Good and relatively cheap japanese translation?

[xuhhep]

I've got a japanese magazine article that i would like to have translated.
i tried translate.google.com and babelfish.yahoo.com, but the results look
more like haiku's than a understandable translation.

So iguess i need a human translato, but i would like one that's online,
and relatively cheap. I've understand that most agencies ask for about 25 cents a word. That would be a lot of money for a 5 page article!

So can anyone recommend me a good transation service that doesnt charge an arm and a leg?

 

[Sakunyuusha]

Your best bet is to ask people in communities like this one to do it for you. Not that they will, but it's your best bet. If it's a pornographic or otherwise adult article, you could try sending an e-mail to hentai translators, of which there are now several well-established ones in the English-speaking community. If it's scientific, then I'd suggest asking a scientific community. If it's technical or niche, then the communities who excel in said technique or niche activity.

Five pages isn't too much. It really boils down to the translator's ability, laziness, and generosity. Like I said, there are more than a handful of people right here on this board who could probably translate it for you. As for whether they would want to or not -- now that's a different story.

Can you not upload scans of the article?

 

[lowleg26]

25 cents a WORD!!?! Holy hell, I'm clearly in the wrong business. Maybe that just sounds like a lot, but 250 bucks per 1000 words seems like pretty decent money.

Sakunyuusha makes some good points. Post it here and see if some of our adept Japanese speakers would be willing to help.

You might also see if there is a Japanese language program at a college/university in your area. Faculty or students there may be able help you out.

Man, at 25 cents a word, you'd be better off paying for a Japanese tutor! :study:

 

[aquamarine]

25 cents a word is the standard price here in Japan for an agency, however the translators only make 5 cents per word.

 

[lowleg26]

however the translators only make 5 cents per word.

Bummer. Although, I guess you could argue that getting 20% of the cash isn't a terrible deal for the translator.

I personally wouldn't argue it, but it could be done. :joker:

Sounds like the thing to do would be to try and find a freelancer since they may be charging closer to the nickel per word than the quarter.

 

[Sakunyuusha]

25¢ per word is insane, I agree. But when you think about it, it's not very different from how photocopying stores operate. They offer discounts to people who photocopy a ton, but to the average consumer who walks in off the street, they charge ridiculous prices. For instance, $10 per square foot for making a color poster. This'll run you $60 for a friggin' 2 foot by 3 foot poster! (Whereas you could buy posters for like $5!) But were you to ask them to make you 1,000 of these posters, then you'd probably find that the per-poster price would drop off significantly, approaching (if not reaching) $5.

It's probably the same thing for these translation fees. I bet if you asked them to translate a 300-page Japanese Ph.D thesis paper into English for you, you'd find that it'd cost you several hundred dollars. However, this would be much, much cheaper than 25¢ per word.

I think they charge 25¢ per word to scare away casuals. Either that, or they're just insane. 'Cause like lowleg suggested, 25¢ per word sounds like the fast track to richness if people are actually stupid and/or desperate enough to go through with it. =\

 

[xuhhep]

I'm afraid i can't post it here, because i do not want it to be online. The article describes in detail a process that a niche group of people would very much like to know. Me too, so i ordered it from Japan myself. The images were very enlightening, but the full text would be even better. I was hoping someone here had a translation done before and knew a adress that's relatively cheap. 25 cents a word is a wee bit too much. It would cost me several hundred dollars.

 

[Ceiling Cat]

I'm afraid I can't post it here... the article describes in detail a process that a niche group of people would very much like to know.

Oh, dude... now you have to tell us what this is about. There is no way in Hell that you can say that and not tell us more. I mean, I may or may not be into whatever *it* is, but you have to tell us what it is this article tells you how to do. There's an internet rule on it, I swear. It falls somewhere between "Rule 34" and "pics or it didn't happen"...

PM is acceptable.

Oh, and since I'm here to offer more than just worthless commentary, try the site below if you can find the magazine in .pdf form:

http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/

 

[guy]

http://mygengo.com/translation/simple

 

[xuhhep]

Oh, dude... now you have to tell us what this is about. There is no way in Hell that you can say that and not tell us more. I mean, I may or may not be into whatever *it* is, but you have to tell us what it is this article tells you how to do. There's an internet rule on it, I swear. It falls somewhere between "Rule 34" and "pics or it didn't happen"...

Well, its nothing sexual, its just a technical process. Nothing to be too excited about.


Hey Guy, THANX! that's pretty cheap, only 0.05 a word!