How to work on Babbletype translation

assignments
This article contains everything you need to know about working with Babbletype excluding the instructions you need to actually produce the
different Babbletype transcript formats (that information is available in the transcript template for each assignment you receive).

Important notes
Getting help
How to sign up for assignments
Finding available assignments
Requesting available assignments
Your assignment email
Confirming your assignment
Communicating progress
Getting set up
Using the Google word processing document
Responsibilities that are the same for all types of assignments
Content accuracy
Following instructions
Researching terms
Proper English usage
Checking your own work
Multi-part assignments
Editorial rules
How to do different types of assignments
Initial translation (DE)
AA (audio auditing of failed translations)
Review
Getting paid
How to work on Babbletype translation assignments 1
 Payment method
Record keeping
Applicable rates
Payment limitations
Payment timing
Upwork fees
Tax matters

Important notes
● Be sure you are working on the right assignment!
○ Translators occasionally accidentally translate the wrong recording (which can end up meaning that they are doing work that
is not needed and that they are not paid for). To avoid this, always check that the file name of the transcript file and the file
name of the recording file match your assignment email. Also take care to work on the right part of the recording, since you
may not have been assigned the entire recording.

● Assignments
○ Do not work on assignments until we assign them to you by email.
○ Never request an assignment without first checking the recording to ensure you can comfortably understand it.
○ Confirm your assignment within 12 hours of receipt, or we will assume it has been abandoned.
○ If we do not hear from you by the deadline, we will assume your assignment has been abandoned.
○ If a file you have requested turns out to be impossible for you to translate with good quality, stop working and decline the
assignment as soon as possible.

● Files
○ Work in the online transcript file, and deliver your work only in that online transcript file. There is no need to send it to us,
since we can access it there.
○ When working with Google Drive files, never move files to any other location, including your “My Drive”. Just work in them
where you find them.

● Legal
○ In medical or related (i.e., pharmaceutical) contexts, never capture any personally identifiable information [PI] related to

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 doctors or patients. If a respondent’s name, company, address, hospital or other similar identifying information is mentioned in
the recording, do not capture it in the transcript. Instead, replace it with the notation “[PI]”. For attribution, use “Respondent:”.
Interviewer names and the names of their companies, etc., if mentioned in the recording, may be captured.

Getting help
Support is available 9AM to 4PM daily US Eastern Time (i.e., New York). Outside of those hours you may need to wait to get a response.
Bear in mind that Babbletype production has many responsibilities and responses may be delayed.

Email ​contractorconcerns@babbletype.com​ for all issues. Always include your Contractor ID. Telephone communications are reserved for
clients; please do not call.

Keep your assignment email. To communicate with us about that assignment, Reply All to that email (be sure to use Reply All, not just
reply).

How to sign up for assignments

Keep in mind that we will not always have work available. For commonly-ordered languages, we receive new projects (of multiple
assignments each) about once a month on average.

Also note that Babbletype has a native speaker only policy, which means you must be a native speaker of one of the two languages you are
working in (the “from” language or the “to” language). If you know multiple languages, do not request combinations where neither of the
languages are your native language. For example, if your native language is Russian, but you also speak Japanese and English, do no
request Japanese to English assignments.

All assignments have a 24-hour deadline from the time we send it. Don’t ask for one until you are available to work on it. We don’t provide
future or multi-day assignments. When you finish your current assignment, check the Available Translation Assignments table for what else
is available, then send an email to request your next assignment.

Finding available assignments

When we have work available in your language, we will send you an email. The email will contain a link to our Available Translation
Assignments table. This is an online listing of all work available right now. One assignment is listed on each row. The columns provide

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information about the assignment:

● Assignment section
○ Language: ​Tells you what language the recording for the assignment is in. Scroll down to look for assignments in a language
you can translate from (into English).
○ Assignment status:​ Tells you the type of assignment and whether it is available.
■ Available: This is an available original translation (DE) assignment.
■ AA available: This is an available assignment to repair an already completed translation assignment which was failed
following quality review.
■ Review available: This is an available assignment to check the content quality and completeness of a finished
translation assignment.
■ Assigned: The assignment has already been assigned.
■ Reserved: The assignment is reserved for someone else.
■ Done: The assignment has been completed.
○ File name:​ The name of the file being assigned (both the transcript and the audio recording will have the same name).

● Recording part, start and end times section

Assignments are often split into multiple parts, in roughly 30-minute pieces. Check this section for the part of the audio recording you
are being assigned to translate.
○ Part number:​ The part of the audio recording you will be working on.
○ Number of parts:​ The total number of parts the audio recording has been split up into.
○ Start time in recording:​ This is the time location in the audio recording where your assignment starts. Start translating from
this point. (Note: Don’t start in the middle of a speech or sentence. Go back in the audio a bit to catch all of whatever is being
said at the start of your section.)
○ End time in recording:​ This is the time location in the audio recording where your assignment stops. Finish translating here.
(Note: Don’t stop in the middle of a speech or sentence. Continue translating to catch all of whatever is being said right at the
end of your section.)
○ Length (minutes of recording):​ Lists the length of your assignment in recorded minutes.

● Pay
This section lists pay rates for passing initial translation assignments only. Failed translation assignments which are still usable (i.e.,
that can be reasonably repaired by another translator) pay half the stated rate, and repair work (AA) pays the same amount. Review
work (not listed in the table), which generally takes 15 minutes or less to do, pays $0.15 per recorded minute. (Note that the available

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 translation assignments table only reflects DE pay and not QA and AA pay.)
○ Payment per minute:​ Pay rate per recorded minute for passing translation assignments.
○ Value of passing translation assignment:​ Rate payable in US dollars for a passing initial translation for this assignment.

● Links section
○ Transcript link:​ This link takes you to the online word processing file you will work in.
○ Audio link:​ This link takes you to the audio recording you will be translating. Open the file, download it, and load it into a
transcription-oriented audio player such as Express Scribe (discussed below).

Requesting available assignments

Look down the Language column for available assignments in your language. Click the audio link to open the recording online. Play some of
the recording to ensure that you can understand and successfully translate the content. (Note that some assignments are parts of the same
recording, so there is no need to listen to more than one part.)

Since other people may also be requesting work at the same time, it’s best to listen to all of the recordings available in your language and
make a list of all of the assignments you are comfortable requesting to increase your chances of getting an assignment.

Go back to the notification email you received, press Reply All (not just Reply), and let us know the following:

● Your Contractor ID.

● The list of the file names of the assignments you are comfortable working on.
● We’ll reply with an assignment email between 9AM and 6PM US Eastern Time (i.e., New York). If we receive your request after 6PM
Eastern Time, you should expect to receive it the following morning about 9AM Eastern Time at the latest. You may receive an
assignment sooner.
● Once we send your assignment, you’ll have 24 hours to complete it. The email will contain the deadline for your assignment.

Your assignment email

When we assign you work, we’ll send you an assignment email with the following information:

● The name of the file we are assigning to you.

● The part of that file we are assigning to you.
● The deadline of the assignment, generally 24 hours after we send the assignment to you.
● All of the links you need to access the file can be found in the Available Assignments table. Take care that you are working on the

How to work on Babbletype translation assignments 5

 exact file name and part name you were assigned.

Confirming your assignment

Because people sometimes abandon assignments without telling us, it is important that you reply to the assignment email as soon as
possible after receiving it, and confirm to us that you are accepting the assignment and will be able to compete it by the deadline.

If we do not hear from you within 12 hours of sending your assignment, we will assume it has been abandoned and will make the work
available to someone else.

Important:​ Always use Reply All when replying to our emails to ensure your message is received promptly, since the person who sent the
email may not be immediately available to answer it.

Communicating progress
Retain your assignment email to provide an easy way to communicate with us about your assignment. Let us know about any issues you are
encountering or help you need. When you finish, reply to the email letting us know.

Important:​ It’s very important to communicate. If we don’t receive your assignment confirmation on time, or your assignment completion
email by the deadline, we’ll assume the assignment has been abandoned.

Getting set up
● Install ​Express Scribe
○ You will need Express Scribe transcription software to do your work. You can get Express Scribe (PC or Mac) free ​here​. ​Do
not push the red Download button.​ Click the link in the text that says, “Download the free version of Express Scribe here.”
○ Set Express Scribe’s timestamp format to “00:00” (minutes, seconds). To do this, select Options (or Preferences) in the
toolbar, and select Display. You’ll see Format selections under both Position and Duration. Choose the “m:ss” option for both,
then click OK.
○ Use the Speed control slider to slow down the playback a little to make it easier to catch what people are saying. A playback
speed between 80% and 90% is often optimal. YouTube has lots of training videos on Express Scribe.

● Install ​Google Chrome​ to ensure best results.

How to work on Babbletype translation assignments 6

 ● Get your materials from the Available Assignments table.
○ Click on the Transcript link. The file you’ll be working in will open.
○ Click on the Audio link. The audio file you will be translating from will open. Click the Download button (downward pointing
arrow) to download the MP3 file of the recording.
○ Open Express Scribe. Drag the downloaded audio file from your Downloads folder into the Express Scribe window. Click on it
to select the file and make it ready to play.

● Open and review instructions and examples for the assignment.

○ All Babbletype transcription templates have instructions at the top of the transcript template. (In the case of spreadsheet
templates, the instructions will be in a separate tab labeled Instructions.)
○ The first section contains any special instructions and links to supporting materials related to this specific assignment. Read
any special instructions, and open and review and supporting materials linked here.
○ The second section will contain standard instructions and examples for the transcription format you have been assigned. Click
the links to open and review these.
○ The third section contains links to general assignment instructions, including this document.

● Double check your file’s name and file part.

○ Many people make the mistake of producing the wrong translation. Take the time to make sure you are working on the right
file.
○ Compare the file name in your assignment email with the file name of BOTH the audio recording you downloaded and the
transcript template you opened. They should all be identical.
○ Check your assignment part number in your assignment email, then check the start and end times in the Available Translation
Assignments table.
○ In the transcript template, scroll down until you find the numbered section that matches your file part. This is where you
should enter your translation work.
○ In Express Scribe, move the slider bar (bottom right of window) until the time displayed is slightly before the place where your
assignment starts.

Using the Google word processing document

The Google word processing document you opened (named the same as your assignment) is where the transcript must be when you finish.
We strongly recommend you do all your work right in that online document.

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IF you are working on an initial translation project, then you may work somewhere else, BUT regularly paste your progress in the online
document. It must be here when you are done. If we don’t find your work here by deadline, we will assume the assignment has been
abandoned.

IF you are working on an audio auditing (AA) or Review assignment, you MUST work ONLY in this document.

Responsibilities that are the same for all types of assignments

Regardless of the type of task assigned, the following is a list of things that anyone working on a transcript file is responsible for.

Content accuracy
Our core goal at Babbletype is to deliver a high quality product.

This means, first, that the translation be as accurate as possible against the original content heard in the recording. No meaningful content
that is audible in the recording should be missing or skipped, and nothing not in the recording should be added.

Mishears, where the recording says one thing and the translator writes down something else, are serious errors. Never write down anything
you are not certain of, or that makes no sense to you. Instead, mark that section with an appropriate inaudible notation (explained in the
format instructions).

Things you can’t hear and understand clearly, and that you mark with an inaudible notation, are not by themselves a problem. Most
recordings have small sections of talk that can’t be understood, and poor quality recordings or those made in noisy environments can have
many of them. We judge accuracy not from the event, but from what is actually audible in the recording. On the other hand, inaudible
notations are not a free pass to not try to correctly capture the content, and lots of inaudible notations that really are audible are cause for a
failed assignment.

Following instructions
Your second responsibility is to ensure that you properly follow all of the instructions related to your assignment. Be sure to read the format
instructions in the transcript template for your assignment carefully, and to open and review the examples.

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Researching terms
Third, it’s your responsibility to perform basic online research to get names of things correct. It’s not enough to mark special terms or names
as inaudible, or to spell them out as they sound. You are expected to go online and use a search engine like Google to try to identify the
correct translation and/or spelling of the name or term.

Proper English usage

Fourth, it’s your responsibility to ensure that the finished document you deliver is written in proper English style with proper spelling,
grammar and punctuation.

Checking your own work

It’s also your responsibility to check your own work. Take the time to read over your finished work and correct obvious errors.

Multi-part assignments
Audio recordings are split at arbitrary locations, so it’s possible that the split may be in the middle of someone’s speech. Take the time to
ensure that starting and ending pieces are complete and flow properly from or to existing parts, even if that means going slightly beyond
where your part begins or ends.

For continuity, try to ensure that your part uses the same names and terms as other already-completed parts.

Editorial rules
● Use proper English spelling, grammar and punctuation, even if this means slightly correcting what a person said.
● Use a style guide such as the Reuters style guide for proper usage.
● Never use more than one space, tab or return.
● Capture profanity by writing out the first letter and using asterisks for the rest, for example, “f***”, “c***”, “m***********”, “s***”.
(Reserve this for only the most profane words; spell out more normal words like “hell” or “damn”.)
● Correct all slang into the proper English word (i.e., “gonna” = “going to”, “coz” = “because”, “yeah” = “yes”).
● Break up long speeches into shorter sentences.
● Correct all wrong verb tenses. Fix all mistakes like, “He are a person,” or “They is nice.”

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 ● Correct all wrong uses of plurals. Fix all mistakes like, “I have a cars,” or “I bought some stuffs.”
● Detailed editorial information.

How to do different types of assignments

This section contains general instructions for all assignments. For specific format instructions for your assignment, read and review all the
linked documents and examples in the “Format Instructions” section at the top of the template.

There are three types of assignments: initial translation, AA (audio auditing or repair of failed assignments) and Review (quality checking of
translations).

Initial translation (DE)

Your goal in producing the initial draft is to listen to the entire recording (or recording part) assigned to you, and to capture everything said as
accurately as possible, following the rules of the transcript’s format.

Translations do not need to be word for word, but should be as close as possible, without skipping or summarizing any content (except as
described in the instructions for the format).

AA (audio auditing of failed translations)

When an initial translation is failed, it is assigned to another transcriptionist or translator to correct.

When assigned to AA a translation, listen to the entire recording from beginning to end, reading and correcting the original failed transcript or
translation as you do so, so that the finished work is a passing transcript.

You are also responsible for acting as a quality backstop to Babbletype review. If the quality of the initial draft is so terrible that the work
essentially needs to be completely re-translated, contact Babbletype production.

Review
Note:​ Please be as quick as possible in performing and returning reviews. Pause other work to complete them. A translation review should
only take about 15 minutes.

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Review has two simple goals. The first is to make a pass-fail decision regarding the quality of a previously completed translation assignment.
The second is to communicate the reasons for that decision, along with what the person whose work is being reviewed should improve on in
the future.

The reviewer’s primary responsibility is to ensure that the rules listed in this document have been appropriately followed.

When conducting reviews, first review all instructions listed in the template to be sure you understand the requirements.

Next, compare the content of the audio recording with the content of the finished transcript. Listen to at least a few minutes of content in
each of three locations in the recording (near the start, the middle, and the end), while reading along in the transcript.

While listening and reading, mark errors with the (digital) highlighter tool in the document, but otherwise don’t attempt to make corrections.
Instead, try to make a simple pass-fail decision.

Any truly major error in capturing the content from the recording that materially impacts the meaning is cause for a fail.

This includes mishears, skipped content, added content not in the recording, and numerous inaudibles that are are not really inaudible.

Major errors in following instructions, or extremely numerous obvious errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc., are also cause for a fail.

This requires reasonableness and judgment because, on the one hand, each reviewer needs to make certain that no truly unacceptable
work passes and moves on to the next production stage or to a customer. On the other hand, a reasonable number of minor errors, not
materially impacting the meaning of the content, and reasonable numbers of other types of errors (for instance, that a proofreader could
easily correct), are not cause for a fail.

The reviewer’s pass-fail decision for initial transcription and translation (DE) work actually has three possible outcomes: pass, fail or total fail.

● A pass is work fully ready to move to the next stage of production (English proofreading).
● A fail is work that is not ready to move to the next step but is close enough that another translator can reasonably use the existing
draft as a starting point. (i.e., the draft is good enough that another translator can audio audit and correct it rather than starting over).
● A total fail is work that is so poor or incomplete that it cannot be used as a starting point and audio audited (i.e., we will need to start
over and re-translate the recording again from scratch).

The reviewer’s second responsibility is to clearly and concisely communicate two things: if a fail, their reasons for their decision, and if a
pass or fail, things they have seen that the person who did the work should correct in the future.

How to work on Babbletype translation assignments 11

Getting paid
This section describes how Babbletype processes payments for the work you do.

Payment method
All payments for work completed are by the recorded minute. If you were hired directly by Babbletype, payment is via PayPal exclusively. If
you were hired via Upwork, payment is via Upwork exclusively.

Bonus system for Upwork

We will initially hire you at a minimal amount ($5.00) to open up a standard contract. Assignments will be made over email using the one you
provided. Using the schedule described below, the balance of your assignment(s) will be paid over Upwork for any and all work completed.

Record keeping
Keep your own data about your assignments (file name, date, length, assignment type, rate). We do correct discrepancies, but do not do
research to find files if you don’t know the file name and date.

Applicable rates
Applicable rates for your assignment are located in the Available Translation Assignments listing.

Rates for failed translation assignments, and for the audio auditing (repair assignments), are 50% of the passing translation rate. Babbletype
does not pay for translation assignments which have been rated as a total fail (e.g., so poorly done as to be completely unusable).

Payment limitations
Babbletype will only pay for the specific work we assigned to you, including the specific part assigned to you, that we receive by the
deadline. We do not pay for incomplete assignments where less than 15 recorded minutes have been completed. We do not guarantee
payment for assignments you did not confirm or that you return without warning after the deadline, since that work will be assigned to
someone else.

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Payment timing
Babbletype’s payment processing system runs in a continuous weekly process, from 4PM Sunday to 4PM Sunday (US Eastern Time). Any
work you do in a given week is processed for payment the week after that. We will send you a statement of the work you completed during
the prior week and the amounts you will be paid for that work. Our payments are transferred to PayPal or Upwork by Thursday of that week.
PayPal or Upwork will then take a few additional days to complete transferring that payment to you.

Upwork fees
If you are paid via Upwork, note that Upwork will always charge you a 10% fee, which Babbletype does not pay (i.e., the fees Babbletype
pays you are gross, not net, of Upwork’s payment processing fees).

Tax matters
As a contractor, keep in mind that Babbletype does not deduct income tax or any other statutory payments from the fees that we pay you for,
and that you are fully responsible for making any applicable tax payments in whichever jurisdictions you are a citizen of or reside in.

If you are a US citizen or resident and receive payment from Babbletype (not Upwork) over the prior year of over $600, you will receive an
IRS 1099 form in January stating your payments from us over the prior year. If you are not a US citizen or resident, you will not receive any
tax-related paperwork from Babbletype.

How to work on Babbletype translation assignments 13