This post is my contribution to the Day of Multilingual Blogging 2014. Readers will find the following languages: English, German, Italian, French, Romanian, Spanish, Polish, Russian and Greek. The main body of the post is written in English so that those who took the time to share their thoughts with me will be able to […]
Talking about translation quality: like pulling teeth? Last week I received the rather unhappy news that I need to undergo some dental treatment. I hadn’t noticed anything wrong myself, and I definitely don’t like the idea, but after some grumbling I accepted the dentist’s verdict and will undergo the necessary treatment. And that’s what I […]
Why wouldn’t you improve mediocre translations? Discussions of the importance of translation quality keep cropping up. There are countless articles featuring translation blunders and describing the consequences for the companies that used them. We’ve all cringed at mysterious or wacky translations featured on virtual walls of shame (Engrish.com is a prime example). The translation problem […]
Other Translators Are Not Your Competition It’s no secret that I think that a professional network is very important for freelance translators. Translating can be a lonely way of spending your days. Sitting at our desks, it’s easy to let the world pass by. Other translators are a treasure trove of information and we’re lucky […]
Diversification in the Language Industry I’ve spent the last few days reading Nicole Y. Adam’s book Diversification in the Language Industry: Success beyond Translation. (Spoiler alert: I highly recommend her book.) Nicole’s book already had me at the foreword. Annamaria Arnall (National President AUSIT) writes: When you are translating, you are expressing other people’s thoughts. […]
Why talking about professional translators matters The last few days have seen a few articles popping up in which translators talk (brag?) about a rather simplified approach to translation. This post was written by a blogger in Japan who has started translating from Japanese to English, even though she happily admits that she is flying […]
Translator associations I am happy to say that I just received confirmation of membership in the translators’ association ATICOM. Translators stand to hugely benefit from professional associations. If I were you, I’d join at least one! What translator associations can do for you They’ll list you on their site in their translator database and increase […]
For Who the Bell Tolls by David Marsh, 2013 Stan Carey covered the important ground in his book review posted on his blog Sentence First. I’ve really enjoyed reading the book so far. At the moment I’m stuck in a rather long list of tricky words and grammar pitfalls. Reading this on my Kindle means that […]