Customer Reviews

The Translator's Handbook, Third Edition

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I teach an internship in translation/interpreting ... well, "teach" is the wrong word. All the students have internships, and we meet once a week to discuss their experiences. This is the perfect textbook-they already know how to translate; what they need to know is how to do so as a career. They won't learn that from introductory translation books (which are very good at what they do); no introductory textbook is going to tell you to join the American Translators Association and buy a CAT program!

If you're looking for a book to teach you to translate, this isn't it. This book is geared towards people who have already started working in the field: it deals with where and how to get work, what fields need translators, where to find T&I classes, useful dictionaries, professional organizations, and so on. If you've been working as a translator for awhile, you'll probably know everything in the first half of the book (though it will still be useful for the appendices). The people who will benefit most from this book are those who have started translating professionally or are seriously considering doing so and want something to show what the experience of being a translator is actually about.

Unfortunately this book isn't as "updated" as it could be. The latest edition still lists essential computer equipment as "Windows 3.0+ with 500MB of memory and a 3½" disk drive." But putting that aside, it's a good book. Especially for $17.

As a translator student in good old Germany I know something about translation and interpreting. This book contains a lot of useful things; but not the things I was looking for.

The author says something about history, dictonaries, glossaries, translation memory and gives many URLs, but he fails in his attempt to teach HOW TO TRANSLATE. This book deals with WHEN, WHERE and WHAT to translate. Therefore, this book is NOT useful for learning HOW to translate - even if the author tells you this. It needs more than this book to acquire the skills you need to start a freelance career.

You may buy this book if your goal is to find out how many transation agency this world has to offer, what area is best for you and with which URL you may chat to other translators. Furthermore, you will find scores of dictionaries nobody knows (or needs).

Three stars because of:
- sometimes useful information
- a lot of URLs
- scores of dictionaries
- many many addresses of translation agencies

It's a great book for those who want to succeed as freelance translators, it includes lots of tips and provides useful appendixes containing information such as: Dictionaries, sources of work and a glossary. A must have for those who want to enter the translation field and an excellent reference book for those who already work as translators.

This is a must have for all translators whether freelance, self-employed, or corporate. Details on all aspects of the business side of translating.

You can tell from reading this book that Morry Sofer really knows what he's talking about. This book is an excellent tool for any aspiring translator, begginer or professional. I have read it and used most of its resources, both printed and online. This book is a MUST for all translators, regardless of the language combination you work in.

By no means a 'handbook' for translators, or perhaps anyone born after 1950. Full of generalizations and trite, informal language.

On page 89, in the paragraph titled "The Almighty Google", the author informs you, the translator, that "To Google somebody means to type the person's name into the Google website and find out instantly everythying (well, almost) there is to know about that person."

Here are a few of its "glossary" entries (2006 ed.):
E-mail Address, Website Address, Backup Copy, Bulletin Board, CD-ROM, Chip, Copy, Dot Matrix Printer, Fax, Floppy Disk, e-mail, Freelancer, Internet, IT..., Spell checker, Virus, World Wide Web.

The translator is informed: "e-mail: Electronic mail. A system of sending messages or data on the Internet".

The publisher needs to add a glossary entry: "Poo: This book."

I recently took a translation course that used this as a textbook. If you are an instructor, please don't do that to your students. This handbook does not provide approaches or techniques that improve translation quality for your students. There are no exercises, examples, or pointers on how one language differs from another in structure or style. No language or translation theory is even introduced. It simply rehashes the same platitudes and fluff year after year (and even the same typos) in so-called updated versions.

Here are two quotes by world-renowned translators about The Translator's Handbook by Morry Sofer:
"The Handbook is just about the most throughgoing manual I have seen in many a moon," says Gregory Rabassa, the translator of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novels.
"Very well conceived. . . excellent, uselful and beautiful," says Marina Orellana, author of the popular book International Glossary for Translators.

It is useful, educational, and practical. Any potential or professional translators and/or interpreters should use it. I'm a potential and/or freelance translator. This helps a lot - to know the requirements to enter the translation field or just to improve and enhance certain skills, talents, and knowledge. You have to know more than one language and know about the culture, government and customs, and technical terms, and be able to translate from one language to another in different fields and sectors, and be accurate to be a translator....

This handbook did not teach me anything i already didn't know. Morry Sofer frankly is an unreliable source when it comes to translating. For a book made up predominantly of appendices, there is no real valuable or vital information the reader can attain for his 25 dollars. In all honesty...Not worth a single penny.