Frequently asked questions

General information

What is TRB4?

-- “Been there, translated that…”

TRB4 is a webservice designed for experienced professional translators and for translation consumers who value high-quality translations.

TRB4 allows translators to build an online CV that precisely captures their relevant work experience. After registering with the service, translators input a series of “T-Records” to describe documents they have translated in the past. Translation consumers can search the database to find translators who have translated uniquely identifiable documents or who possess expertise in translating documents in a specific field.

 

What makes TRB4 different?

There are many webservices for translators. Unfortunately for the translation consumer, the business model of these services typically involves generating revenue from newcomers with little or no professional experience. The true professional translator is lost among the part-timers and “wannabees” who pay to jump to the head of the list of potential service providers.

At TRB4, we do not charge translators to register and use our service. However, we do require our translators to meet certain minimum standards of experience and professional dedication. For example, TRB4 members must have at least three years of professional experience and have completed at least ten substantial translation projects.

Translators are also expected to update their TRB4 CV on an ongoing basis to reflect their most recent professional experience. This ensures that the TRB4 CV is a living document that grows as the translator grows. Click here for a good example of a TRB4 CV.

Another benefit of TRB4 comes from our unique focus on the translator's precise work experience. You (the translation consumer) can search to see if a translator somewhere in the world might have already translated the exact document you need (or at least something similar).

 

What is the special application of TRB4?

TRB4 allows translation consumers to search for translators based on previously translated documents.

Certain documents get translated over and over by different translators. This includes government documents, patents, legal regulations, computer manuals, medical disclaimers, company boilerplate, press releases, historical texts, opera librettos, song texts, poems and more.

TRB4 allows you (the translator) to leverage the documents you have previously translated.

 

Why do I need TRB4?

-- “The hardest thing about anything new is forgetting the old…”

We live in an age of tremendous advances in information technology. Yet in the world of translation, freelance translators still invest much time and effort into creating paper résumés (or CVs) to be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to potential clients.

But why? What if there were a way to search for translators that circumvented the old paper résumé and cut straight to the chase? Imagine searching for translators based on specific documents they have translated in the past or specific clients or specific document types. You (the translation consumer) could find a translator who meets your exact needs from a global database.

TRB4 offers a smart new way to search for translation resources and leverage existing translations.

 

How does TRB4 work?

Please click here.

 

How much does it cost to use TRB4?

TRB4 is a free service for translators.

Other online translator services earn revenue by charging subscription fees to their translators. In this business model, the aim is to attract as many paying members as possible. Issues of translator quality tend to fall by the wayside. Since paying translators are placed ahead of non-paying members, the translators who can actually compete based on qualifications (i.e. the best translators) are often scared away.

But this is counter-productive for the translation consumer since he or she will often end up hiring the translator who paid the most to appear at the head of the list.

Since TRB4 is a free service for translators, we can be selective in screening our members since we have no incentive to maintain a large database of “wannabees”.

 

How do I get started with TRB4?

You first need to become a member of TRB4. Just go here and enter your basic information.

Once you are a member, if you are a translation provider, you can begin adding “T-Records” to characterize your past translation jobs. See How do I create (and formulate) a T-Record?

Or if you are a translation consumer, you can begin searching for translators by typing a search term into the search box at the top right of this page. See I have a document I need translated. What should I do?

 

Who owns TRB4?

Please click here.

 

Sample applications of TRB4 for translation consumers

Example A:

You are a patent attorney and need an English translation of German patent DE2345667.

Suppose that somewhere in the world a professional translator (or translation agency) has previously translated the same document (or a similar document). Since they are already familiar with the document, they will gladly retranslate it for you at less cost than your existing translation supplier. They can also finish the job faster. You will save money and get the information you need faster!

Click here to begin a relevant search.

Example B:

You are a classically trained singer and you are preparing a concert that includes several 17th century songs. You understand Italian to some extent, but you don't have sufficient time to prepare a good translation. You type the Italian title of the song into the TRB4 search window (e.g. “Amarilli mia bella”) and see that someone has already prepared a translation of that song. You contact that user directly and she agrees to e-mail you her translation. In just a few hours, you have a decent translation of the song that you can use in your concert program.

 

Sample applications of TRB4 for translation providers

Example A:

You are a freelance translator. Your best client calls and needs a translation of a legal brief. You accept the job and start reading through the pages. The attorney who wrote the brief has included page upon page of quotations from German law. You see the reference BGB § 24 and realize this is the German Civil Code from 1984. Someone must have translated that before! You log onto TRB4 and yes, someone has translated that before. You contact that user and arrange to buy his translation at a significant discount to the rate you are receiving from your client. You proof his translation, adapt it a bit and finish your job in record time - without having to cancel the weekend trip to the Sierras you had planned.

Example B:

You are a translation agency and have been in business for over 15 years. One of your best clients calls and is in dire need of a German translation of roughly 3000 pages of standards for the telecommunications industry. You will be hard pressed to translate the documents by the requested deadline, but you don't want to lose this bread-and-butter client so you agree to take the job.

One of your project managers has the idea to check TRB4 to see if anyone else has ever translated the same standards. Lo and behold, she gets a hit in TRB4. She contacts the TRB4 user she found and it turns out to be an agency who translated most of the same documents six months ago. They agree to “retranslate” those documents at a substantial discount to their normal rate. Result: In record time and at a lower price than you would have paid to translate those standards from scratch, you can get your proofreaders and editors to work on a translation that has already been through rigorous quality assurance.

 

For translation consumers

I have a document I need translated. What should I do?

Enter one or more words from the document title (or that describe the subject matter) on the TRB4 search page and click the “Search” button. You can also browse through the document to find relevant terms to help narrow down your search for a translator. You should also choose a particular language pair if appropriate (e.g. “From German to English”).

After you click on the “Search” button, you should see one or more translators listed on the search results page. You can click on the “Profile” button to see more information about each translation provider, or you can click on the “Contact” button to directly contact the translator.

You can now negotiate as you like with the translation provider.

 

What if I want to find out if someone has previously translated a specific document?

Go to the TRB4 search page, enter the language pair at the top (e.g. “From German to English”) and type one or more words from the document title into the search box.

After you click the “Search” button, you should see one or more translators listed on the search results page. You can click on the “Profile” to see more information about each translation provider, or you can click on the “Contact” button to directly contact the translator.

 

Why can't I just download the translation I need directly?

Due to copyright issues, we require you to contact and negotiate with the translator who actually translated the document.

It all comes down to a question of who owns the copyright of a translation. If a translator translates a document as a work for hire, chances are he or she does not own the copyright to the translation.

However, suppose a translator translates German patent DE2345667. In this process, the translator becomes very familiar with patent DE2345667. The benefit of TRB4 is that the translator can leverage his or her existing knowledge and quickly “retranslate” this document if so requested. As a TRB4 user, you can find a translator who is able to translate the document better, faster and at a lower price than one who had never seen it before.

 

For translation providers

What is a T-Record?

A T-Record is a concise description of some unit of your translation experience. It might characterize a specific document you translated in the past or a general translation project. See How does TRB4 work?

Translators can use T-Records to build a new and innovative type of translator CV that can be searched electronically directly via the TRB4 service or via Internet search engines.

By carefully documenting your translation experience using T-Records, you will have a powerful tool for marketing your translation services since your TRB4 CV is indexed by Google and other search engines.

Think about it! TRB4 lets you share a concise snapshot of your translation experience that is accessible to translation consumers from any Internet browser in the world.

Who knows? Maybe one day you won't even need a paper résumé or CV!

 

How do I create (and formulate) a T-Record?

Once you are a member of the service, click on My TRB4 and then New T-Record.

To modify or delete an existing T-Record, click on My TRB4 and then on My T-Records. Choose the T-Record you wish to modify or delete.

You can use the different fields in the T-Record to characterize each of your past projects. If you are describing a specific document such as a patent or a law, you should use the “Source language title” and possibly also the “Target language title” and the “Document number”.

With more general translation projects, you can use the other fields to describe your experience.

Remember that your chance of being selected for any given translation project will depend on the quality and detail of your T-Records.

See also What about confidential information and trade secrets?

 

How would I go about entering a patent I translated into TRB4?

For example, if you previously translated German patent EP1351298 into English, you could identify the document as follows:

    Source language: German
    Target language: English
    Document number: EP1351298

Suppose you don't know the patent number. In that case, you can enter the source-language title as the key:

    Source language: German
    Target language: English
    Source language title: Verfahren zur Herstellung eines Halbleiterwafers

Another possibility is to enter the patent number and the source-language title:

    Source language: German
    Target language: English
    Document number: EP1351298
    Source language title: Verfahren zur Herstellung eines Halbleiterwafers

The best solution, however, is to enter the patent number, the source-language title and the target-language title:

    Source language: German
    Target language: English
    Document number: EP1351298
    Source language title: Verfahren zur Herstellung eines Halbleiterwafers
    Target language title: Method for producing a semiconductor wafer

As you can see, one benefit of TRB4 is that you have a lot of flexibility when you are creating your T-Records. You can enter just a little data to identify a document (e.g. the document number) or you can enter a lot of data (e.g. the document number, the source-language title and target-language title).

Now suppose that six months later, the XYZ Law Practice in Boston is entering into litigation and needs an English translation of German patent EP1351298. If they are using TRB4, they can search for “EP1351298” in the main search bar. Then, they will find a link to you since you previously translated German patent EP1351298.

Of course, they want to contact you. As a registered TRB4 user, they can simply click on a link to send you an e-mail.

They do not see your name or e-mail, however. TRB4 automatically forwards messages from translation consumers to the e-mail address you entered when you registered with TRB4.

The result: You receive an e-mail from a prospect who is interested in a document that you have previously translated. From then on, it is up to you to negotiate with this new prospect and negotiate the terms of the translation.

 

Why don't we just have you upload your prior translations?

First of all, there are copyright issues to consider. Who owns the copyright of a translation? If you translate a document as a work for hire, chances are you do not own the copyright to your translation.

For example, suppose you translate German patent DE2345667. In this process, you become very familiar with patent DE2345667. The benefit of TRB4 is that you can leverage your existing knowledge and quickly “retranslate” this document if so requested. The benefit to TRB4 clients is that you will be able to translate the document better, faster and at a lower price than if you had never seen it before.

Another reason why we don't ask you to upload your documents is that most translators (and translation agencies) would never agree to publicly share their previous translations.

However, TRB4 allows you to leverage those documents without giving up any control over them. Simply enter T-Records into TRB4 that identify the documents to another user.

 

Am I anonymous when I use TRB4?

As long as you are not doing anything illegal and do not disclose any confidential information or trade secrets, you can use TRB4 to anonymously post your T-Records. When a translation consumer writes you via e-mail concerning a particular project, you can decide whether to respond or not. Your anonymity will be preserved if you do not respond.

 

Can I input T-Records for translations I find on the Internet?

We encourage you to search the web to find translations that already exist. In essence, you can make money by crawling the web to find existing translations.

Of course, you need to be aware of how copyright laws affect you. You must also feel confident in translating the subject matter of any jobs you accept since ultimately you will be responsible for delivering a high-quality translation.

 

What about confidential information and trade secrets?

Much of our work as translators is confidential, and in many cases we are asked to translate documents that might be subject to copyright protection or involve trade secrets.

But our value as a translator comes from our experience. Someone with years of experience as a translator will generally do a better job than someone who just started.

So how do we resolve the conflict that comes from wanting to share as much information about our experience as possible (and get more work) and the fact that some of that information is confidential?

TRB4 is designed to allow you to build an accurate snapshot of your translation experience and advertise the expertise you gain with each project you complete.

However, as you enter T-Records, you must be diligent in ensuring that you do not disclose any confidential information or trade secrets. You should also review the confidentiality agreements you might have signed with agencies or direct clients before you create your T-Records. These agreements might limit the amount of information you can disclose about a particular project. When in doubt, please consult with your client.

As a general rule, however, information that has been published (i.e. made available to the public) can be cited in a T-Record. For example, you can list the title of a published patent.

 

Technical issues

What languages do you support?

TRB4 is built to support all of the world's languages. If you have any questions or problems with character encoding issues, please feel free to send us a support request.