MartinF Posted July 14, 2007 at 11:05 PM Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 at 11:05 PM A funny thing happened to me while in Qingdao. I became an english to english translator for some friends. I wonder if there is a commerical need for this because I would not have to learn another language. So it seems like easy money. OK, I will explain. I was at an Indian restaurant with my Chinese friend. We had a long conversation with the Indian owner of the restaurant. The funny thing was, the conversation was all in English. Neither the Indian or the Chinese person could understand eachothers English. So I had to translate Indian accented (but grammaticaly correct) English into neutral English (mine) so my Chinese friend could understand. Then her broken, but good, English back to the Indian guy. It seems I might have a marketable skill. At the time it seemed amusing. Now I wonder if there is any money to be made doing this. All comments welcome. Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiao Kui Posted July 15, 2007 at 12:54 AM Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 at 12:54 AM The only thing I can think of is proofreading English after a Chinese person has translated from Chinese to English. Their work is usually a disaster so you have to rewrite everything so you are essentially translating from crappy English to good English. I was once offered this kind of work. Unfortunately the rate was ridiculously low, nothing as high as teaching English so I turned it down. The company that has hired a native Chinese speaker to translate from Chinese to English is already doing this to save money instead of hiring a native speaker of English to translate in the first place, so if they were to give someone a decent wage for proofreading the finished work it would defeat the purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senzhi Posted July 15, 2007 at 08:15 AM Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 at 08:15 AM When I was studying at Trinity College Dublin, I had a Scottish professor. I also could have used your services Martin! It took me 3 months before I had the grasp of it ... And also ever had a Texan guy on the phone. I still don't know what he was calling for ... So, there's definitely a market out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinF Posted July 15, 2007 at 07:00 PM Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 at 07:00 PM hehe, I have had some problems understanding English spoken by Scottish people, but after spending some time with them, it becomes much clearer. having lived in and visited many countries, I seem to have developed an ear for heavily accented English. In Los Angeles, in a big company you usually work with people from all over the world. take care, Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdn_in_bj Posted July 16, 2007 at 02:22 AM Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 at 02:22 AM OK, I will explain. I was at an Indian restaurant with my Chinese friend. We had a long conversation with the Indian owner of the restaurant. The funny thing was, the conversation was all in English. Neither the Indian or the Chinese person could understand eachothers English. So I had to translate Indian accented (but grammaticaly correct) English into neutral English (mine) so my Chinese friend could understand. Then her broken, but good, English back to the Indian guy. It seems I might have a marketable skill. Actually, what you described could also happen in North America! I recall that this was a big part of the reason for the public outcry against outsourced call centers a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yonitabonita Posted July 16, 2007 at 03:29 AM Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 at 03:29 AM Xiaokui is right. There's a market for proof readers that 'polish' English. If you can combine those English skills with a background in finance, accounting, law, whatever then there's a market for you. I've seen job ads for editors at big international firms here in Beijing. Someone along the lines of Ernst and Young or Deloitte.. Earlier this month I was offered such a job. They only wanted me to work 4 hours a day, Monday to Friday. The monthly salary was 12,500 rmb. The hours were optional in that you could elect to do it in the morning or later in the day which is perfect if you want to get to class. The job was to basically turn Chinglish into English. The package affords you a pretty good life style here. I certainly gave it a bit of thought. Y Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinF Posted July 18, 2007 at 04:52 AM Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 at 04:52 AM wow, yonitabonita. That's very interesting about the proof reader. It does make sense and I could do that, technically. Unfortunately, at this point in my life I have to make good money in English/American terms, and so living on China on that kind of salary would be impossible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrianlondon Posted July 18, 2007 at 01:52 PM Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 at 01:52 PM living on China on that kind of salary would be impossible That's always a problem if you have commitments in your home country. I was offered IT work in Beijing and Guangzhou (not a nice place by all accounts) and the pay seemed OK from a China perspective, but I still have bills to pay here in London. Sometimes, if you can get good work back in your own country, it's better to work there and take long breaks (say half a year) in China. That's what I did. The downside of this method, though, is that I'm missing out on the whole "working in a Chinese office" experience which I'd really love to do. I'm still working on it. Slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 18, 2007 at 02:44 PM Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 at 02:44 PM The original English to English translator idea is a nice one, but it's never going to fly. You'd need to a) undercut English>Chinese (or German>Chinese, whatever) translators and B) get both parties to at least tacitly admit that their English isn't up to scratch. There are proof-reading jobs available- I did 18 months at a major translation firm proofing English translations against Chinese originals. Great for my Chinese reading and a good stepping-stone into translation. Didn't pay too badly either, especially considering the amount of time I spent on t'Internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinF Posted July 18, 2007 at 05:53 PM Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 at 05:53 PM Hey "AdrianLondon", Yes, my work does allow for taking long breaks. So I have historically worked for a year and then taken long breaks. I have been on vacation for 8 months, since my last job ended. But I didn't go to China for long. My next contract is 8 months in London. The money is really good and I should be able to save if I don't go crazy on a fancy flat. So, I'm hoping and thinking of how to move to China after that. Or, like you said, take a really long vacation. Maybe 6 to 8 months. I work on films in visual effects / computer graphics. So it's somewhat feasible to get a contract for 6 months to a year, get paid really well, and then travel. I used to work in IT, many years ago, but it was a bit too boring for me. I like visual stuff. take care, Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senzhi Posted July 18, 2007 at 07:27 PM Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 at 07:27 PM Martin, I'm sure there are opportunities in China too for people with your skills, particularly if you can present a portfolio. It may even be that "the pay" is also "good" here (to Chinese standards) ... maybe even better than any translating job. If you like working on (freelance) projects, I would definitely give it a deeper thought ... By the way, did you know that Robert de Niro is going to make a movie about Mao? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinF Posted July 18, 2007 at 10:41 PM Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 at 10:41 PM Senzhi, Actually, I'm thinking of getting a job teaching computer graphics. Or starting my own school in either Beijing or Hong Kong. I like both places. I don't really want to do production anymore. Although I have taken one more job. And my have to do another before I transition into teaching. Maybe the money won't be very good but teaching is an easier life, than working in production on movies. My portfolio and the list of places I have worked are very good, so it's not difficult to get a job. I didn't know there was much movie production in China. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fireball9261 Posted October 28, 2007 at 04:14 AM Report Share Posted October 28, 2007 at 04:14 AM It's funny that I had the similar experience recently, but it was to translate from Chinese to Chinese. I was in the train station of Xiaoshan (outside of Hangzhou, Zhejiang), and I was trying to get into a taxi where two girls just vacated. The 2 girls would not leave and kept on insisting the taxi drivers to drive them up the ramp. The taxi driver told them that he couldn't do it because of the law. However, neither party understood each other, and they were all speaking Mandarin. The two girls were from the North and spoke pretty standard Mandarin. The taxi driver, however, had very thick local accent. Since my mom was from Xiaoshan, I was able to understand the taxi driver. Therefore, I ended up translating his Mandarin for the two girls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinF Posted October 30, 2007 at 02:59 AM Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 at 02:59 AM I have an update to this thread. I have now moved to Beijing and work here. It happened a little bit earlier than I had planned but that's ok. I basically moved here because my girlfriend couldn't get a UK student visa, where I lived and worked. But she could get a chinese student visa a lot easier. So instead of living together in London, which was our original plan, we moved to Beijing. Within one week, I had a job offer to work as a computer graphics supervisor at an animation company. She got her student visa no problem. We both entered China on 30 day tourist visas. It seems quite easy to buy a visa here in China, compared to the UK or USA. I like my job but the money is not so good compared to the USA or UK, but I get paid much more than locals. I may move into English teaching or start my own business at some point because the long hours in computer graphics can be hazardous to having a good relationship with your girlfriend. I'm still looking for the elusive job where I get paid a lot but don't work long hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdn_in_bj Posted October 30, 2007 at 03:25 AM Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 at 03:25 AM Hey Martin, welcome to Beijing! It's good that you were able to find a job so quickly while you settle in, and the fact that it is related to your field and also pays relatively well is a big bonus. I wouldn't worry too much about the pay cut for now, as you know the cost of living here is lower compared to back home. And as a foreigner you are also taxed more favourably than the locals. Just don't go too crazy with the clubbing and fancy dining, that can really put a crimp on the cash flow. By the way, I thought your girlfriend was Chinese? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muyongshi Posted October 30, 2007 at 03:33 AM Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 at 03:33 AM I thought she was Mongolian..... (i seem to remember from an earlier thread...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinF Posted October 30, 2007 at 03:48 AM Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 at 03:48 AM yes, she's a Mongolian national but ethnic Chinese. A bit confusing, I know. I had also talked about a different Chinese girl who was more of a FWB but that's ancient history. The standard of living can be very nice here, especially with apartments. We have a 2 bedroom apartment in a new development for probably about 1/3 the price of Los Angeles and the quality of the materials is much nicer than anything I saw in LA. Or London, for that matter. Still getting used to quirky Chinese stuff like the heating not coming on until November 15th unless you pay for electric heaters. Then the low pressure hot water supply, etc. Also, I've had some mail forwarded from England and it was 2 1/2 weeks ago. It still hasn't arrived. Maybe it was due to the British strike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdn_in_bj Posted October 30, 2007 at 05:05 AM Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 at 05:05 AM yes, she's a Mongolian national but ethnic Chinese. A bit confusing, I know. I had also talked about a different Chinese girl who was more of a FWB but that's ancient history. Ah, I see... It's sometimes hard to keep up with you. the quality of the materials is much nicer than anything I saw in LA. Or London, for that matter. I take it your bathroom has marble counters/walls/floors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinF Posted October 30, 2007 at 09:14 AM Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 at 09:14 AM the apartment has upscale materials compared to LA/London, but not much marble. I've noticed a lot of marble and granite being used in China. I guess it's locally available and relatively cheap. It costs a fortune UK/USA so is generally used in private homes but not large apartment buildings. I own a condo in LA and I personally selected granite counters, a jacuzzi bathtub, and rose wood cabinets, so I know and appreciate nice bathrooms and kitchens. In my Beijing rental apartment, there's a lot of ceramic tile, a fancy sink, and the kitchen has swanky stainless steel counters, and european style modern cabinetry. In LA/London you get cheap formica, or ceramic tile counters, if you lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yiwan Posted October 31, 2007 at 02:48 PM Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 at 02:48 PM There is. I'm Chinese but sometimes I can't understand heavily Chinese accented English. And I think Chinese should stick to British English or just don't fake up an accent. A mixture of Mandarin and American accents is just horrible enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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