The Illogical Series (When a Big Translation Is a Big Problem)

When I was young(er) and looking for work, I had to fill out a lot of application forms, remember all sorts of data and take all kinds of tests: i.e., draw trees, draw mountains, draw myself, describe Rorschach’s vertebrae (because we all agree that those inkblots are vertebrae, right?) And then came the logical series […]

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“Making the price” of your translation services (as opposed to “taking the market price”)

Every business, whatever its nature, including your translation business, is pursuing a number of objectives to guide its activities and mandate its actions. One of the main business objectives is to be profitable. While there are other important factors  -growth, adding value to the company, etc.- without profitability it will not be possible to sustain […]

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Post-editing: a niche for translators. What a glorious truth!

On the basis of indisputable arguments, let us aspire to achieve the same levels of social recognition for our profession as other professions have achieved, a recognition that comes, of course, in the form of pecuniary recognition. So are we doing a good job at getting recognition for what we want? Not always. For several […]

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Your Professional e-thics might be at Risk!

We translate thousands of words daily using CAT tools. There are tons of programs to aid us during translation that we can choose from. Some of them are open-source, for others we have to pay and there are some which are offered on a subscription basis. However, we are now faced with a new type […]

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Confessions of a Conference Interpreter

I would love to start this article with the words “Hi, my name’s Michelle and I’m a conference interpreter,” but I’m afraid that would prompt readers to want to start patting me on the back consolingly and proffering tissues. Although, come to think of it, maybe adopting a “True Confessions” tone in this article is […]

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The Orwellian Redefinition of Translation Quality

A prominent strain of enthusiasm for wikis, long tails, hive minds, and so on incorporates the presumption that one profession after another will be demonetized. Digitally connected mobs will perform more and more services in a collective volunteer basis, from medicine to solving crimes, until all jobs are done that way. –Jaron Lanier, You Are […]

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