Most of us are familiar with the main forms of bait-and-switch that are commonplace in the translation profession. Most are usually a variation on the following: 1. Impress them with the starter The client hires a translation agency for the first time, or perhaps the agency is responding to a call for tenders. Whenever
After much pushing and prodding from various colleagues (thank you, I needed it), I decided to get back to blogging. I’ve been periodically sharing thoughts as they occur to me in Standing Up on Facebook, but I realise this is a somewhat limited audience for ideas I’d like to spread. Seeing as I’ve gone to
I have been thinking about this a bit recently, particularly in connection with certain talented individuals I’ve come to know and admire, often with promising language combinations and talents, who seem to end up stagnating and getting overworked at the top end of the bulk market. To give an example, that could be people working between
Here’s what I’ve discovered about a possible identity scam, the latest in a string of such scams to target translators. I never received the email, but a familiar colleague posted in The League of Extraordinary Translators on Facebook to say she’d received an email from Lingorate. The email said “Your LingoRate profile is ready to
I've been inspired by all the wonderful, skills-focused CPD around lately and decided it's time for me, too, to throw my hat into the ring. Today I am really excited to let you know about my new webinar series: The Hydrated Translator. As an expert tea-maker, I decided to share my insights with my colleagues
Today I am inspired by a post by in The League of Extraordinary Translators, where a colleague asked what to say to qualified people who have never translated who have come to you for advice on how to succeed in translation. What advice to give The first part of this question is less problematic; essentially,
First off, let me give my apologies for my long absence. You can read more about my long break – my journey, my reasons, and my promise – here. It’s a full-length post, but since it's all about me, I’ve not directly promoted it. Thank you. The first post in this series was the most successful post
It’s been a while… I was thinking of writing an introductory post to the next post on my blog that would explain my absence and all that’s been going on in my sabbatical. Then I realised it’s been far too much to squeeze into a paragraph there, especially when people are clicking on that link
When I was just starting out, I fell into a lot of traps. I was taken advantage of, manipulated, ripped off and kept under the thumb. So many traps! But I am free now, and I'd like to expose some of these traps so others can tread safely. From tenders to test translations, from CV
Business travel essentials for trade shows, conferences and similar events. Get the most out of your trip!
Have you ever wondered about those terms you are being asked to sign? Ever seen something that sent you running for the hills? I don’t know about you, but I have. Łukasz Gos-Furmankiewicz calls these “zombie contracts”, and he seems to know a bit about them. So I invited him for an interview to tell us all about them.
Everyone seems to be finding new ways to make translation cheaper while at the same time promising good results. Not possible. It's time to tear apart some of the myths of "quality" in the bulk translation market and show that professional translation is most definitely not getting cheaper.
I recently became a Qualified Member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting. This has coincided with a time of great change: the existing associate category is being replaced by more specific categories. Now is a great time to upgrade to MITI or AITI, or join the ITI for the first time. Read on for an explanation of the changes, my experience of the process and Q&A with the ITI's Elizabeth Dickson.
What games do you play when translating a badly written source text? What about when proofreading a badly done translation? These are the games I play. Please share yours!
The Horrors of Proofreading continues: From full snouts, to criss-crossing the Atlantic, to chauvinistic pronoun choice: my 10 "favourite" mistakes in into English translations with the usual understanding commentary. Enjoy!
From §ection to Imprint, a list of my "favourite" 10 common mistakes in German to English translation with some less-than-understanding commentary. Enjoy!
A method to resolve the challenge of the lack of an in-built compare documents feature in Microsoft Excel (or track changes in previous versions), as well as an update on where I have been the past few months.
Science-fiction almost unanimously takes one vision of our future universe for granted: that all peoples shall be able to communicate with one another. The technology enabling this is generally known as the "Universal Translator": enabling interaction, profitable trade agreements, peaceful resolution of conflicts and cross-cultural understanding. The writer discusses how likely such a technology is.
Hello readers. Today I thought I would share my contribution to a humorous must for any translator: “MOX: Illustrated Guide to Freelance Translation”. It is filled with Alejandro Moreno-Ramos' hilarious translation-related cartoons, interspersed with excellent contributions from Sarah M. Dillon, Alex Eames, Céline Graciet, Judy Jenner, Laurent Laget, Benny Lewis, Kevin Lossner, Corinne McKay, Pablo
This post details two handy methods of drawing attention to old blog posts - a Twitter-related plugin for Wordpress and an interesting application of a random signatures add-on for Mozilla Thunderbird.
2011: A year in review, with Google Analytics of the best of the Translator's Teacup in 2011, as well as a review of some of the best posts from around the web.
Final part of a set on how to be a good, successful and happy translator. In this final part, I will offer tips on what makes a happy translator and how you can achieve a good work-life balance.
Second part of a set on how to be a good, successful and happy translator. In this part, I will tell you what makes a successful translator and how you can improve. Part 3 is coming soon.
First part of a set on how to be a good, successful and happy translator. In this part, I will tell you what makes a good translator and how you can improve. Part two is coming next week.
A guide to various computer options (laptop, powerful desktop, netbook) as well as basic necessities for a translator, based on my own hardware. Also appropriate to many other industries.
After searching for my post, "The Ethics of Proofreading", on Google, I was surprised to find that someone has 'written' a very similarly titled article, entitled "Proofreading Ethics (Tips to Proofread Translation of Other Linguistics)" [sic.!].
The next in the "Tech Tips" series. Here, learn how a BlackBerry can both give you your life back - so you can get on with other things rather than sitting at your computer, and, if and when required, use your Blackberry to offer a quick response to emergency queries at less usual hours.
A guide for parents containing advice to encourage their interest in languages, through some fun and less commonly known methods.
A brief recommendation / review of an amazing book for freelance translators, or, "Entrepreneurial Linguists", by Judy and Dagmar Jenner.
The first in the "Tech Tips" series, working toward greater efficiency in translation. Here, learn all about how to use an automatic file synchronisation program to avert disaster, cooperate effectively, and keep your vital project files and TMs with you wherever you go.
A discussion of the problem of the over-zealous proofreader and why this often backfires, whereas honesty and fairness pays. This is summarised in a set of ethical guidelines for proofreaders.
Welcome to a new blog from a young freelance translator. I may not have the "typical translator personality", but let us see what else I have to offer...
