Yes, there are a fair few out there already, and a fair few of outstanding quality such as those that have inspired me to write a blog. Perhaps most things have been covered already…
Or perhaps not.
I wondered, do I have something unique enough to add to the mix? Then I pondered how I was once told by a fellow linguist, “You don’t have the typical translator personality”. Whatever did he mean? Apparently, he said this because I am an extrovert. A joker. I love languages and computers, but I also quite like people (and animals). If I had to choose, I am more of a geek than a bookworm, and more of a joker than a wallflower. Not to say all translators are quiet, introverted types, but that’s certainly the stereotype. If you’re not – brilliant – perhaps you’ll find some solace in this blog. If you are – also brilliant – perhaps this blog will present a different perspective to you.
I mentioned I was a geek, so expect to find some handy tips on software and hardware to help you in the translation business. I’ll also post the odd amusing language or translation related anecdote; I won’t be able to see you laugh, but I’ll smile at the thought of brightening someone’s dreary afternoon.
In case you were wondering, I am British, currently living in Nottingham, UK, and I translate from German to English. I first started translating professionally when I lived in Germany and have since built up a solid base of direct and agency clients. There’s no hiding that I am a relative youngster compared to some of my translation blogging peers, so I guess that is also part of this blog’s ‘unique selling point’: I’m comparatively young and working as a successful freelance translator. Perhaps I’ll have some tips to share that will add a fresh perspective to old quandaries for new and experienced translators alike.
I hope The Translator’s Teacup proves to be a welcome occasional addition to the tea breaks of fellow professional linguists and anyone else with an interest in languages and the translation industry.
Great article rose, We can utilize all the more fantastic online journals composed by astute language specialists.
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Even I feel the same that there are languages and computers but at the same time people also,it depends on us to whom we believe.I personally believe on human translator rather than machine.
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Hi Rose, congratulations on your translation blog! You have great content here, but you should blog more regularly! :-) Also, congratulations on the fact that you publish your RSS feed as full text, not in summary mode. This way you make it easier for people to have access to your content without clicking their way through the internet (“read more”, “more”, “read full article” etc.) – the “read more” links are good for SEO when they appear on the blog’s home page, but in RSS feeds they’re just annoying.
BTW, I added you to the Translation Links page of my blog, Fidus interpres.
Thanks, Fabio!
My posts are pretty long, so I can’t really afford the time to post more regularly… Each post takes a long time. I am glad to have seen people find the content exceptionally helpful, though. :)
Hello!
I’m also a younger translator, though not nearly as far along in getting a good client base as yourself. I translate from French and Hungarian into English. I’m happy to have found your younger perspective. As helpful as some more veteran translators can be, it’s nice to hear what successful people with fewer years behind them think.
Hi Carolyn
Thanks for that message. To exchange ideas and advice with translators, I really recommend joining twitter – follow me on @lingocode, and have a look among those I follow for some great tweeps. Every Friday we send out #FF (follow Friday) recommendations, so you will see mine any Friday.
Dear Rose
What kind of biscuits do you like to dunk in your translator’s teacup, please?
(And do you find that, as a tea time favourite, Hobnobs have the best consistency when dunked, as opposed to, say, Rich Tea or Macaroons?)
Thanks
Lee
Hello Rose,
Congratulations on your blog! It is nice to know that I’m not alone; just like you I’m young and decided to start a blog, too. I see that you’ve been very busy here, and I should try to emulate your good habit of frequent postings. Look forward to reading your posts!
Silvina
Hello Silvina.
Nice to meet you. I note that we have a similar background in another respect too, both having studied a Bachelor that involved Politics (mine was German and Politics, though I did more International Relations elements, especially on my study abroad in Germany).
I fear you are still even older than me! It is a strange thing being young in this business. We cannot state that we have the decades of experience that others do, but then, I find myself making many corrections to translations done by such “old hats”. A translator recently commented to me, “once you have three years behind you, you are no longer a beginner”, and so I guess us youngsters who are past that stage should stop feeling like beginners just because of our age, and instead focus on the high praise we have received from clients and established translators. Ahh… I can smell another blog post coming on this subject, at some point. I will probably be in touch at that time for your thoughts, if you do not mind. :-)
Rose
Thanks for your response. Indeed, my background is in Law, Political Science, and Global Affairs (I hate to say it… it’s always a mouthful!) I also traveled quite a bit in an attempt to learn about other cultures through immersion; my most recent travel has been to Guangzhou, China for a 6-month period.
It would be a great experience to be able to collaborate with a fellow translator, please don’t hesitate to contact me. In the meantime, whenever I dare to press “publish” on the other 6 posts I have in my WP queue, I’ll let you know. Yes, I know what you are thinking… after reading this you will probably label me as one of the quiet, introvert ones. You could say I’m a hybrid (now I smell a future posting!) I look forward to your next post :)
Congratulations on your blog, Rose! We can definitely use more high-quality blogs written by thoughtful linguists. Welcome to the blogging world! BTW, just tried to add your blog to my RSS feed via the link at the buttom of the page, but I got some broken code. :( Should be easily fixable, though. Can’t wait to visit frequently.
Hi Judy, and thanks so much for your comment!
RE: RSS… This blog is built using WordPress. I checked it out, and yes, it is simply a link to the RSS feed – https://lingocode.com/feed/ – and so it opens automatically on Firefox, for example (as it has its own in-built RSS reader), but produces a bundle of code on Google Chrome (which doesn’t have a built-in RSS reader, nor have I installed an additional one).
To subscribe, therefore, people have to manually add the address https://lingocode.com/feed/ to their feeder. I don’t actually know of another way to do this? Do you?
Hope that helps.
Rose
Hi,
very good work, and very helpful posts!
Sorry to say that but the link you mentioned for RSS feed http://translatorsteacup.lingocode.com/?feed=rss2 doesn’t work. Are you sure there is no typo?
It would be great to connect this way.
It’s an old link, sorry. https://lingocode.com/feed should do it! Will correct it in the article.
Dear Rose,
Congratulations on your blog!
PAUL