| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Before the Internet, which tools did you use for your work? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Before the Internet, which tools did you use for your work?".
This poll was originally submitted by Mónica Sauza. View the poll results »
| | | | Adnan Özdemir 
Türkiye
Local time: 10:02
Member (2007)
German to Turkish
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| Dictionaries | Mar 20, 2011 |
Dictionaries...
The translation age before internet was very hard for me. Now, i am in heaven
Saludos desde Anatolia
Anadolu'dan selamlar
| | | | Allison Wright (X)
Portugal
Local time: 08:02
| The Internet is a huge time saver, | Mar 20, 2011 |
as was the transition from typewriters to PCs...
Reliance on the Internet does make the thinking part of our brains lazy, and encourages a passive attitude. Sometimes I feel like a super-absorbent sponge, and suffer from information overload as a result.
Occasionally, normally in doctors' waiting rooms and such, I like to take a print out of a few pages of the translation I am working on, and write out the translation. The idea of holding an entire paragraph in one's he... See more as was the transition from typewriters to PCs...
Reliance on the Internet does make the thinking part of our brains lazy, and encourages a passive attitude. Sometimes I feel like a super-absorbent sponge, and suffer from information overload as a result.
Occasionally, normally in doctors' waiting rooms and such, I like to take a print out of a few pages of the translation I am working on, and write out the translation. The idea of holding an entire paragraph in one's head before putting pen to paper still appeals. The resultant translation (IMHO) often contains elements of quality that perhaps would have been lost with the high-speed methods normally employed.
[Edited at 2011-03-20 08:57 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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ie in the Dark Ages?!
Noni
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| Intellectual muscles vs informational fat | Mar 20, 2011 |
It seems that the Internet causes people to absorb informational fat rather than develop their mental muscles. Efficiency of human brain has deteriorated dramatically.
One of good examples: more than two thous. years ago, people already calculated the Earth's radius (to be 6339.6 km using a measuring method Eratosthenes invented - whereas the actual radius at the equator is 6378.1 km) and predicted eclipses of Sun and Moon  ... See more
| | | | | "back then" or... | Mar 20, 2011 |
aceavila - Noni wrote: "back then" ie in the Dark Ages?! Noni
Someone must have told you that vast areas are without Internet services even today. So are many translators. Literally, many thousands of them.
Even if Internet facilities are available, Internet connections can well be cut off for ever/for long, and access to certain content can well be restricted. Recent/today's examples are Egypt, Libya, Albania, China (cutoffs in Urumqi and the province + daily "filtering"), N. Korea etc. etc.
[Edited at 2011-03-20 09:51 GMT]
| | | | | Very good point | Mar 20, 2011 |
from our colleague Alexander above, and he is quite right to upbraid me for my flippancy.
| | | | NMR (X)
France
Local time: 09:02
French to Dutch
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| Most of them | Mar 20, 2011 |
I answered "most of them", but my main source was, and will always be, previous client documentation, either in my possession either enclosed with the files to be translated. If there is no client documentation available, then documentation of competitors, if possible of well-known brands with the same subject or in the same sector.
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Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 09:02
Member (2009)
English to German
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| Back then... | Mar 20, 2011 |
in the mid to late 1970's we used typewriters to produce our translations, always making sure we kept a copy or two. Any "second thoughts" or errors meant, do it again, Sam.
Fortunately, the first computer were installed by the Military in the early 1980's, bought from an Asian company, then leading in computer technologies. They were first generation (to the public, anyway), big, clumsy machines without Internet, of ... See more in the mid to late 1970's we used typewriters to produce our translations, always making sure we kept a copy or two. Any "second thoughts" or errors meant, do it again, Sam.
Fortunately, the first computer were installed by the Military in the early 1980's, bought from an Asian company, then leading in computer technologies. They were first generation (to the public, anyway), big, clumsy machines without Internet, of course. But they sure made work a lot easier, although their TM was quite limited and we still used dictionaries as before their appearance.
Those were the days of the dinosaur computers.
[Edited at 2011-03-20 13:09 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Paper resources | Mar 20, 2011 |
I certainly agree with the convenience of the internet resources, but who says that paper/online dictionaries, encyclopedia and technical data from a library are out of date or out of use? I continue to use them all (I especially agree with NMR's use of client documentation and his competitor's tech information), in addition to the online glossaries including the ProZ Kudoz. But contributions from the 'cloud' are marginally reliable because the contributor isn't responsible for results of using ... See more I certainly agree with the convenience of the internet resources, but who says that paper/online dictionaries, encyclopedia and technical data from a library are out of date or out of use? I continue to use them all (I especially agree with NMR's use of client documentation and his competitor's tech information), in addition to the online glossaries including the ProZ Kudoz. But contributions from the 'cloud' are marginally reliable because the contributor isn't responsible for results of using that term/explanation. So after I find a possible solution for a term translation in Wikipedia (etc.), I cross reference with reliable resources and do some thinking on my own.
To select between possible interpretations of a term, one's personal experience of having worked in the text's subject/industry (if the translator has that experience in his/her background) often serves as a guide. I certainly agree with Alison, Alexander and others that using original industry-expert sources and doing one's own research improves the quality of the thinking that the translator puts into a thus-improved translation product. That goes double or triple for automated translation programs, which is why I charge full translation prices to 'proof' a machine translation. I must research every solution that the software and glossaries came up with. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Dictionaries and other sources. | Mar 20, 2011 |
I'm among the oldest then, for I used to translate using dictionaries and other sources before. Now I mostly surf the net looking for different possibilities and online dictionaries of course. It's a lot easier now, yet, the information you find is not always 100% reliable. Regards.
| | | | Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 01:02
English to Spanish
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In memoriam | Most of them | Mar 20, 2011 |
I used most of the resources mentioned, that is with the exception of professionals; I rarely if ever knew anyone I could consult. I worked in isolation and I haunted libraries and bookstores. I started out with only a few dictionaries but was eventually able to collect tons of them throughout the years, most of which now sit unused gathering dust, for the Internet is my preferred source.
In actual production my preferred tools were pencils and legal pads. Finished versions would th... See more I used most of the resources mentioned, that is with the exception of professionals; I rarely if ever knew anyone I could consult. I worked in isolation and I haunted libraries and bookstores. I started out with only a few dictionaries but was eventually able to collect tons of them throughout the years, most of which now sit unused gathering dust, for the Internet is my preferred source.
In actual production my preferred tools were pencils and legal pads. Finished versions would then be completed by a typist. Today I can hardly write by hand because I use a keyboard for practically everything. With all that practice I am still the world's worst typist, but the computer forgives all my mistakes.
I love the Internet! It was made for me, it solved all my problems. Only those of us who came up before the Net can realize how difficult life once was and compare it to the advantafges we have today. Then again, in our profession, if you are not good, look out, because your competition is right around the corner even though physically they could be halfway around the world. ▲ Collapse
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| Well said, Henry. Internet has certainly made our profession easier. | Mar 20, 2011 |
Henry Hinds wrote:
I used most of the resources mentioned, that is with the exception of professionals; I rarely if ever knew anyone I could consult. I worked in isolation and I haunted libraries and bookstores. I started out with only a few dictionaries but was eventually able to collect tons of them throughout the years, most of which now sit unused gathering dust, for the Internet is my preferred source.
In actual production my preferred tools were pencils and legal pads. Finished versions would then be completed by a typist. Today I can hardly write by hand because I use a keyboard for practically everything. With all that practice I am still the world's worst typist, but the computer forgives all my mistakes.
I love the Internet! It was made for me, it solved all my problems. Only those of us who came up before the Net can realize how difficult life once was and compare it to the advantafges we have today. Then again, in our profession, if you are not good, look out, because your competition is right around the corner even though physically they could be halfway around the world.
| | | | Allison Wright (X)
Portugal
Local time: 08:02
| Dark Ages indeed | Mar 20, 2011 |
Alexander Kupriyanchuk wrote: aceavila - Noni wrote: "back then" ie in the Dark Ages?! Noni Someone must have told you that vast areas are without Internet services even today. So are many translators. Literally, many thousands of them.
Frequent (and long lasting = 12+ hours, or longer) power cuts were the bane of my life in Zimbabwe. Comments by Noni and Alexander reminded me of my modus operandi when that happened: Light and strategically position 3 candles. (Putting a candle on a stack of dictionaries not in use gave the right height and light to read the dictionaries that I was using!) Then I would start writing out the translation as fast as I could, so as not to lose momentum. When the power came back on I would continue translating the text where the written draft left off, and only type it into the document when I had a slump in concentration. The power cuts were never scheduled, so planning was impossible.
I should add that I love the fast Internet we enjoy in the First World.
| | | | Williamson
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:02
Flemish to English
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| Eurodicautom | Mar 20, 2011 |
A primitive version of Eurodicautom, a slow modem with a b.w. tv-screen and a lot of fellow students wondering what I was doing for days on end behind that tv-screen whilst they were leafing through dictionaries and the Encyclopeadia Britannica.
Guess who finished his master-thesis first?
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