The Conference
The guiding topic of our conference was quality. True to our style, our expert speakers delivered hands-on presentations and sessions meant to help us find out what we are looking for in terms of quality nowadays, when Artificial Intelligence and Machine Translation are on everybody’s lips. We steered away from buzzwords and focused on what makes us irreplaceable instead, i.e. the quality only the human touch can provide.
Ready for an in-depth exploration of our profession? Look no further! To ensure we both kick-off and conclude our conference on high notes, we've broadened this year's agenda to include two workshop days dedicated to PMs – on Wednesday – and technology – on Saturday.
From PM Strategies…
Dear Project Managers, we've heard your calls! And we are dedicating the entire Saturday to address your unique challenges and aspirations. This series of workshops is the perfect place where you can refine your skills and share your burdens. If you're still puzzling over how to respond to that fickle customer in the most amicable manner, or wondering about the essential elements of an effective translation brief, then this is where you'll find the answers. Join us and be part of our journey as we set the stage for the conference.
…to CAT Tools Tactics
While we push boundaries with artificial intelligence and machine translation, we're also grounding our roots with indispensable CAT tool workshops, a must in a translator's day-to-day. Recognizing this, we've dedicated an entire day, concluding our conference, to hands-on, extensive sessions that explore the industry's most popular CAT tools. Whether you're undecided about the best CAT tool to kickstart your translation journey, or if that stubborn memoQ error message still gives you a headache, we’ve got you covered! Just make sure to bring your enthusiasm, and we'll handle the rest!
You cannot visit Transylvania without falling in love with the delicious food you find here. But apart from food, getting to know more about traditional folkloric music and dance is a must (“musai” or “muszáj” as we say). That’s exactly why the Transylvanian evening organised for the TranslateCluj 2024 attendees will take you to another world, where all your senses will be spoiled. Join us at the conference and at the Transylvanian evening, and we promise you’ll have a blast!
Speakers & Topics
Carlos la Orden Tovar
Over the last 23 years and counting, Carlos has forged a professional career linked to Information Technology, Languages and Education across Europe and America. In the last two decades Carlos has lived and developed his skills in 10 different countries, proudly working as a Technology Trainer, Localization Project Manager, School Teacher & University Jack-of-all-trades. And Freelance Translator, of course. Over the years, he has worked with dozens of international clients such as Microsoft, 3M, RWS, Cisco, Oracle, AENA, United Technologies, Movistar and Nokia, to name a few. His natural inclination towards sharing knowledge and gathering new experiences has driven his career through unbeaten paths, mixing academic and business life in an ever-changing global scenario. He lives in beautiful Tuscany and splits his time as a Technology Trainer, Lecturer, Speaker, and freelance Language Consultant and Localizer.
My keynote presentation will tackle quality from a perspective that will help us freelancers make a stand against the perceived rise in AI and MT usage as the dominating business model, which may lead to think that it inevitably ends up with lowering the quality bar as clients no longer care about it.
I will discuss the issue from the translators’ side, highlighting its relevance for our professional activity, but I shall also explain how we can make clients and LSP understand its importance, and how the lack of quality is not a viable option in the long run. I will relate to the tools we use, to communication skills and to the public image offered by LSPs to their clients and to end clients when working directly with them, and how the choice of quality against savings/speed is a win-win situation. I will also touch on using and displaying overtly appropriate tools and processes to raise awareness about quality across all stakeholders, and how we can use our knowledge and expertise to enhance our visibility and acquire better business, which ultimately help LSPs and end clients to gain more business in their end.
- How to write and structure instructions. What to include and what NOT to include.
- Communication channels for different needs (project progress, query management, client point of contact, etc.)
- Basic technical setup (again, not covering this in detail), including a proper method and tools for:
- file management
- workflow tracking and versioning
- query logging
- How to handle expected and unexpected project updates
- How to face blocking issues towards freelance providers and end clients
- Pros and cons of automation in project management
Prof. Anca Greere
Professor Greere holds a tenured position at Babeș‑Bolyai University, formerly the Director of the European Master’s Programme in Translation Studies and Terminology and an active member of the European Master’s in Translation Network. Professor Greere also acts as a quality assurance expert and has taken on chairing roles for international institutional and programme review panels organised by quality assurance agencies in Europe and beyond. She has worked extensively with the European Commission on implementing projects with relevance for the European Higher Education Area and continues to conduct and supervise research on topics of direct interest to higher education and translation studies.
Quality is in the eye of the beholder” or is it really? Is the concept of quality as elusive or fuzzy as it is frequently made out to be? This is an invitation to unpick principles of quality assurance and to determine their usability across professional settings. We aim to identify what may constitute: universals, applicable irrespective of culture and context; transferables, where some adjustments may seem reasonable; specificities, ring-fencing the options available; and, uniqueness, imposing highly contextual solutions. Our aim is to establish what are must-haves and nice-to-haves when we strive to assume a quality mindset. If quality may mean very specific things for very specific professional settings, can we challenge our thinking to expand those contexts and allow for interplay across professions? The intention is to exemplify how this may be done by juxtaposing translation professionals and translation educators, with a view to retaining those principles which can truly benefit our day-to-day priorities.
Martina Russo
Martina is a freelance translator gone ethical agency owner. With +13 years in the translation industry, she's seen the good, the bad, the ugly–and the REALLY ugly, so she decided to set up her own agency to do things differently. The Action Sports Translator is a hyper-specialized translation agency that works with state-of-the-art tech, yet never automates relationships and never compromises on quality. On this occasion, Martina will share her point of view as a translation agency owner, formerly freelance translator, in what "quality" means and how she pursues it within her organization.
Big localization industry names have said it over and over again: “clients are not interested in quality”. And some of the trends we've been seeing – costs being cut, machine translation and now AI – seem to confirm this theory.
But... is that true? Having started my journey as a freelance translator, then launching a successful translation agency that’s ALL about quality, I can tell you that the reality is a bit different.
In this session, we’ll look at the different types of clients you can actually work with, and those who are most likely to care about and pay for quality. We’ll dive into how we define quality as an industry, whether there’s a problem with it, and whether translators, clients and translation agencies have the same definition of “quality”. We’ll also look at how you can measure and provide quality as a freelance translator, and we’ll ask ourselves (and answer) some tough questions on some of the “quality” problems that are affecting the translation industry today. I’ll also take you through my journey, showing you that running an successful translation agency that puts quality AND people first is totally doable today.
Ellen Singer
Ellen Singer has been a technical translator for nearly thirty years at AzTech Solutions, a small translation agency that provides a wide range of services. Although she specializes in technical translation and has used CAT tools since the nineties, Ellen’s interests and skills are far-ranging. She relishes the challenge of projects requiring creativity and rhyming skills, as well as transcreation projects, and has spoken at translation conferences on a wide range of topics. Bart, Rachel and Ellen started Write outside the box a few years ago, their website focuses on copywriting in English, Dutch and Spanish.
The presentation is based on my personal experience (1995 to date).
Language is flexible, which makes it hard to define quality in unequivocal, measurable and universally applicable terms, or to determine the factors that influence the perceived quality of a text (original and translation). Can technology help us provide quality translations? If so, which factors can it address? Is high quality always required? Which factors influence the required level of quality?
Factors: Language, culture, text type, purpose, target audience, etc.
- Setting up projects: specific instructions, reference materials, TM, TB, etc.
Information: end customer, word count (total and weighted), deadline, tasks
(translation, editing, MTPE, localization, transcreation), etc.
- Effective communication channels for various needs (project progress, query
management, client point of contact, etc.)
- Basic technical setup including a method and tools for:
o File management
o Workflow tracking and versioning
o Query logging
o Translation and editing
- Handling expected and unexpected project updates
- MTPE – when useful and when not
- AI – when useful and when not
- Pros and cons of project management automation (multiple or dedicated translators)
- Taking translator’s location, working hours, etc. into consideration.
- QA options.
- CAT tool compatibility and the difference between a mature CAT tool and a TMS
(translation management system) with translation options
- Mutual respect and trust
Jerzy Czopik
Born in Cracow, Jerzy studied mechanical engineering until moving to Germany in 1986. Living in Dortmund from then he finished his engineering studies in Germany. In 1990 he started to translate, and in 1991 began his specialization in technical translation. In 1992 he became a sworn translator and interpreter for German and Polish.
Jerzy is a self-taught user of CAT tools, and after many years of experience is now a trainer for SDL software. He also runs a webinar series called “Ask Dr. Studio” for the BDÜ (the German federal association of translators and interpreters). In April 2018 he
became the vice president of the BDÜ.
Jerzy is also auditor for LICS (Language Industry Certification System, awarding ISO 17100 certificates). Since 2010 together with his wife he owns an EN 15038 / ISO 17100 certificate.
Weighted word count price calculation based on source text analysis in CAT tools such as Trados Studio or memoQ has been around for more than 20 years. They have now become firmly established in our industry. And even if they do mean a certain reduction in our fees, when weighed fairly, they are not an evil in themselves. However, the market situation has started to change dramatically. Many clients are trying to reduce costs by changing the price calculation "through the back door". This procedure is often introduced secretly, without informing us as contractors. In memoQ, for example, a client can tick 'Homogenity' (i.e. internal fuzzy matches) in the analysis and the appearance of the analysis will remain the same, even though the number of weighted words may change dramatically. This method of analysis (including 'internal fuzzy') is used by more and more clients today. In the case of weighted word counts, moreover, changes in weights have emerged, leading to a drastic reduction in payment amount. Depending on the type of text, this can be a reduction of more than 30%! However, the latest and most worrying trend is so-called Dynamic Pricing. Here, we receive an initial calculation of the project (typically this applies to post-editing), on the basis of which we accept the order. Once the editing is completed, the client calculates the so-called Editing Distance, i.e. analyses the number of changes made and calculates the final payment on this basis, which is not infrequently as much as half the initially proposed rate (obviously lower than for the translation, as this is MTPE).
Jerzy will organize a Trados Studio Masterclass on Saturday, 23 March, for those of you who want to learn how to really master this powerful CAT Tool.
Marek Pawelec
The translation industry uses various translation quality metrics for numerical evaluation of quality, but while the numbers can tell you a lot, very rarely they can tell the whole story, especially when it comes to something as elusive as quality. In this presentation I will try to define what constitutes “good quality” for various types of translation and discuss how we can use various tools at our disposal to achieve it. I will talk about CATs, QA checkers, LQA and others, but not about specific programs and settings, but rather how to use them for achieving the ultimate goal – a translation that will be considered “good” or “good quality”.
Like every year, Marek will organize a comprehensive and highly useful memoQ Masterclass aimed at language professionals who want to improve their skills of this complex and industry-leading tool.
In his PM Day Workshop, Marek will demonstrate some of the most common and useful features memoQ has to offer to Project Managers.
Ioana Diaconu-Mureșan
Freelance translator (mostly literary, mostly from Polish), witty storyteller, pretty decent communicator, passionate about education and bringing Romania and Poland closer. Program Coordinator at the Polish Cultural Center of the Babeș-Bolyai University (voluntary work).
Despite what one may think in the age of Wikipedia, vulgarisms are a tough nut to crack, and even more so to translate, relying so much on context and everything…
This story starts from a Polish movie about a hip-hop band from the ’90, moves on to the Slavistics symposium in Cluj some 10 years ago, jumps to 2020, when a feminist poet was slashed by critics because she used a vulgar word in a poem (the horror!), makes a quick stop to the most recent scandal (key word: Gheboasă) end ends symmetrically with a Polish theatre show that was supposed to take place in one city until the local manager decided the language is too strong for the public.
So yes, this is not so much about how we translate this or that word, but more about how we perceive them and why.
Anca Baciu
Anca has been a translator for twenty years, specializing in audiovisual translation and working mainly as a freelancer. During this time, she has translated and provided quality assessment for thousands of hours of documentaries, feature films and television series, and while subtitling remains her main field, she also takes on music theory, medical and literary translation projects. For two semesters, she was guest lecturer, teaching subtitling to second-year students of the MA Programme for the Translation of the Contemporary Literary Text — English, at the University of Bucharest.
Subtitles can make or break a viewer’s experience. Just like in any other translation field, quality assessment of audiovisual translation does not follow a clear-cut pattern and is rarely objective. For some a hindrance, for others a “necessary evil”, subtitles should deliver the audiovisual message without distracting the audience.
In a world with so many options available, from television to streaming platforms, and with so much content to choose from, the process of providing quality translation is faced with many challenges, which I will illustrate based on my personal experience. Are the tools technology provides in the AVT field of actual help?
Alecsandra Lițu
I am a consultant, trainer and coach, focusing on human development and fascinated by the potential for transformation that people, groups and organizations have. For the past 15 years I have created spaces and environments in which people could find gates towards themselves and others, build healthier teams and flourishing organizations.
During this time I have worked with more than 10.000 people in 80 organizations, delivering more than 15.000 hours of training and 650 one-to-one sessions.
My development has taken me from Jaques Salomeé’s ESPERE Method to my coaching journey started 10 years ago with John Whitmore’s Performance Consultants in London and the MindLearner’s Coaching School, connecting with our unconscious self with Robert Moss’s Dream Teaching. I am currently deepening my training in the human mind and soul by training as a Jungian Psychotherapist.
Gain new insights and business perspective with Alecs Litu, a seasoned Learning & Development consultant with a proven track record of running a highly profitable business for the past 5 years. Geared towards translation professionals seeking to enhance their business acumen, this session will equip you with invaluable insights into negotiating with clients wielding significant budgets.
Unlock the potential in your current client relationships to elevate your translation business. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting, Alecs’ practical insights and strategies will guide you to maximize the value from your existing client base.
Cătălin Zima-Zegreanu
As a Video Game Designer and Software Developer, Cătălin feels a bit out of place in this list of speakers. For the past 13 years, Catalin has been involved in creating video games for a variety of platforms and international markets.
During this time, he bumped into lots of challenges related to translation and localization in video games, stories and interactive experiences. Having worked with a wide-range of solutions for translations, from in-house writers, to external vendors, to the dreaded automated translation services, he's gathered quite a few stories that he'd love to share
A reflective journey through the experience of localizing the video game Yaga in 14 languages and the lessons learned while doing so. From unexpectedly long words, to gender-inflected verbs, French punctuation and computer-generated translations, this talk delves into some aspects of localization that are often unknown to game developers until encountered firsthand.
Gain insights into how you, a translation professional, can help us ignorant game developers in anticipating and addressing potential roadblocks before they arise, and enhancing the accuracy and quality of our game localizations.
Venue
Get to the venue
BUS (FROM AIRPORT)
Lines M41, M41L > 24, 30, 24 B
BOLT / TAXI
Bolt is the leading mobility app operating in Cluj. Alternatively, you can grab a taxi.
The DoubleTree by Hilton
This five-star hotel is an iconic landmark of Cluj, and was the host of TranslateCluj 2020, the previous edition of our conference.