Public School In USA

Time and again sloppy, careless translations, either written or visual, hardcopy or virtual, practically scream out at readers or listeners from websites, movie subtitles, marketing copy, news headlines, articles, books, or wherever they may be found. This irks me no end, as I am sure it does all truly professional colleagues, because it is nothing but a consequence, or fallout – a collateral damage, if you will – of the quest for the lowest quote, and a total devil-may-care attitude towards quality that has become a common trait with some outsourcers or agencies.

I feel that there is little to be done against such poor business and professional practices, outside of denouncing them in the strongest possible terms, and as frequently and by as many professionals as possible. Not only is it a discredit to translation as a serious profession – and one of enormous import, for where would we be today, knowledge-wise, without the gigantic contribution of translators? – but also a show of total disrespect for the target user of the end product.

Let me cite some cases in point to illustrate this “anything-goes” attitude toward translation. In “Deception” (USA, 2008), a movie starred by Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams, the character played by Ewan McGregor, Jonathan McQuarry, is an accountant performing corporate audits. In one of these audits, he comes in and is welcomed by an executive of the company, who sits him at a desk and tells him to ask the assistant controller for anything he, McQuarry, may need. All right, this is the setting. Now, how do you think that “assistant controller” was translated in the Spanish subtitles? It was translated as “Asistente de control”. Which is totally wrong. I should know, for I was, myself, a Bank’s controller’s assistant (ergo, an “asistente de control”) for almost two decades…..To explain it in simple terms: what McQuarry was told, in the movie, was audit SOP, or standard operating procedure: any documentation that he might need to see in the course of the audit, would be supplied by the “subgerente financiero” or the “subgerente de control” — i.e., a deputy controller of sorts, not a controller’s assistant, i.e., a controller’s secretary of sorts. It might be argued that the distinction does not affect the outcome of events in the movie; quite true. But it might affect the translation if it were part of another context; say, an accounting or audit report.

Which reminds me of yet another subtitling “jewel”: in “Live Free or Die Hard”, (USA, 2007), starring Bruce Willis, repeatedly (that is, definitely more than once during the movie) Fort Knox was translated in the subtitles as “Fort Kong” – how ignorant can you get? I refuse to insult my readership by expounding on this blunder…..

There is a widespread misconception going around, among self-declared translators and public alike, that it is enough to know or speak two – or more – languages to be able to translate professionally. Wrong. As completely wrong as stating that knowing how to write is sufficient to turn you into a writer. A huge amount of knowledge and skills must be acquired and are involved in being and becoming a translator – which is why, along with experience, professional credentials should always be required. While credentials may not be, per se, a guarantee of quality, they certainly go a long way towards assuring end clients that a well thought-out, researched product will be delivered. Something worth their money.

India’s US$40b education market is experiencing a surge in investment. Capital, both local and international, and innovative legal structures are changing the face of this once-staid sector

The liberalization of India’s industrial policy in 1991 was the catalyst for a wave of investment in IT and infrastructure projects. Rapid economic growth followed, sparking a surge in demand for skilled and educated workers. This, combined with the failure of the public system to provide high quality education and the growing willingness of the burgeoning middle class to spend money on schooling, has transformed India’s education sector into an attractive and fast-emerging opportunity for foreign investment.

Despite being fraught with regulatory restrictions, private investors are flocking to play a part in the “education revolution”. A recent report by CLSA (Asia-Pacific Markets) estimated that the private education market is worth around US$40 billion. The K-12 segment alone, which includes students from kindergarten to the age of 17, is thought to be worth more than US$20 billion. The market for private colleges (engineering, medical, business, etc.) is valued at US$7 billion while tutoring accounts for a further US$5 billion.

Other areas such as test preparation, pre-schooling and vocational training are worth US$1-2 billion each. Textbooks and stationery, educational CD-ROMs, multimedia content, child skill enhancement, e-learning, teacher training and finishing schools for the IT and the BPO sectors are some of the other significant sectors for foreign investment in education.

Opportunity beckons

The Indian government allocated about US$8.6 billion to education for the current financial year. But considering the significant divide between the minority of students who graduate with a good education and the vast majority who struggle to receive basic elementary schooling, or are deprived of it altogether, private participation is seen as the only way of narrowing the gap. Indeed, it is estimated that the scope for private participation is almost five times the amount spent on education by the government.

CLSA estimates that the total size of India’s private education market could reach US$70 billion by 2012, with an 11% increase in the volume and penetration of education and training being offered.
The K-12 segment is the most attractive for private investors. Delhi Public School operates approximately 107 schools, DAV has around 667, Amity University runs several more and Educomp Solutions plans to open 150 K-12 institutions over the next four years. Coaching and tutoring K-12 students outside school is also big business with around 40% of urban children in grades 9-12 using external tuition facilities.

Opening the doors

Private initiatives in the education sector started in the mid-90s with public-private partnerships set up to provide information and communications technology (ICT) in schools. Under this scheme, various state governments outsourced the supply, installation and maintenance of IT hardware and software, as well as teacher training and IT education, in government or government-aided schools. The central government has been funding this initiative, which follows the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model, under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan and ICT Schools programmes. Private companies such as Educomp Solutions, Everonn Systems, and NIIT were among the first to enter the ICT market, which is expected to be worth around US$1 billion by 2012.