Interesting gig for a Spanish speaker in LA September 14, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Marketing ideas, Translation.add a comment
One of my favorite guilty pleasures, Crazy Days and Nights (my favorite celebrity gossip site), is looking for a Spanish speaking volunteer for the red carpet of the MTV Latin Awards on October 15th in Los Angeles. If I spoke Spanish I would do it in a heartbeat. Don’t expect pay, but I can only imagine all the folks you could interview for CDAN… Some things are totally worth going pro bono…
Here is the necessary info:
Out [I think he means out] intrepid red carpet reporter Gustavo Arellano has a speaking engagement on October 15th so I need a volunteer to cover the MTV Latin Awards on October 15th here in Los Angeles. You may bring someone with you. If you speak Spanish it would be a bonus. By speaking Spanish, I mean more than, Esta noche estás muy bueno. ¿Qué dice usted después de todo esto es más que la cabeza de nuevo a mi sótano, tomar unas copas y ver Sábado Gigante mientras cocino un poco de tocino. Actually, if you could say that, then that would be pretty good.
Send me an e-mail if you are interested. entlawyer90210@yahoo.com
Oh, and if any of you are going to be in Irvine on the 15th of October, go listen to Gustavo speak at UC-Irvine. I’m sure it will be great.
Bizarro’s take on translators September 5, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Translation.2 comments
I am uncluttering my apartment (which I do when I get overworked to gain some semblance of control) and finally found this little comic strip, which I have been looking for for a while. It just cracks me up. Let me know if you need it translated 🙂
What makes a match? August 31, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Translation.5 comments
The Medical Translation Blog has an excellent explanation of the difference between translation memories and terminology glossaries. If you haven’t seen it, be sure to check it out.
I particularly like the comment suggesting discounts for matches aren’t such a good idea. In fact, Trados used to suggest a 30/60/100 scale: 100% for anything below 85% matches (some agencies use lower percentages for matches, but in my experience anything below 85% essentially needs reworking and our full attention so translators should be paid accordingly), 60% of the full word price for 99%-85% matches and 30% of the full word price for 100% matches and repetitions. In an ideal world translators wouldn’t offer discounts for matches at all. After all, we are the ones who shelled out the money for our expensive TEnTs (translation environment tools, aka CAT tools). Why should agencies expect to be able to benefit from our business purchases? It’s not like they expect discounts because we have the right specialized dictionaries on our shelves…
I know plenty of translators who do not offer discounts – period. It’s up to each individual translator to decide whether or not it makes sense for them to offer discounts on matches. I have some clients who do not demand discounts based on Trados analyses and some who do. It makes more business sense to work for ones that do not, but I also work for agencies that do require Trados and discounts. It all depends on how busy I am when I get the request and whether they provide a TM or expect me to use mine (which is a whole other can of worms)…
BTW, I have no problems offering a discount to agencies that provide me with a fully licensed copy of their required TEnT. I don’t have to pay for it, so I have no problem passing on a discount to the agency. I have one agency that provides me with their TEnT and a year license. Once the license runs out I simply get a new license code from them. I wish more agencies did this.
Oops! Was Brad Pitt mistranslated? August 23, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Translation.6 comments
The other day it was reported that Brad Pitt called Tom Cruise’s World War II movie Valkyrie “a ridiculous movie,” and the media was crowing about how Pitt and Cruise would most likely never work together again.
The Internet Movie Database is now reporting that Brad Pitt’s publicists are claiming he was mistranslated in an interview about his new film, Inglourious Basterds, with the German magazine Stern. They insist the actor didn’t take aim at his Interview With A Vampire co-star and that he was misquoted. A spokesman for the star says, “Brad has never seen Valkyrie so this is not accurate.” Ouch! I don’t know if that quote is any better…
I searched the Stern website and can’t find the original interview. I’d love to know what he actually said and what the translation was to see if he was indeed misquoted. I’d hate to be the translator behind this translation mistake – if it indeed happened and isn’t just PR spin.
Intrans Book Service August 5, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Tools, Translation.3 comments
I love supporting independents. Whether it is the little family-owned restaurant in the next town or the local hardware store I try to spend my money at local or small suppliers whenever I can. One of my favorite dictionary suppliers is Intrans Book Service, which is operated by Freek Lankhof. You can always count on Freek to be an exhibitor at the smaller ATA conferences as well as the annual ATA conference. I always treat myself to at least one dictionary at the ATA conference every year. Freek is also available on the web and offers personal service (in addition to being a really nice guy who has a passion for microbreweries). He sends out about one electronic newsletter a year to his customers. He has some interesting books on offer this time, so I thought I would share his e-mail with the rest of you:
Summer is moving quite along, too much rain here too much sun there, one just has to pick the right spot to vacation. I had mine, I’m working again… This month I bring you a brand new edition of the “Black’s Legal Dictionary”. This renowned dictionary has undergone another thorough revision and is now in its 9th printing. It is my August Book-of-the-Month and you can check it out by going to http://www.intransbooks.com.
A pleasant surprise is the fact that Cambridge University Press has come out with a paperback edition of Claudia Angelelli’s “Medical Interpreting and Cross-cultural Communication”. Instead of the $105.00 one had to lay out for the hardcover edition, the paperback is now available for $39.99. More information can be found at http://intransbooks.com/book_story/0521066778
I just received a copy of a new title called “A Career in Language Translation” – Insightful Information To Guide You In Your Journey as a Professional Translator by Carline Férailleur-Dumoulin. This clearly written and well organized book contains a wealth of information that will help the novice (and not so novice) translator/interpreters break into the field or find new opportunities. This is a Print-on-Demand title and it may be a few days before I have stock but I should be able to ship by the middle of the month. More information: http://intransbooks.com/book_story/1438944225.
Also just out is the new 2009/2010 edition of the St. Jerome Publishing catalogue. This British publisher of first rate translation studies material brings us besides the very popular series Translation Practices Explained a wide variety of excellent in-depth studies. If you are interested in receiving a copy of this catalog, please drop me a line and I will mail you one.
And finally, remember that the ATA Annual Conference is less than four months away. Make your reservations now and check your list of “want-items” and let me know what to bring.
So if you are looking for a specialized dictionary, check out Intrans Book Service. He most likely carries it.
Language Services Resource Guide for Pharmacists August 4, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Marketing ideas, Translation.1 comment so far
One of my colleagues forwarded this e-mail to me today and I thought it might be of interest to some of you, so I thought I’d share it.
Dear Colleagues,
As you know, language barriers occur in all arenas of the healthcare delivery system, including pharmacy services where the risk is significant for unsafe use of prescription medications. LEP patients can suffer serious adverse effects, including those that arise from improper administration of, and/or adherence to, prescription and over-the-counter medications due to barriers in communication.
The National Health Law Program (NHeLP), with the generous support of The California Endowment and in collaboration with the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, is developing a Language Services Resource Guide for Pharmacists. The purpose of the Guide is to provide pharmacists the necessary information and tools to improve the provision of language services. The National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) is proud to be collaborating with NHeLP in this endeavor and is gathering information from interpreting/translation associations and language companies that will be a key component of the guide.
If your organization is interested in being included in the Resource Guide, please complete the survey which can be found at: http://www.tinyurl.com/nhelpresourceupdate. We also request that you please forward this e-mail to any appropriate persons and organizations who may be interested as well. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Aida Cases or Jorge Ungo at: nhelpupdate@ncihc.org. If you would like more information about the Guide, contact Mara Youdelman at Youdelman@healthlaw.org.
Deadline for submissions: August 21, 2009
Translator ranked #3 in 10 Best and Real Work at Home Jobs July 30, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Translation.3 comments
Thanks to the Administrator of the German Language Division for pointing this Yahoo Finance article out. Being a translator has made it into a list of the top at-home jobs. You can check out the article here, but for those of you who don’t have time to read the interesting article here’s our relevant portion:
3. Translator
Those with fluency in more than one language translate audio files or documents, not just word for word but often with cultural differences in mind. “Companies can access home-based translators with hard-to-find language skills without being held back by geographic location,” says Fell.
Foster’s site lists 15 companies that seek home-based translators. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008-09, which groups translators and interpreters, notes a projected employment increase of 24 percent over the 2006-to-2016 decade, much faster than the average for all occupations.
The national mean hourly wage for translators and interpreters was $20.74, with a mean annual wage of $43,130 as of May 2008, according to estimates by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some industries pay significantly higher, with the highest paying jobs generally in the management, scientific and technical consulting services areas, in which the mean hourly wage was $56.50 and the annual mean wage was $117,530.
I don’t know about you, but it’s nice to know I earn a little over the mean annual wage while enjoying the convenience of working from home.
Lost in translation at My Allrecipes May 11, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, Translation.3 comments
One of my former students posted this amusing anecdote to the Kentlingua listserv tonight. A woman wanted to send two recipes to her boyfriend’s mother in Costa Rica and took the easy way out.
A few weeks ago, I made a chicken dish for Carlos that he loved. After the first bite, he told me it was so good, would I mind sending the recipe to his mother in Costa Rica? I only speak conversational Spanish, but I thought what the heck, I would try to translate it to English before I sent it. How hard could that be, right?
Machine translation strikes again, but this time at least the person who used the online translator is embarrassed of the results 🙂 Enjoy!
Common Sense Advisory survey on translation tools May 7, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Translation.add a comment
Nataly Kelly of the Common Sense Advisory (and the Global Watchtower blog) is inviting freelance translators to participate in a new survey on translation tools, your clients, and the various translator communities you are active in. You can take the survey until June 1st. I just took it and can vouch that it will only take a few minutes of your time. The more people who take it, the more comprehensive (and thus better) the survey results will be. You might also want to bookmark this page to weigh in on their surveys.
Musings from an overworked translator 