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Translating adult content - what is your opinion?
Thread poster: Inez Ulrich
Janet Muehlbacher
Janet Muehlbacher  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:27
German to English
+ ...
I have done texts for adult toys Jun 15, 2020

but I wouldn´t feel comfortable with explicit scenes.

 
Paul Dixon
Paul Dixon  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 11:27
Portuguese to English
+ ...
I would do it Jun 15, 2020

In this very bad crisis, especially in Brazil, I would certainly do it. The only texts that I think I would not work with are homophobic materials. In addition, as a pacifist I would think twice about texts on bomb manufacture, for example.

Andrew Morris
 
Jo Macdonald
Jo Macdonald  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 15:27
Member (2005)
Italian to English
+ ...
It depends on the message Jun 15, 2020

If it's a story, read how it ends.

I'm OK with most stuff as long as it's not encouraging people to do, or think they can get away with, things I consider to be wrong.

So if someone is getting molested by their stepfather and one day has had enough and shoots him in the face with a shotgun, no problem translating that.
If same story ends with the victim thinking/saying you can't do anything about it or you just have to accept it and the perp gets away with it, I'l
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If it's a story, read how it ends.

I'm OK with most stuff as long as it's not encouraging people to do, or think they can get away with, things I consider to be wrong.

So if someone is getting molested by their stepfather and one day has had enough and shoots him in the face with a shotgun, no problem translating that.
If same story ends with the victim thinking/saying you can't do anything about it or you just have to accept it and the perp gets away with it, I'll have no part in that.
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Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:27
Member (2008)
Italian to English
What is "adult content" Jun 15, 2020

In the past I have refused to translate documents that encouraged smoking. If asked, I would never translate anything that encourages the use of nuclear energy, the arms trade, slavery, human trafficking, or anything in Life Sciences that is a cover for vivisection or testing on animals.

However since the term "adult content" could include anything from Ovid to Henry Miller, I don't see that any general principle could apply.

So to simplify; if you don't like the c
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In the past I have refused to translate documents that encouraged smoking. If asked, I would never translate anything that encourages the use of nuclear energy, the arms trade, slavery, human trafficking, or anything in Life Sciences that is a cover for vivisection or testing on animals.

However since the term "adult content" could include anything from Ovid to Henry Miller, I don't see that any general principle could apply.

So to simplify; if you don't like the content, don't translate it.



[Edited at 2020-06-15 15:16 GMT]
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Jan Truper
Christine Andersen
MollyRose
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
 
expressisverbis
expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 14:27
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Why not? Jun 15, 2020

I read something about a course known as "ETEP - Estudios de Traducción en el Erotismo y la Pornografía" (Translation Studies in Eroticism and Pornography), created in 2011.
It seems adult content translation is a profitable niche market to specialize in.
Adult content has been translated for centuries. Think about "Kama Sutra", for example, a much-translated work in Indian and non-Indian languages, or the Classical Greek and Roman literature (Sappho, Plautus...), etc.
If I w
... See more
I read something about a course known as "ETEP - Estudios de Traducción en el Erotismo y la Pornografía" (Translation Studies in Eroticism and Pornography), created in 2011.
It seems adult content translation is a profitable niche market to specialize in.
Adult content has been translated for centuries. Think about "Kama Sutra", for example, a much-translated work in Indian and non-Indian languages, or the Classical Greek and Roman literature (Sappho, Plautus...), etc.
If I would consider translating such material? Why not? Maybe I would translate sexual humour texts such as "One Thousand and One Nights".
We just need to have a healthy mind, be adult and comfortable enough with the subject and gain or improve our experience.
You might consider this post also helpful:
https://www.proz.com/forum/marketing_for_translators/289831-erotica_sexology_as_a_translation_specialization.html


[Edited at 2020-06-15 17:33 GMT]
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Mervyn Henderson (X)
 
Inez Ulrich
Inez Ulrich  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:27
Member (2016)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks again to all! Jun 15, 2020

Hi again,

I really appreciate all your opinions and postings on this. It was a great help for me.
Needless to say that anything with children or violence etc. is out of the question.

Anyway, it was highly interesting to read about your experiences and why you would or would not do such a job. Thanks a lot, really! I still haven't made up my mind on this, but as it is only a small test task after wh
... See more
Hi again,

I really appreciate all your opinions and postings on this. It was a great help for me.
Needless to say that anything with children or violence etc. is out of the question.

Anyway, it was highly interesting to read about your experiences and why you would or would not do such a job. Thanks a lot, really! I still haven't made up my mind on this, but as it is only a small test task after which I can accept or decline the larger job (if they accept my work, that is), I think I will try it, if only to see if I am able to do it at all.
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Inez Ulrich
Inez Ulrich  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:27
Member (2016)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
.. Jun 15, 2020

expressisverbis wrote:

I read something about a course known as "ETEP - Estudios de Traducción en el Erotismo y la Pornografía" (Translation Studies in Eroticism and Pornography), created in 2011.
It seems adult content translation is a profitable niche market to specialize in.
Adult content has been translated for centuries. Think about "Kama Sutra", for example, a much-translated work in Indian and non-Indian languages, or the Classical Greek and Roman literature (Sappho, Plautus...), etc.
If I would consider translating such material? Why not? Maybe I would translate sexual humour texts such as "One Thousand and One Nights".
We just need to have a healthy mind, be adult and comfortable enough with the subject and gain or improve your experience.
You might consider this post also helpful:
https://www.proz.com/forum/marketing_for_translators/289831-erotica_sexology_as_a_translation_specialization.html


thanks for your opinion on this, and yes, I agree, I'd have zero problems with translating a text like the Kama Sutra or "1001 nights", but these are literature, and this job is not about literature, it is about describing porn vids, so yes, you have to have a large vocabulary, and yes, it is creative, because you need to write attractive texts, so basically it is a marketing task, in a way. I'm good at marketing texts, but I'm not sure if I'm good at this. Not so much a question of personal inhibition, like I had before reading all the comments here, but rather a question of technique and skill.


expressisverbis
 
Inez Ulrich
Inez Ulrich  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:27
Member (2016)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
the end of the story Jun 17, 2020

Hi all,

here is how the story ended, if you are interested:
I did my sample description (the PM or owner of the agency stressed several times that this would be a private order, not for the end client. I wondered why he kept saying this but as it was only a test, I didn't think anything bad of it.) and sent it via Whatsapp, sth the PM/owner insisted on from the beginning (I had to deal with this guy before, and my gut feeling should have been enough to stay away from that per
... See more
Hi all,

here is how the story ended, if you are interested:
I did my sample description (the PM or owner of the agency stressed several times that this would be a private order, not for the end client. I wondered why he kept saying this but as it was only a test, I didn't think anything bad of it.) and sent it via Whatsapp, sth the PM/owner insisted on from the beginning (I had to deal with this guy before, and my gut feeling should have been enough to stay away from that person), saying this is a prerequisite for all his translators. He said it was very good and that we could continue wioth private orders until I was ready to do a larger batch. I asked why not official orders from now on and where these "private orders" were coming from at all. After all, he surely wouldn't pay me for tasks without any client involved, out of pure philantrophy. He reacted a bit aggressively, saying that it was none of my business to know where orders come from and that I would get paid, with VAT and official invoice etc. I told him that I wanted an official order from his agency, nothing else, and that this sounded fishy. he obviously wasn't able to explain those "private orders" and I told him that we were done.
I'm still not sure what this was all about, but clearly it was nothing regular.
This agency had a clear 5 star rating here on BlueBoard, so I still thought they were to trust, but I really don't think that is the case. I wonder if I should report all this to Proz.
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Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 15:27
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
I would report it Jun 17, 2020

Inez Ulrich wrote:
....
I'm still not sure what this was all about, but clearly it was nothing regular.
This agency had a clear 5 star rating here on BlueBoard, so I still thought they were to trust, but I really don't think that is the case. I wonder if I should report all this to Proz.


I probably would report it to Proz.com
The agency as a whole might be fine, if it is just one PM doing things on the side, or others may be involved.

In general, of course it is useful to know who the target readers of a translation are. That is a highly relevant question!


 
Inez Ulrich
Inez Ulrich  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:27
Member (2016)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
... Jun 17, 2020

Christine Andersen wrote:

Inez Ulrich wrote:
....
I'm still not sure what this was all about, but clearly it was nothing regular.
This agency had a clear 5 star rating here on BlueBoard, so I still thought they were to trust, but I really don't think that is the case. I wonder if I should report all this to Proz.


I probably would report it to Proz.com
The agency as a whole might be fine, if it is just one PM doing things on the side, or others may be involved.

In general, of course it is useful to know who the target readers of a translation are. That is a highly relevant question!


I think it is the owner, there are no other persons involved in this agency, as far as I know.

ow he is insulting me, saying I'm trying to play it bad and that I should keep my bad manners and show some respect. He still didn't answer my repeated questions what those "private orders" are, of course.

I really think I have to report him.


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 15:27
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Oh wow. Jun 17, 2020

Inez Ulrich wrote:

Christine Andersen wrote:

Inez Ulrich wrote:
....
I'm still not sure what this was all about, but clearly it was nothing regular.
This agency had a clear 5 star rating here on BlueBoard, so I still thought they were to trust, but I really don't think that is the case. I wonder if I should report all this to Proz.


I probably would report it to Proz.com
The agency as a whole might be fine, if it is just one PM doing things on the side, or others may be involved.

In general, of course it is useful to know who the target readers of a translation are. That is a highly relevant question!


I think it is the owner, there are no other persons involved in this agency, as far as I know.

ow he is insulting me, saying I'm trying to play it bad and that I should keep my bad manners and show some respect. He still didn't answer my repeated questions what those "private orders" are, of course.

I really think I have to report him.


Not only is he being utterly unprofessional, but also abusive and controlling. As far as I know you can't leave a bad BB rating without having completed at least 1 paid project for them? You engaged in a private dealing with him on Whatsapp without a PO order? I generally don't like clients who insist on Skype contacts or similar as everything can be done through emails, and in email you have documented threads of transactions and/or conversations, not sure how you will extract that same thread from Whatsapp.


 
Inez Ulrich
Inez Ulrich  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:27
Member (2016)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
yes, wow! Jun 17, 2020

Lingua 5B wrote:

Not only is he being utterly unprofessional, but also abusive and controlling. As far as I know you can't leave a bad BB rating without having completed at least 1 paid project for them? You engaged in a private dealing with him on Whatsapp without a PO order? I generally don't like clients who insist on Skype contacts or similar as everything can be done through emails, and in email you have documented threads of transactions and/or conversations, not sure how you will extract that same thread from Whatsapp.



I have kept the complete conversation on Whatsapp (I told him from the start that I don't like being contacted via WA (also not on Skype, which I only use in urgent situations with one of my regular agencies) because I already though it might be necessary. I should have stayed away from him after our first encounter, where he also reacted very aggressively very fast when I wasn't "behaving" the way he wanted me to. I really relied on the good ratings here and wanted to benefit of thegood rate he offered, but I should have known better, of course.


 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 15:27
Spanish to English
+ ...
Behaviour Jun 17, 2020

" ... where he also reacted very aggressively very fast when I wasn't "behaving" the way he wanted me to."

A control freak, maybe. A dungeon master looking for a submissive slave, with correspondence foreplay.

Definitely a name-and-shame case if you can. If you already have enough info stored on him for that, you can block him on Whatsapp afterwards.

[Edited at 2020-06-17 09:32 GMT]


Inez Ulrich
 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 15:27
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
I had clients like that, unfortunately. Jun 17, 2020

I'm afraid we can't report anyone on here for the wrong tone, bad manners, controlling behavior, verbal abuse, lying in project descriptions, etc. Rule of thumb should be not to engage in anything without a PO order (emails only). I would advise you to just cut off any interaction with him.

Inez Ulrich
 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 15:27
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
lol Jun 17, 2020

Mervyn Henderson wrote:

" ... where he also reacted very aggressively very fast when I wasn't "behaving" the way he wanted me to."

A control freak, maybe. A dungeon master looking for a submissive slave, with correspondence foreplay.

Definitely a name-and-shame case if you can.


Was that the category of his adult movies for translation, BDSM? Maybe not that, he just wants to control her into doing translations she doesn't want to do and perhaps at reduced price.

I mean I could perhaps write a book about all the controlling (subtle or explicit) techniques clients use when they want you to work on uninteresting and dumb projects that pay so little. There was one client who treated me like an employee believing I would start 1) feeling like one and 2) behaving like one, while being paid on project basis. She would just call me on my phone (land line) whenever she had a tiniest project. I had enough when she asked me if I could reduce my price (already on lowest end), then I just stopped responding. It was abuse (maybe even officially illegal) as I had to literally either let my phone ring for hours or plug it out (she continued contacting me, of course always on the phone). I told her by email to stop or that I would report her, and she replied: "You never know when you might need me" LOL Yes, I will deeply miss your phone call abuse and your projects paid with peanuts.

[Edited at 2020-06-17 10:32 GMT]


 
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