Basic English Institute
TRANSLATORS
The institute occasionally gets requests from organizations for translators of
their publications into Basic English.
Translators .
If you want to sign up for this work, we will start a registry. Send either public or private contact information and your qualifications. You may be contacted and negotiate with them directly. Or we will forward any requests to you.
Organizations . You can send a short description of your needs, language to translate to Basic, likely size of the work, target audience, etc. and we will forward our
available registry and we will publish your needs and you can see if other members want to
contact you.
Notes . To provide guidance on both sides, a brief web search for translation compensation shows that it is all over the map. Starting translators for the government at GS-5 start about $8,500/yr. Average salaries of full time translators is $13/hr running from $20,000 to $60,000/yr depending on degree of difficulty, such as scientific, legal, medical, etc. which will go for the higher end of the range. In addition, any creativity
required or degree of finish, such as editing, composition for publication, creation in special format, etc. will go for more than simple translation. One site suggests a task minimum, such as to translate a brief one page letter as $10, up to $25 if exactness in a field is required. And for longer works, $20 to $40 per thousand words, again depending upon degree of special knowledge and finish required.
Although Ogden suggests 90% Basic is all right for normal communication, he and other Basic writers are able to achieve 100%. One should expect a paid translator to be perfect as to standard English and close to 100% in Basic.
There are several possible levels of Basic English.
Pure Basic is required for (a) new learners, therefore text books and school articles.
and (b) international second language readers. It is strictly limited to the 850 words with limited senses, 6 affixes, and simple sentence structure. A good translation is suitable for the general public.
- Basic Specialty uses the 850 words plus one specialty of an additional 150 words which
the interested reader will have learned as part of Basic. Example, an international religious publication would use Verse and Bible extensions.
- Media Basic, that created with electronic aids, such as the Institute's spell checker and translation dictionary, are not capable of distinguishing between noun and verb forms of the same word, and is not limited in the senses to which a word can be used. This is Basic with a little stretch suitable for the accomplished Basic reader and, of course, the general public.
- Next Step Basic for those progressing towards full English which make use of Ogden's path towards standard English. This includes 150 common names, 350 next step words, the three general-area word-lists, more suffix forms, and compound words made from these additional words. This is suited for the advanced Basic reader and general public.
- "Simple English" is one of the levels of Basic, plus those of the most common
English words not already included in Basic (about 350 words additional words such as "can", "know")
- International words. When addressing a specific audience, the definition of international words need not be limited -- Example, if the audience is Spanish, then all of the many words common with English may be freely used.
- Specialty Words -- certain words may be required by the application. Example:
airline repair manuals may include a select list of 100 words that are specific to the aircraft industry and 50 words for quality control.
- Because there are alternate possible definitions of Basic, the intent
and the acceptability of this must be clearly agreed to in advance. The
electronic office aids provided by the Institute may be easily customized to
fit the specific needs.
Additional notes:
- Negotiation of requirements and compensation, if any,
is strictly between the parties and not a function of The Institute.
- The several organization who sought advice of The Institute for translation have been religious groups seeking simple English for international publication.
- Volunteer work is a way to establish your skills and qualifications for fee work.
So is a web page, blog, resume, etc. completely in Basic as an example of your skill.
- Links : Translators Database seems to be a helpful site.
Create your own job.
Any English language newspaper with a community of foreign language speakers has need for
a page for news directed towards that community. Basic English allows addressing that audience without need to create a separate language page that cannot be read by the native English reader.
Plus, this could grow into a community correspondent position.
And an Introduction to Basic English column. With teaching Basic English work
Links:
Jobs Available
Translators Available
Back to the Basic English Institute page
Last updated October 30, 2005 -- add levels, create your own.
Contact us by
URL: http://www.basic-english.org/members/bejobs.html