Comments on: Why Pay for Translation if You Can Get it for Free?

By: TED is looking for a few good translators

TED is looking for a few good translators — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 16:30:02 +0000

[...] translation crowdsourcing to work, first you need crowds. And TED, which has been using the crowd to provide translation of its videos, apparently is looking for a few more participants. [...]

By: TED is translation-worthy | Global by Design

TED is translation-worthy | Global by Design — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:10:15 +0000

[...] putting aside my concerns about a company getting services for free that it could very well afford, I want to focus on what [...]

By: Judy Jenner

Judy Jenner — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:59:19 +0000

Ah, one of my favorite topics. I just spoke at length at a translation conference in Chicago about the danger of giving away your product or service for free. From an economics point of view, there is no such thing as a free lunch (TINSTAAFL), so obviously someone must bear the cost of the “free” translation (the translator, because of opportunity cost). In general, I think being a volunteer translator for very worthy, cash-strapped non-profit organizations is a fantastic idea, and I am happy to contribute to non-profits. However, for-profit companies need to understand that translation, just like any other highly specialized professional service, is not free. Lawyers and accountants are not free, either, nor does anyone expect them to be.

My advice to translators who are trying to grow their business is to volunteer their translation services to non-profits in their community or elsewhere who might not have sufficient funds to properly outsource these services.

By: Mike Unwalla @ TechScribe

Mike Unwalla @ TechScribe — Mon, 18 May 2009 08:23:33 +0000

Quote: Personally, I think we’re entering a dangerous area where companies that don’t know better are going to think they don’t have to pay for translation.

I agree.

There is always a cost. For example, if a company uses machine translation or volunteer translators, the translation cost is close to zero. However, an incorrect translation can lead to legal proceedings, which have a high cost.

The problem is neither machine translation nor volunteer translators. The problem is ignorance. Companies need to know when machine translation, volunteer translation, and professional translation are suitable.

As one analyst at Gartner states, a company must optimise costs, not cut costs (http://blogs.gartner.com/dave_mccoy/2009/05/16/method-to-the-madness-applying-a-methodological-approach-to-cost-optimization/)

For the record, I am an advocate of machine translation.

By: Erich Hegenberger

Erich Hegenberger — Sun, 17 May 2009 20:53:06 +0000

I don’t see much difference between companies who don’t know better getting translations for free and getting them for next to nothing, which they’ve been doing all along anyway. This is an ongoing annoyance to any translator with an ounce of self-respect, but imho nothing new to worry about in terms of job security.