Information for translation contractors
Babbletype is in the transcription business, so the type of translation work we need done may be slightly different from what you are used to. Our work always starts with an audio recording of people talking, and it’s our job to convert it into written transcripts. In your case, this means that instead of starting from a written document in one language and translating it into another, here you’ll start with an audio recording in one language, and then translate it directly into a written transcript in English.
So, you just listen in the first language, translate in your head, and then write down the text of what the person said in English. This is easier than normal text translation, since it’s much more like the work of an interpreter than that of a translator. We need an accurate and complete translation, but as with interpreting, we don’t need a precise word-for-word translation as long as the meaning of what the person said is complete and accurate. Note that nearly all of our translation assignments are from a non-English language into English.
The recordings we work with include single speakers, one-on-one interviews, and focus group recordings with several people talking. Subject matter can be almost anything: from consumer through business, technical, medical, pharmaceutical and so on. But our work is market research oriented, and almost never so technical as to be a problem for any good, general translator. However, internet research on specific technical terms is required.
Please note that Babbletype only hires and works with translators who are native speakers of one of the languages in the language pair they translate.
Here’s how this works. We start by getting you into our system, which is what this application is all about. Then when we have translation work available from your language into English, we’ll send you an email. If you’re available, follow the instructions in the email to select and request an assignment. If you’re not available, you don’t need to do anything.
If you do request an assignment, you’ll probably get it, but it’s not guaranteed. If a lot of the contractors in our system respond to our email, some might be left without something to do. We’ll try not to disappoint you, but it will happen. If you do get an assignment, we’ll send you an email with all the instructions you need to complete it. Deadlines are normally 24 hours from the time you receive the assignment. All times are US Eastern Time. Generally, depending on what you have asked for, a Babbletype assignment will take no more than four or five hours to finish, so you have plenty of time to get it done before the deadline.
Now, let’s talk about how we pay. The rates Babbletype currently offers for translation into English are listed in the current rates section of the application page. All rates are quoted on a per audio minute basis. An hour-long audio recording of an interview, for example, would be 60 minutes of audio, and we would pay 60 times the audio minute rate quoted here. It’s important to note that Babbletype does not support any other type of payment system, such as per word or line or page, and we don’t negotiate rates on a job by job basis.
Babbletype processes payments weekly, and we use PayPal to send you payments for your work, so you'll need an account, which is free.
And that’s about it. Babbletype adds you to our system and emails you when work is available. We will not have a need for translation for your specific language all the time, but when we do have it available, you’ll be in our system, and hear about it first. The time you spend now is an investment in one more way to add income over time.
If the above sounds like a good fit for you, please go ahead and complete the application. Thanks for considering us!
