The Savvy Newcomer aims to serve newcomers to the translation and interpreting professions by publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed content on a weekly basis. We strive to provide you with the answers to the many questions you face as a new or aspiring translator or interpreter.
This post was originally published on听KGH Interpretation. It is reposted with permission.听 In 2022 I facilitated a session of the Language Access Caf茅 at the NCIHC Annual Membership Meeting and was asked to speak about interpreter self-care. Prior to the meeting, I decided to do an informal survey of medical interpreters asking them some questions about their mental health. I wanted to have a little bit of data that would clue me in on some of the issues interpreters were facing. While most of the results I shared during the AMM focused on stressors and supports, I also briefly shared…
Read MoreStumbling on the Vocabulary of National Life (Part One)
by Joseph P. Mazza I envy those who take up foreign languages spoken in a single country. Sure, there may be regional varieties within that country and 茅migr茅 communities too. Yet these happy colleagues have the institutions and lifeways of only one country to tackle. Japanese linguists will be the first to dispute how easy this really is! Having been…
Read MoreMea culpa. Meteduras de pata reales de traductores e int茅rpretes
This post was originally published on the En la luna de Babel blog. It is reposted with permission from the author. Leemos, nos documentamos, seguimos consejos y aconsejamos, pero siempre hay algo que se nos escapa. 驴Un error de tecleo? Incontables, a veces tengo los dedos de mantequilla y algunas palabras se me resisten. 驴Meteduras de pata al traducir? Pues…
Read MoreHow To Use Facebook To Promote Translator Services
I believe a freelance translator鈥檚 first and easiest step to creating online visibility is to set up a business page on Facebook. There are a number of reasons for this: Facebook is free; it gives you a huge opportunity to reach a lot of people; search engines index Facebook pages, therefore people can find your translation services through Google search…
Read MoreTranslation Commons: A Community for Language Professionals
Reblogged from The ATA Chronicle, with permission Translation Commons is a nonprofit, volunteer-based online community designed to facilitate collaboration among diverse sectors and stakeholders of the language industry and encourage transparency, trust, and free knowledge sharing. It was established with the idea that translated data and memories truly belong to the translators who create them and that they should be…
Read MoreMental Health in Freelance Translation: Imposter Syndrome
鈥淢aybe just another run through, just to be safe.鈥 I had already checked that听.srt file around 16 times in the past couple of hours and it still didn鈥檛 feel like enough. It was the first subtitle I had ever made, following a subtitling workshop at an agency, a test that determined whether or not I would enter their base of…
Read MoreMy Personal Style Guide for the ATA Translation Exam into Spanish
This post was originally published on the Gaucha Translations blog. It is reposted with permission from the author. Based on the comments from a failed exam. I am writing this to help others not fail the same way! Include necessary clarifying information to reduce ambiguity. (register former inmates/registrar para votar a los que hab铆an sido鈥) (spread the word to thousands鈥…
Read MoreAre you who you say you are? Being honest about your credentials and skills
You turn on your computer, take a sip of coffee and see a potential project come in. What are the chances, knowing nothing about the project, that you will accept it? If your answer is close to 100%, it might be time to re-think your strategy. You may be providing subpar service to your clients and hurting your potential future…
Read More3 Myths About Who Should Edit Your Translation
Some translation projects involve a lone translator, while others allow the translator to choose an editor. My own experience comes from working for direct clients, where I almost always choose an editor to work closely on my translation with me, or we switch roles and I鈥檓 the one who edits my colleague鈥檚 translation. Even if you don鈥檛 work for direct…
Read MoreSpider marketing – How to get clients to come to you
Reblogged from SJB Translations’听blog, with permission (incl. the image) How to get clients to come to you Adapted from my presentation at METM 16 entitled 鈥淪pinning your web鈥 Last year at METM15 in Coimbra I was inspired by a presentation by a very experienced translator called Graham Cross, which I wrote about here. Graham was talking about churn, the marketing…
Read MoreTranslators vs. Translation Agencies: How Falling Rates Have Turned Once-Allies into Enemies (and What We Can Do to Fix it)
We鈥檝e noticed something strange: though demand has risen for language services, it would appear that prices are falling. Whether due to advances in technology, economic issues, global supply, or simply more aggressive buyers, we find ourselves in an industry that鈥檚 never been more in demand and yet has never been more precarious. This understandably leaves many of us overworked, underpaid,…
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