Translating matters

To be a good translator, as a bare minimum , you need to: - Master your source (foreign) language(s), - Be a great writer in your target (native) language, - Have a translation qualification or exceptional foreign language skills and industry experience, - Have in-depth knowledge of the culture of your source and target languages, - Deliver your work on time, - Have a Quality Assurance process in place, - Set rates that reflect the quality of the work you produce, - etc. However, to go from being someone who knows how to translate to being a thriving freelance translator, you should also consider the following: 1.   Find your niche As a qualified generalist, you can almost certainly find work with big agencies, but they usually only agree to pay low-to-average rates and have you working under mediocre conditions (quick turn-around times, volume discounts, degressive pricing with CAT tools, etc.). If you really specialise in a subject area (preferably in...

Recently I have been developing my LinkedIn presence. In general, it has been a pleasant experience. I have learnt a lot about inbound marketing, generated more traffic to my website and made some very interesting professional contacts, both translators and professionals in the aerospace industry. HOWEVER, I have also received a number of inappropriate messages from several people (mainly of the opposite sex, it has to be said) who clearly haven’t worked out the difference between a professional networking website and a dating/social networking website. To date, my response has been to politely remind these people that I use LinkedIn and my Facebook business page for professional purposes only. Now, I consider myself a fairly tolerant person and believe that people should be given the possibility to learn and grow. I have therefore written this dummy’s guide to separate the kind of communication that is appropriate for professional networking from communication that is best kept ...

Delivering good translations on time but finding it hard to retain your customers? Find out why! Translators often assume that quality, cost and turnaround time are what make companies want to work with them again and again. Of course this triad plays a role, but there will always be someone able to work just as fast as you, someone cheaper than you or someone who has an eye for detail to match yours. If this is the case, how can you ensure your customers choose to keep working with you and are not tempted to work with your competition? Easy – make sure you focus on how you talk to your customers, as building REAL-ationships fosters lasting collaboration. Earlier this week I had an enlightening discussion with one of my customers, who revealed that her main struggle when working with freelance translators, and something that is often overlooked, is….COMMUNICATION! She revealed that the following bad practices would make her less likely to continue working with freelance translators...

Need a text translated but don't have a clue what your translator is talking about?  Here is a list of terms we commonly use in the profession that might help you communicate with us! Term Meaning A language A translator’s first language (or mother tongue). B language A language that a translator can speak and write almost as well as their first language (well enough to translate into as well as out of). Many translators prefer to only translate into their A language. C language A language the translator can understand and read well enough to translate into their A or B language but cannot speak or write well enough to translate into. Desktop Publishing (DTP) The use of software for document layout and construction. A translator will often charge more for time spent on DTP. Editing Revising the target text to improve the flow and quality. ...

The aviation industry is full of abbreviations. Here are just some of them! How many did you already know? Abbreviation Definition A/C Aircraft B/C Business Class CCOM Cabin Crew Operating Manual DFDRS Digital Flight Data Recorder System EASA European Aviation Safety Agency FAA Federal Aviation Administration GHS Ground Handling/Servicing HMI Human Machine Interface IATA International Air Transport Association JAA Joint Aviation Authorities KPI Key Performance Indicator L/G Landing gear MOE Maintenance Organisation Exposition NEO New Engine Option OAT Outside Air Temperature PF Pilot Flying QRH Quick Reference Handbook RTO Reje...

In mid-March, Spain entered a strict lockdown with very little warning. Realising I would have to once again work from home, I was filled with a feeling of dread. Didn’t I hate working from home in the past? Didn’t I pay for a desk in a coworking space so as to see other human beings? Would I stop bothering to get dressed? Would I snack all day and gain lots of weight? I quickly calmed myself down and prepared to get on with two weeks (or so we thought then) of being stuck inside my flat in Barcelona. The beginning of the lockdown went by fairly quickly, I had a tremendous amount of work and this distracted me rather well. The next part was a little harder, facing the reality that this lockdown would last a lot longer than two weeks, and work completely drying up. Freelancing is fairly “feast or famine” at times, but this has really been exaggerated during the lockdown. Yet, somewhat out of character, when work went quiet I didn’t mind, and even found a lot of positive things t...

Recently, I started reading “Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men” by Caroline Criado Perez. If you haven’t read it, I suggest you get your hands on a copy (whether you are a man or a woman), as it really is an informative read. Although many of us are well aware of the concept of male privilege, this book is a real eye-opener, providing fascinating statistics and examples on how it really is a world designed by men for men. It is not an attack on men, it merely shows the extent to which women (often unintentionally, through lack of historical consideration in data used in areas from public transport to city planning and bathrooms) are so much less visible than their male counterparts. With this in mind, and encouraged by a fantastic female translator/musician I met at the MET (Mediterranean Editors and Translators) conference in 2018, I decided it was time to be brave and to try and have my voice heard. Translation is a profession that attracts a high num...