Translators are an undervalued bunch. We fear that the rates they can command are affected by the fact that people who have never done a serious translation have no idea what it is they do, or that it often requires as much intellectual effort as it took to say or write the thing in its first language.

The law, though, does recognise their effort, in theory. A translation is a copyright work just as much as the original is. The difference is that there are two copyrights (or two sets of authors' rights) in translations: those of the original author and those of the translator. Translators should ensure that the client is responsible for securing the permission of the original author, where needed, to make the translation.

Software packages are getting better at producing rough first drafts; but producing a finished translation is and always will be an exercise involving an understanding of the cultures behind the source and target languages. Clients may need to be reminded that if there were software that could produce a publishable translation, it would by definition be capable of doing their job as well.

Public Lending Right

Translators of books are entitled to a share of Public Lending Right payments and need to register with Public Lending Right UK to be sure of receiving this: see Rights and why they are important.

Generally useful links: