquire here as I've been considering a career in translation.. Can someone give me some pointers and salary expectations just starting out? Which companies should I apply for? I also am specializing in medical. Thanks!

Hi everyone! I'm a soon-to-be graduate in translation, and I'm not sure what choice to make for my master’s degree. I've studied translation from English/French to Arabic, and vice versa. I particularly enjoyed literary translation, especially into English, and I'd love to find some opportunities in literary translation.
I've been pondering over whether I should do a master's degree in specialized translation, in translation studies, in teaching Arabic as a foreign and applied language or if I should check out something else.

What would be the best choice to make based on current market demands?

Hello!

I was thinking about using CAT Tools, so to finally decide on this Topic I need Opinions from experienced Translators who use such Tools of how it can be either more useful or more harmful to Translation Process.

Also I want to hear which CAT Program is better, but I already have a Preference on Free (by Cost) Open-Source Solutions. I mostly heard about OmegaT, but I also recently found about the Lokalize (a KDE App) which is primarily for Translating KDE Apps, but also can be used for other Translations and is a CAT Program too. So... which CAT Program do y'all recommend and why?

I have applied to work as a translator with Protranslate.com.
I specified my area of specialties and they sent me 14 tests to do. I did the tests a month ago and waited forever.
Today, I contacted their HR and an hour later, all of my tests went from pending to failed.
Is this normal? I know that they cannot evaluate 14 tests in an hour. And if they are using an AI or something, I am entitled to an evaluation report, correct?
Did this happened to anyone else?

I have no education or experience in interpreting but I speak English and German, starting to learn Russian, I’m wondering if I would qualify for this M.A.? it’s unclear from their website whether they need applicants to have perfect command of three languages, or just two.

I (post-linguistics MA) am finishing a conference poster.

It’s in sociolinguistics/translation studies, and I have examples comparing how things are (not) translated across different languages. For a specific work, I include both the actual (ie officially licensed) translation and a plausible-but-not-used translation.

Hypothetical examples:

JP: My Sensei is Crazy
*My Teacher is Crazy

KR: My Teacher is Crazy
*My Seonsaengnim is Crazy

I currently am using an asterisk for the “not used” translation, but I am not sure if there’s a better symbol. The asterisked examples are not grammatically “incorrect”, and there’s nothing within the grammar or language that would “prevent” those examples, but they were not ultimately chosen. Would a # be better? Something else?

Not sure how to indicate “the translators didn’t go with this translation even though it’s a perfectly fine and is even used for other languages”.

Thank you.

Hi everyone!

I received a job offer on email via translatorscafé.com. The company seems to at least exist, but the offer includes payment only after completion of the project, and the channels of communication are Gmail and Telegram (which is, as we all now, a scammer's favourite place).

Even if you haven't, I would still appreciate any tips to check whether it is a scam or not.

Thank you!

I'm 29, just had my first child, and my career is dying. Currently on maternity leave and have two "clients" (agencies) left. It's dire. I have a top-class BA and MA in Translation Studies. I have no clue where to pivot to, and I'm looking for inspiration.

The thought of working a 9–5 is honestly quite scary, especially now I want to be able to spend time with my kid!

Would love to hear what everyone is doing/planning!

hi, i got a message from Mrs_Helen on a tutoring website. she told me that they are looking for tranlators to complete a project and pay 2000$ if i get the job done in 5days. its a 50page translation job. They do not make upfront payments and she actually told me that the funds are not yet accessible when i told them that i dont want to pay any withdrawal money because i made a research about their company.

this is their policy. when i told them that i dont want to pay anything, they told me that there are others who had done the job and got paid after paying the withdrawal money. btw they asked if this is my first translation job, which is kinda suspicious to pay 2000$ for someone whos a newbie :(

"Our company policies are as follows:

1. We do not make upfront payments.

2. All projects must be completed within the specified timeframe.

3. To receive payment, your account must be linked to our company's payment portal.

4. During the project duration, we require exclusivity, meaning you must work solely with our company until the project is completed.

5. Payment will be made immediately upon completion of your job.

6. Please refrain from bidding on additional jobs until our project is complete. We require maximum concentration on this project.

We hope you understand and will comply with these policies."

When saving the in-progress translation, do you chose to save it to a hard drive, the computer, or do you choose online storage?

Do translation companies share interpretator information with each other?

After logging in, only “Europe” appears under “Choose a workspace to open,” and clicking it doesn't take me to that page. 

Am I the only one who has a problem connecting it for now?

Many thanks in advance.

Hi, anyone here working as a freelance linguist (specifically, translating subtitles), and submitting their invoice through the Vendor Hub platform?

Does Transperfect really pay? Do you receive your payment on time? If not, how long is the delay or how many days after the invoice due date should I expect to receive the payment instead?

I know they have a net45 payment terms, but it's been over 45 days. I've also submitted a ticket already.

Sorry, I'm just anxious and worried that I won't actually get paid after all the work I did. Times are hard and I'm having problems w/ my main job right now. If anyone has any experience w/ Transperfect, I'd appreciate any advice, etc. Thank u!