Some questions about Kudoz points Thread poster: David Jones
|
|---|
David Jones 
Taiwan
Local time: 18:55
Chinese to English
+ ...
In the last few weeks I've attempted to get some Kudoz points as everyone keeps talking about how important they are, however, in my language pair in the last few weeks I couldn't help but notice that the majority of questions are coming from Chinese people translating into English. This is just an observation, but a lot of the people providing feedback to said questions seem to be Chinese people who often provide mixed translations (some of them have been terrible whilst others have been reason... See more In the last few weeks I've attempted to get some Kudoz points as everyone keeps talking about how important they are, however, in my language pair in the last few weeks I couldn't help but notice that the majority of questions are coming from Chinese people translating into English. This is just an observation, but a lot of the people providing feedback to said questions seem to be Chinese people who often provide mixed translations (some of them have been terrible whilst others have been reasonable) but the one consistent thing seems to be that Chinese speakers seem to prefer English translations produced by Chinese speakers and the Kudoz points are being rewarded accordingly...
Please correct me if I'm wrong. But this Kudoz system seems quite unbalanced, at least in this language pair...
Am I doing something wrong with Kudoz? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 13:55
Member
English to Turkish
| Are there any other native English speakers translating from Chinese apart from you? | Dec 29, 2020 |
If so, that sounds like discrimination.
People here often bang on about the so-called "native tongue rule". They are right of course, but you don't see that many native English speakers taking an interest in learning languages like Georgian, Bulgarian, Turkish or Chinese. They always seem to be interested in learning Italian, Spanish, German, Swedish etc. and residing in countries where those languages are spoken. So I'd imagine there shouldn't be that many native English speakers transla... See more If so, that sounds like discrimination.
People here often bang on about the so-called "native tongue rule". They are right of course, but you don't see that many native English speakers taking an interest in learning languages like Georgian, Bulgarian, Turkish or Chinese. They always seem to be interested in learning Italian, Spanish, German, Swedish etc. and residing in countries where those languages are spoken. So I'd imagine there shouldn't be that many native English speakers translating from Chinese.
I know that there used to be only one Englishman who would contribute to the Kudoz questions in Turkish to English language pair, but he's not around here anymore. Even then people would prefer the answers of those given in American English rather than in British English. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Vanda Nissen
Australia
Local time: 20:55
Member (2008)
English to Russian
+ ...
| Don't get discouraged | Dec 29, 2020 |
David, first of all, don't get discouraged. I think, we have a similar problem with Russian. There are more native Russian speakers who translate into English than native English speakers who translate from Russian. It may also appear that Russians prefer answers coming from Russians but it's not the case. It is just native Russian speakers outnumber native English speakers.
Another thing is what I would call a ''trust''. Kudoz is a place where people already know the ones who provide the ... See more David, first of all, don't get discouraged. I think, we have a similar problem with Russian. There are more native Russian speakers who translate into English than native English speakers who translate from Russian. It may also appear that Russians prefer answers coming from Russians but it's not the case. It is just native Russian speakers outnumber native English speakers.
Another thing is what I would call a ''trust''. Kudoz is a place where people already know the ones who provide the most accurate answers so it takes time to get established. But do not worry, if you provide good answers and reasonable explanations, people will notice that and you will start getting your well deserved points! We have colleagues from Hungary, Turkmenistan etc. and other countries for whom Russian and English are their second and third languages but they give good answers in the RussianEnglish pair and, respectively, earn Kudoz points. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | You can gain more than just points from KudoZ | Dec 29, 2020 |
As someone in a similar position, in that I am one of only a tiny handful of native EN speakers who answer questions about a language that very few native EN speakers learn (Romanian), I can understand why you might get that impression, but as Vanda says, it may be due - at least in part - to the simple fact that native CH-speaking answerers outnumber native EN-speaking answerers.
I have rarely answered RO-EN questions in recent years, partly because so few are asked nowadays, but I... See more As someone in a similar position, in that I am one of only a tiny handful of native EN speakers who answer questions about a language that very few native EN speakers learn (Romanian), I can understand why you might get that impression, but as Vanda says, it may be due - at least in part - to the simple fact that native CH-speaking answerers outnumber native EN-speaking answerers.
I have rarely answered RO-EN questions in recent years, partly because so few are asked nowadays, but I remember that in my much more active early days, there were times when it seemed as if some native RO speakers felt they knew English better than I did, even when their answers made it clear that they didn't! I'm afraid this is something we simply have to live with. Frustration can be part and parcel of it, especially when you've spent time on a question and your effort isn't recognised. All you can do is move on to the next question and keep reminding yourself that if you're good enough for long enough, the more astute translators will notice you and you should benefit as a result.
Then there is the fact that askers sometimes choose an answer that we feel certain is manifestly wrong. This may seem unfair, but then life in general often works the same way, doesn't it?! If you feel that a particular asker is very unappreciative and/or makes bad choices, you can choose not to answer that person's questions and focus on others. In fact, I believe there is even a filtering feature for precisely that purpose.
One other thing that's worth remembering is that there are some *very* valuable things other than points that you can gain from KudoZ. These are the things I gained:
(1) Research and problem-solving skills. By reading and analysing other people's answers, I learned how to look up terms using search words and got much better at trawling the Internet and thinking about how to translate terms; in fact, I don't think I could have learned this skill better anywhere else. This helps me immensely in my work even now, many years later.
(2) Learning terms that I wouldn't otherwise have come across. You never know when they might come up in something you're translating!
(3) Because Romanian is the main language used for KudoZ discussions in RO-EN, I got to read discussions in RO very often and joined in, which gave me a lot of practice in using the language actively - something I don't get to do all that often otherwise! And that in itself enhanced my knowledge of the language.
(4) Getting to know colleagues and finding out which translators are particularly good, and what they're good at. This networking actually helped me to gain a bit of work over the years, as some contributors noticed me and put work my way occasionally. And if I want to collaborate with another translator (agencies sometimes ask if I can recommend someone), I have gained an idea of which translators I feel are best in different fields.
(5) The glossary. Previous questions can be an invaluable source of information for your work, as long as you bear in mind that chosen answers may not always be right in some or all particular contexts, so you have to treat them with circumspection.
In FR-EN, there is one highly prolific contributor in particular whose answers I value hugely as he is an extremely gifted linguist and has an astoundingly good knowledge of many fields. To spare his blushes, I won't name him here, but I feel immensely grateful for his contribution to KudoZ because I have benefited from it on many occasions over the years, so it has improved my work.
And leaving KudoZ to one side, there's another compensation for any frustration you may feel as one of only a handful of native EN speakers in your language pair. Remember that being a native speaker of EN in a language pair where there are few other native EN-speaking translators brings you a big advantage as far as getting work goes, because it makes you a much bigger fish in a much smaller pond. To those clients out there who specifically want a native EN-speaking translator, you will stand out far more than you could ever hope to with a heavily subscribed language such as French or Spanish. In fact, learning a less "popular" language (among fellow native EN speakers) is something I would strongly recommend to any budding translator nowadays, because if you're going to survive in a crowded industry coming under increasing pressure from machine translation, finding a niche that makes you unique is more vital than it ever has been. So you've made a good choice. Keep reminding yourself of that, and take as much advantage of KudoZ as you can, in every way that you can! ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
Juan Jacob
Mexico
Local time: 04:55
French to Spanish
+ ...
How important they are, you say. Well, yes, there are «Kudoz grabbers» out there looking for prestige in their CV in order to reach more clients, I presume. If that’s your aim, get worried, yes. In the other hand, I’ve quite a lot of them… just helping. Never responded to a job offer in all these years. Good luck.
| | | | Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 18:55
Member
Chinese to English
+ ...
| Making a fuss out of...what? | Dec 30, 2020 |
In the past 2 months, you have answered 6 questions, 2 of which are closed, 1 of which you got points for.
What you think this proves, I don't know.
You emailed me twice wanting to be handed out advice. I will give you one: block the most prolific asker in the past week. That one's not qualified to open a shoebox in any language pair.
[Edited at 2020-12-30 05:07 GMT]
| | | | David Jones
Taiwan
Local time: 18:55
Chinese to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Lincoln Hui wrote:
In the past 2 months, you have answered 6 questions, 2 of which are closed, 1 of which you got points for.
What you think this proves, I don't know.
You emailed me twice wanting to be handed out advice. I will give you one: block the most prolific asker in the past week. That one's not qualified to open a shoebox in any language pair.
[Edited at 2020-12-30 05:07 GMT]
Ok so, if I did genuinely e-mail you twice (and it wasn't a technical fluke, or newbie error, but actually two separate emails with different content on separate occasions) then I am VERY sorry as that is spammy and very bad form. I'm still new to Proz and working full time along side running another project so I'm still getting my head around this very slowly.
Thanks for the stats, that has put a lot into perspective.
As for wanting to be 'handed out advice', in education we call this 'sharing best practice'. In education, people who are confident in their position and their professionalism quite enjoy sharing what they've learned. One day I hope to be in a position to be emailed by a newbie and to share what I've learned with them and not seek to embarrass them on a public forum.
[Edited at 2020-12-31 08:18 GMT]
| | | | David Jones
Taiwan
Local time: 18:55
Chinese to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Sound Advice, thanks folks | Dec 31, 2020 |
All very sound advice, thanks folks!
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Some questions about Kudoz points | TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.
More info » |
| | Protemos translation business management system | Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!
The system lets you keep client/vendor database, with contacts and rates, manage projects and assign jobs to vendors, issue invoices, track payments, store and manage project files, generate business reports on turnover profit per client/manager etc.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
