Translations etc. on "Gente di Mare"

Carole

I have removed and rewritten the post that was only partially moved here from our old site in July 2007.

The fact that most of it went missing, during the move, meant that our/my stance on translations wasn't clear. So I have tried here to put that right and below is how/where I see the question of translations here on "Gente". Before you all panic though, basically what I'm saying is that - WITH VERY FEW EXCEPTIONS - translations will always be free of charge here on "Gente di Mare"!

OK so here is the rewritten item for you all...

I have visited, lived in and loved Italy now for almost 45 years. During that time I have come to appreciate and also to despair about the Italian culture and it's (at times) seeming love affair with beaurocracy. It is a glorious country to live in and its history is among the very best there is to enjoy anywhere in the World.

Many Italians are now learning English from an early age, so as the years pass it will be easier to find someone who understands you if English is your 'mother tongue'. But, having said that, it does not preclude the need for others to learn at least a 'bit' of thier language too. The younger generations today enjoy the opportunity to pratice their 'spoken English' on us - though it is often very easy to hear/spot if their teacher was a 'mother tongue' English or not!!!

So the need arises for translators and interpreters both in the business and private world, and here on "Gente di Mare" we are very lucky to have some very kind, good translators both 'from' and 'to' Italian.

But... Yes there's always a 'BUT' - My view of translation work on sites such as this is as follows...

1. I will always try to give a verbatim (word for word) translation - but only because I usually have the time to do so. Verbatims are time consuming and, if it is your main job, very costly - so please don't assume that any freely offered translations will be verbatim or done immediately.

2. I will always offer a first small translation free of charge. For anything more it might possibly be a question of a small fee (for "Gente", NOT for me)... BUT I will always translate documents/letters/e-mails etc. that are of interest to ALL our members and to "Gente di Mare" as a genealogy site FREE OF CHARGE - no matter how long they are! (Just about everything we do here falls into that category...)

3. I don't 'tout' for paying translation work and if I ever contact a member privately it is usually to offer free translations and to try and convince them to share thier letters/documents etc. with us all.

4. If you ask a translator to do something for you that involves them spending their own money, or if they offer to do so to (perhaps) save you time... then do consider reimbursing their expenses... phone calls, stamps etc. aren't free even in Italy and a 'one off' is OK, but when it is done (WILLINGLY) for a number of people, then it can become prohibitive. A few €uro or Dollars here and there soon add up!

So there we are folks... that's how I feel about translations here. If you have any questions do feel free to ask. I'm here - like most everybody - to help in whatever way I can.
(and I'm lovin' every minute of it!!!!)

charliemis

Carole wrote:

I have removed and rewritten the post that was only partially moved here from our old site in July 2007.

The fact that most of it went missing, during the move, meant that our/my stance on translations wasn't clear. So I have tried here to put that right and below is how/where I see the question of translations here on "Gente". Before you all panic though, basically what I'm saying is that - WITH VERY FEW EXCEPTIONS - translations will always be free of charge here on "Gente di Mare"!

OK so here is the rewritten item for you all...

I have visited, lived in and loved Italy now for almost 45 years. During that time I have come to appreciate and also to despair about the Italian culture and it's (at times) seeming love affair with beaurocracy. It is a glorious country to live in and its history is among the very best there is to enjoy anywhere in the World.

Many Italians are now learning English from an early age, so as the years pass it will be easier to find someone who understands you if English is your 'mother tongue'. But, having said that, it does not preclude the need for others to learn at least a 'bit' of thier language too. The younger generations today enjoy the opportunity to pratice their 'spoken English' on us - though it is often very easy to hear/spot if their teacher was a 'mother tongue' English or not!!!

So the need arises for translators and interpreters both in the business and private world, and here on "Gente di Mare" we are very lucky to have some very kind, good translators both 'from' and 'to' Italian.

But... Yes there's always a 'BUT' - My view of translation work on sites such as this is as follows...

1. I will always try to give a verbatim (word for word) translation - but only because I usually have the time to do so. Verbatims are time consuming and, if it is your main job, very costly - so please don't assume that any freely offered translations will be verbatim or done immediately.

2. I will always offer a first small translation free of charge. For anything more it might possibly be a question of a small fee (for "Gente", NOT for me)... BUT I will always translate documents/letters/e-mails etc. that are of interest to ALL our members and to "Gente di Mare" as a genealogy site FREE OF CHARGE - no matter how long they are! (Just about everything we do here falls into that category...)

3. I don't 'tout' for paying translation work and if I ever contact a member privately it is usually to offer free translations and to try and convince them to share thier letters/documents etc. with us all.

4. If you ask a translator to do something for you that involves them spending their own money, or if they offer to do so to (perhaps) save you time... then do consider reimbursing their expenses... phone calls, stamps etc. aren't free even in Italy and a 'one off' is OK, but when it is done (WILLINGLY) for a number of people, then it can become prohibitive. A few €uro or Dollars here and there soon add up!

So there we are folks... that's how I feel about translations here. If you have any questions do feel free to ask. I'm here - like most everybody - to help in whatever way I can.
(and I'm lovin' every minute of it!!!!)

Hi Carole,

I think that the folks in this group are very kind and are extremely generous with their time in helping new members get started. It also seems that some folks seem to really take advantage of these kindnesses. It seems to me that some folks see this as a "free genealogy" service that will do their work for them. Just having folks help you find a difficult document or translate a "hard to decipher" doc is all that anyone should ask for.

I personally have attempted to help myself in this quest to find my ancestors (as well as a number of cousins still living in Italy) by trying to learn some basic Italian. Most local US High Schools offer basic Italian classes in the evening. After a number of classes I can have a "somewhat" meaningful discussion in Italian (not really fluent, but both parties will understand each other). I have learned the basics like numbers and the names of each month so I can recognize these on Italian docs along with basic info. With the web there are also a great number of aids available such as "document templates" which let you easily learn to "fill in the blanks" and extract the usefull info needed to create you own record which can be then entered into a Family Tree (or FT Program). There are so many sites availble to aid people finding their ancestors (Ellis Island, Ancestry, rootsweb, Steve Morse, etc.).

I am really grateful to get a helping hand when I get stuck. JMHO (for our Italian friends --- Just My Humble Opinion)

stevenspringer

i apologize if it seems like im taking anything for granted. I just want you all to know I greatly appreciate everything that is done to help me.

kristen33 · Mem Joined: Jul 17, 2008 Posts: 10

I am trying to send you a document that is about my family surname Melissari from a gentlemen in Italy but for some reason the website keeps rejecting it. Is there another way I can send it? I do not know if you will be able to translate the document but I would love to know what it says if you are able to . Thank you either way.

Kristen Melissari

nuccia

Kristen,

You can email it to me if you like and I will attempt to upload it for you.

My email is:

nuccia.salvati @ gmail.com (no spaces)

kristen33 · Mem Joined: Jul 17, 2008 Posts: 10

nuccia wrote:

Kristen,

You can email it to me if you like and I will attempt to upload it for you.

My email is:

nuccia.salvati @ gmail.com (no spaces)

Thank you. I will email it to you right now . Smile

nuccia

Kristen,

This is such a beautiful document!

The reason you can post it is because it is a very large (17 page) PDF file of almost 14,000 k! The only way I can think of you being able to post anything is to print it all out and rescan the pages saving it as jpgs, and posting them separately.