Translation telephone game a.k.a. Project Trasiego
Do you remember Project Trasiego which I came across in 2014? It’s a book I found on my trip to Argentina which essentially was a translation telephone game (or Chinese whispers). A text originally in Spanish was translated into English, then back to Spanish from the English translation, then to French, back to Spanish, and so on, for some 20 languages, to finish on the final text also in Spanish. It’s a very creative and beautiful way of showing how language changes in translation.
By the end of 2014, I asked the author for permission, and I called all colleagues who wanted to participate in recording our voice renderings of the telephone game.
After nearly two years, we’ve put the video together. You can see it below and experience the translation telephone game!
I’d like to thank everyone who made this project possible for your participation, patience and perseverance. My special thanks go to Virginia Pastor Martín for putting the video together!
My thanks also go to the wonderful colleagues who participated in the project:
Lourdes Yague
Marie Deblonde
Iris Permuy
Gala Gil Amat
Maria Fernanda
Ellie Bridgwood
Martine Moretti
Elena Martin
Gabriela Mejias
Eleni Voulgari
Nora Ferrer
Nuno Rosa
Maria Torralba
Sarah Henter
Daniela Helguera
Liz Paredez
Florencia Di Stefano
Paula Fernandez
Mercedes Pacheco
Stella Pantofel
Natalia Ramos
Maria Bunlon
Maria-Teresa Zenteno
Michael Dias
Lucrecia Pons
Virginia Vazquez Vaccaro
Ellen Yutzy Glebe
Juan Escobar
Lesson 140: All 139 lessons in one free ebook
After four years of blogging and just under three years in the current form of lessons, I decided to put together a publication containing all 139 lessons published here on the blog.
The ebook version was suggested some time ago by a couple of colleagues. I liked the idea, and I knew it may be easier to access it in this format, since you don’t need to be online to read the contents. Plus there may be articles that can get easily missed while scrolling on the blog. It took me a bit of time, but the publication is now available.
You can access it by subscribing to my blog, and it’s as easy as leaving your details below. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the publication!
At the same time, I wanted to let you know that I won’t be blogging on a regular basis anymore. Over the years, I’ve shared a wealth of information on this blog and I’m excited about other avenues and opportunities to contribute to the translation profession. Stay tuned in!
Lesson 138: A letter to my younger self as a translator
I recently gave a talk at my Alma Mater to a group of translation students. Seeing my lecturers, the building I knew so well, hearing questions I swear I had when I was on the other side… All this made me reflect and go back in time to the days when I was a student. I put all these thoughts together in a letter to my younger self as a translator. This is what I’d say to myself. What would you want your younger translator self to know?
Dear Marta,
Thank you so much for your message. It’s wonderful to see a young and dedicated student working hard with the aim of ultimately entering and succeeding in the translation and interpreting profession.
You asked me for some advice and I’m glad to share my experience. I think it’s great that you approached a more established translator for their insights – we all benefit from learning from our peers and those with more experience. Thanks for also outlining your background, as that makes it much easier for me to respond. Now to get to your main question: “Which things do I wish I knew or did back when I was starting my career?”
First, I wish I had translated more from day one. I read somewhere that if you are a writer you write, and I think the same applies to translation. You are a translator if you translate, and I wish I was stubborn and persistent enough to translate a short text, any text, of around 200 to 300 hundred words, every day, even at the start. This is an excellent exercise that grants you experience and exposure to a variety of texts, while also helping to improve your confidence. Better still, I’d have tried to find people to join me in this, and regularly meet up to discuss our respective translations and opinion of the text. Not only is this fun (I chose translation for a reason – I do enjoy it!), but it helps to establish good practices and improve your skills, even before you’ve “gone professional”.
Second, and somewhat related, remember that you should be striving to get better every day, with every job. Don’t settle once you’ve finished your degree and think that’s it, and you don’t need to keep working on your skills. Quite the contrary, you should be working more and more to get better over time. This is necessary if you want to move upmarket.
There is no course, no webinar, no book, no professional association, and certainly no Facebook group that will turn you into an established translator overnight. No level of business or marketing expertise can ever make up for deficiencies in core skills. By all means, work on getting better at the business side of things, but never ever stop working on becoming a better translator.
The other thing I wish I’d known from the very beginning is the value of my work as a translator. You will get belittled by big business people, you will be asked to work at borderline offensive rates, and you will see surprised faces when you say that yes, you entered this profession intentionally and it wasn’t an unfortunate accident. Don’t let any of this affect you in any way other than making you stronger and more determined. Translation plays an important role in the world of business and it’s up to all of us to make this clear – to ourselves, our clients, and the economy at large.
Don’t be afraid if you are not a perfect fit to the “ideal” profile of a translator, if there is such a thing. Make the most out of your passions and talents, and if you have a related skill and are in a position to offer this service professionally to your clients, go out there and see if there are any potential clients looking for this service combined with translation. Don’t feel that there is a rigid job description that you have to fit. There isn’t one, and this is part of the beauty of this profession… But at the same time, don’t ever promise you can do something that you can’t, and don’t ever stop asking for feedback. Accept your limitations, admit mistakes, and most of all – keep learning.
One thing I acknowledged from the very beginning was that it is hard work starting out and getting established. But it’s a different kind of hard work to the work we did at university, or in any standard 9-5 position. There are no grades, no promotions, and (usually!) no bonuses if you do a good job. You work very hard and your reward is your freedom. First, the freedom to leave commuting and the office environment behind. Then, the freedom to travel and live wherever you like. And the more established you get, the more time you win back, having freedom to do what and when you choose. But yes, you have to put the work in.
Finally, listen to your colleagues, but listen to your clients even more. They’re the ultimate indicator of how good you are – or not – and whether your educational efforts, marketing, branding, website, attitude and so on are really working for you.
I hope you’ll find this feedback useful, and good luck! This is an exciting time to enter the translation and interpreting industry. I wish you all the best – and let me know how you get on!
Marta
Thank you to Rose Newell for the brainstorming session.
Lesson 127: What’s behind the scenes of success as a translator?
The topic for the last part of the behind the scenes series has been following me for a while, and I think it’s time to talk about success. The first time I thought about this article, a few months back, it was prompted by a conversation I had with a colleague in a different industry. This colleague, intrigued by my moderately popular YouTube channel and thinking of launching something similar in his line of work, asked me how to get that many views and subscribers in a niche industry (yes, that’s how translation is seen by outsiders).
Well, my response was as follows: First you get really good at what you’re doing, your core business, then you train yourself up in the business side of things, and then you feel the calling to share it with your colleagues, so you think of best ways to share what you know. As you start moving things around, you see there are people around you who want to listen to you, that motivates you, so you work harder. Finally, you get an idea that maybe YouTube videos, not yet very popular in the industry, might be something that could take off. So first you laugh it off (Videos? Me? Seriously?), but then you brace yourself, learn how to do it, get the equipment, get out of your comfort zone, and then KEEP getting out of your comfort zone for a year or two, and there you go.
No, replied my colleague, you didn’t understand my question. I just wanted to know how to get as many views and subscribers as you have.
Cut.
I run the Business School for Translators, among my other activities, and while I’ve been privileged enough to have a group of colleagues around me who may initially ask “How do you become successful as a translator?” or “How do you find direct clients?”, the majority of them would quickly understand that success isn’t built on a checklist of steps that guarantee a specific outcome.
Speaking of checklists, my initial idea for the book was to collect a variety of checklists on business, marketing and sales for translators. Why have I changed this seemingly great concept into 170 pages of theories on business and economics? Precisely for this reason. I grew to realise that if I pretended there’s a list of steps to take to guarantee success as a translator that just needed ticking off, I’d be lying and misleading people.
Yet I received an email from one disappointed reader who commented that translators need practical solutions, not theories.
Or, to give you another example, I’m sure you’ve seen questions asked on various fora along the lines of: “How do I get work from agencies?” or “How do I get started as a translator?”. The majority of responses are sensible pointers towards useful sources, but they don’t usually receive the gratitude they deserve. What’s in fashion is quick solutions and blog posts with lists of ten steps to succeeding in the industry (I know, I wrote one and it was one of the most frequently shared posts on this blog). It all makes it look like success happens overnight if you simply follow a list of steps.
Here’s the truth: success as a freelance translator comes after a few years of the hardest work of your life.
After years of studying, learning and working, I discovered that there are no shortcuts, there are no checklists, and there are no universal keys that open all doors. There are no articles that will genuinely make you successful in ten short steps, there are no logos that will attract a stream of clients to you, and there are certainly no business courses that will turn you into an overnight success.
Of course, the promise of instant success is always more appealing and attracts more attention than the truth. Of course it’s more fun to read an article with five steps to a successful freelance career than, for example, how to use Porter’s five forces for your business. Of course it’s easier to listen to gurus who suggest five quick-solution passive income streams to boost your income than to a patient, more senior colleague who suggests improving your translation skills for the third time.
And what I’ve learned from the most successful colleagues is that they never stop working hard. It’s precisely this attitude that keeps them on top of the game.
If someone ever asks me “How to find direct clients?”, I’ll probably start by saying that first they need to learn how to write well, very well, in their own language, then… Well, see above.
Lesson 126: Where can a translator find the strength and motivation?
Last week we discussed fears and insecurities and to balance things out, I wanted to look at the opposite end of the scale: what motivates us and gives us strength to work as a freelance translator, where can a translator find the strength and motivation. Because it’s “behind the scenes” series, I’m going to draw on some examples and solutions from my own career, but feel free to chime in and add your points in the comments below.
I’m the first one to say that the passion that we have for the profession works as the best motivator, but between you and me, it’s not a magic pill that sorts everything else out. And sometimes even if this passion was great in the beginning, it becomes tarnished with time and some negative experiences. And on other occasions, no matter how passionate I feel about translation in general, I simply don’t get all that excited in a particular period or on a particular assignment.
Feeling low levels of motivation or strength isn’t necessarily a disaster in itself. We all have ups and downs. But it becomes an issue if it takes longer than usual and starts affecting our work. How do we fix it, then? Take a look at some of my solutions, in no particular order.
Take a day off and away from devices
When I’m feeling down or overwhelmed, what usually helps is getting away from my computer, tablet, smartphone, everything. Just taking a real day off out in a park or a museum, reading a book in a café and eating out in a cosy local restaurant. On days like this (now making it into my weekly routine), I don’t check Facebook, Twitter or Skype, or sometimes I don’t even take any devices with me.
Volunteer
If I’m feeling generally uninspired about what I’m doing, I volunteer using my skills to see the real impact of my work on people’s lives. I used to volunteer for Victim Support and now I’ve just finished interpreting as a volunteer at a centre for migrants in need of support. Apart from doing the obvious good, volunteering for those who really need help puts your life into a specific perspective and it’s easier to reconnect with what drives you.
Mentor a newcomer
One of the biggest sources of motivation and strength is sharing your passion with another person and talking about your profession. Helping a colleague out is again a good thing in itself, but it also forces you to think about creative solutions and pieces of advice directing you to a path of self-reflection.
Go to a translation event
I remember a particularly gloomy period when I had lots of rather uninteresting work (or I believe I just lost interest in it because I was feeling uninspired in general) and I saw a reminder in my calendar about a translation duel taking place in London. I went there and it was so amazing to see two translators who worked on the same piece of text discuss each sentence, each preposition, each choice they made with so much passion and dedication. It’s infectious. Going to translation events or conferences gives you that kind of a boost.
Work from a different location
I love my home office, but every now and then it’s a good idea to change the scenery. In the past year, I worked at a several local cafes, in museums, in the British Library, in parks and in the underground (I kid you not). Working from a different place than usual can be a nice change for my mind. As much as I like silence and white walls, different stimuli can provide new insights.
Where do you take your motivation and strength to work as a freelance translator from? What’s keeping you going?
Lesson 121: Translation and personality: a perfectionist with controlling here, and you?
Whenever I’m writing about a certain topic on my blog, I always research it. This month, researching translation and personality, has been particularly insightful. I managed to look at some of my strengths and weaknesses as a freelancer and start working on some elements that weren’t quite right. This weekend I came across an interesting article on Freelance Folder looking at different personalities: perfectionist, people person, rebel, controller, and the shy one, and how to make them work for you if you’re a freelancer.
By no means I think these are the only categories or typologies of personalities, but I found it interesting how the author, Laura Spencer, analyses the constraints these personalities put on us if we’re working as freelancers.
The perfectionist is, according to the author somebody who is “constantly finding fault with his/her own work and the work of others”. Perfectionists set very high standards and are detail-oriented. One of the problems that the author identified is that perfectionist can’t let work go when it’s good enough and constant revisions often lead to missing deadlines.
Now, while this isn’t happening all that often for translators (can you imagine missing a deadline and telling the client ‘oh, I’m a perfectionist, that’s why’?), we tend to sacrifice other things just to meet this deadline, don’t we? For example, we keep working nights or weekends, or we cancel appointments. In my opinion, this isn’t really handling being a perfectionist, this is just letting it take over.
Of course, perhaps it’s perfectionism that makes us so good at what we’re doing, so we don’t want to get rid of it, but where do you set yourself a limit? I’ve created a QA checklist and after I check the work against this checklist, I send it out. I don’t dwell, I don’t go back to it. That’s how I’m managing my perfectionist.
The People Person is someone who, according to the author, “seem to make friends with everyone they meet.” These types of freelancers often have huge networks and know how to network easily. The main drawback is that for people persons, it’s actually difficult to sit down and get some work done.
This is totally not me. I’m not a people person that much, and I always can just sit down and start working. Facebook or Twitter aren’t that tempting because I know they’re there to distract, so I don’t look at them while working. But if you are a people person and you work from home with others around, how do you deal with it? How do you set yourself boundaries?
The Rebels “became freelancers because they couldn’t stand the rules and restrictions of a more long-term working arrangement.” They sometimes come up with great ideas, but tend to lack patience, especially in communicating these ideas to others. Rebels often diverge into side projects to keep them interested and alive.
This is so me. I need a few other things going on apart from translating or I’d just go nuts. A small thing here, a little job there, a blog post here, I need to work on a few things at the same time to keep my energy and adrenaline high. What about you?
The Controller, as the author says “freaks out if he/she doesn’t know exactly what’s going on with business and projects at any given time.” Someone close to me is a total controller. He is an excellent project manager with outstanding organisational skills, but at the same time he tries to do too much, never mind trying to delegate work. Plus, Controllers will have an issue with unpredictability.
To a certain extent, I’m a Controller myself. I need a plan and structure for everything (do you remember my five year plans?), and my every single week is planned out in advance. But, at the same time, I enjoy unpredictability and the challenges it poses. What about you?
The Shy One, according to the author, “is less outgoing than others, a sympathetic listener and can be very loyal to clients.” Yet, the problem with the shy ones is that often marketing is a struggle for them.
When comes to this aspect, I’m a naturally shy person, but when comes to business, I leave it all behind. I find super strength and courage somewhere and I can market away. One of the ways I’m dealing with managing my shy side is that when comes to business, I tell myself that I’m now working for a business so it’s not about me, it’s about the external brand. I see myself as an employee, rather than the individual concerned, and I carry out work as if I was doing it for someone else. The shyness seems to go away. What about you, if you’re the shy one?
Lesson 120: Personality and translation: navigating the profession between analysts, diplomats, sentinels and explorers.
Personality and translation is the topic for me this month. Following my last week’s post on introverts and extraverts, I wanted to explore the aspect of personalities a bit more. Based on MBTI, several tests and theories have developed underlining the dichotomies between four factors: extraversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, judging/perception.
One of the theories that I find most interesting, as described in 16personalities, categorises these dichotomies into four roles (the inner layer: goals, interests and preferred activities): analysts, diplomats, sentinels and explorers. Let’s see how personality and translation could be analysed together.
Personality and translation: different personality types
Analysts “embrace rationality and impartiality, excel in intellectual debates and scientific or technological fields.” Analysts engage in strategic thinking and try to find solutions that work for everybody (at the cost of social and romantic pursuits, apparently). Analysts work great in terms of systems thinking, that is seeing the situation as a whole. When comes to the translation industry, my theory is that analysts quickly turn into consultants that help companies implement or improve their existing language management processes, or if they stay translators, they take on jobs that require analysing the situation as a whole and suggesting the most appropriate course of action – perhaps transcreation?
Diplomats apparently “focus on empathy and cooperation, shining in diplomacy and counselling.” They take active roles harmonising workplaces and social circles, but may struggle to incorporate cold rationality into their thinking and make tough choices. Without a surprise, I think that the majority of diplomats take on leading roles in our industry and become chairs or presidents of associations or set up local meetups.
Sentinels “are cooperative and highly practical, embracing and creating order, security and stability wherever they go.” Must be those who organise translation conferences, since they’re also great in logistical and administrative tasks. It seems to me that there aren’t that many sentinels in our industry, at least I didn’t come across many of them.
Explorers seem to be on the opposite end of the scale from me. They’re most spontaneous and adapt quickly with ability to react. They’re the ones who start using new tools straight away and know how to act in crisis. They’re great at selling. In my opinion, we do have a strong group of explorers in our industry, people who always welcome new tools and try them out before anybody else. The daredevils, if you like, often becoming tool vendors or trainers.
I agree that this is a very rough division and based on such an intangible thing as personality, but I found it an interesting exploration. Do you agree with my suggestions? Do you think there’s a link between personality and translation?
Why do you translate? Replies from #iapti2013
You may already know that I use the same thread at all conferences where I present. I ask: Why do you translate? and collect paper or digital replies, like I did in Madrid or in Porto. This time I took it further and retyped all paper replies from the First IAPTI International Conference. Read through them to discover this sheer energy that keeps us all going. Maybe you’ll even add your bit in a comment?
Aurora, Argentina
Because it’s my mission in life.
Maria, Greece
Because I love the challenge of looking for the perfect equivalent.
Alexander, UK
Because it is the closest thing to real magic I know of, turning one thing into something different entirely – and that is fun.
Hülya, UK
I love the buzz I get from completing a project successfully.
Christine, Luxembourg
Because I am addicted to languages and cannot imagine doing anything else.
David, UK
I translate for the love of words and the fascination with the people.
Chani, Germany
I am translating because I am a citizen of the world.
Natalia, Ukraine
Because it is always exciting, new, inspiring. I never get bored, meet new people. I have to develop, learn and do research and because I love both translation and interpreting.
Monica, Portugal
For passion. I love to play with words and doing connection of a language not my native into my own language in order to allow information from a foreign language to reach readers who would not have access to that info just because they are unable to speak another language beyond their own.
Anonymous
Because I love language and communication – because language is my passion – language and languages
Suzi, UK
I love words. I love languages and how they fit together. I love the fact that I am able to help people communicate with each other. With effective communication we can solve so many of the world’s problems!
Barbara, Brasil
Words are simply my life.
Anonymous
To give those who rarely have a voice a voice or at least a good chance to be heard.
Federica, Italy
Helping people to get the message through.
Filippo, NL
Because if not, I’ll miss it like heaven (and I couldn’t be a IAPTI member).
Ilenia, UK
Because I want to be the voice that makes communication possible.
Oliver, Italy
I translate as a beautiful art of creating a message that can inform and inspire across cultures.
Anonymous
Because I love language and the power it has to communicate.
Anonymous
Because it’s fun, I get to read informative content first, I love language… and I love being independent AND it pays well!
Anonymous, England
I translate to help people understand each other.
Risa, Japan
I love it. I feel happy that someone can read a certain text because of my work.
Paola, Italy
Help people, creating connections.
Paula, Argentina
It’s a way of channelling my creativity & my passion for language.
Flora, Ireland
I translate because I love the variety and freedom it allows.
Malgorzata, Germany
Because I learn something new everyday; Because I love Arabic and sincerely want to further the understanding between Europe and the Middle East.
Elisabetta, Italy
A passion for English, for its sound, for learning new things every day, for discovering new realms.
Irene, Argentina
I translate because it feels like working magic.
Victoria, Argentina
I translate because I want to help people achieve their goals, and I know I can make it happen by getting their message right in another language. And because translating is the job I ca do for more than 8 hours a day and still be really happy. I <3 translation.
Amparo, Spain
I translate because I know I am giving a voice to someone who was silent to so many. I love what I do. I am so lucky!
Maria, Romania
I translate because this is the best way I can use my two great loves: my love for languages, words & my love for mankind, for people.
Jen, UK
I translate because it feeds my hunger for knowledge. I get to learn something new with every translation, which is an amazing thing.
Anonymous
To bring people together & help make the world a better place.
G.R.
For the pleasure of sharing ideas from other people and places, and for the pleasure of wrangling with the language itself.
Alice, UK
For the pleasure of sharing ideas from other people and places, and for the pleasure of wrangling with the language itself.
Jimene, Mexico
I translate to spread the word about the causes I believe can change the world.
Catherine, UK
The satisfaction of conveying communication which help, enrich, entertain people to bring cultures/nations/people together.
Florencia, Argentina
I translate because I love helping people to communicate and express themselves. I love being their voice!
Sarah, UK
Because I can make a difference to people’s lives by allowing them to communicate with each other.
Esil, Iceland
I find translating challenging and stimulating
María, Spaniard in UK
I translate because I love it and I can’t help it.
Nikki, UK
I translate because it’s an intellectual challenge very day.
Lira, Colombia
Because I love helping people to understand and to communicate.
Anonymous
I’m from China. I want to translate because China is developing really fast and it needs to connect to the rest of the world to do that.
Anonymous
I translate because I love to be part of a bigger picture: understanding.
Liliana, Romania
I believe that there are important messages that the whole world is entitled to know about. I love foreign languages and getting the messages across to people who depend on them.
Anonymous, Peru
We live in a communication world and I feel this passion to communicate ideas from one language into another.
Carla, Peru
I translate because of this imperative drive within to tear down the barriers of the language and cultures and help people come to that final stage when their faces bright up with a huge smile and say “I understand!”
Federico, Italy
I free the world from misunderstandings. I let cultures and markets flow and interact. I make the world a better place to live in and I make a living out of it.
Csaba, Hungary
I have an insatiable drive to deliver linguistically correct and idiomatic texts. Call me a perfectionist, but my clients appreciate this.
Anonymous
Because I love language and words.
Sandra, UK
Because there is nothing that makes me happier. Playing with language and also permitting communication between sets of people that otherwise would be at a loss.
Gerardo, Argentina
Because I love the challenge of looking for the perfect equivalent.
Dorota, Poland
To help people communicate across the cultures. Because I love languages.
Anonymous, Germany
A challenging and rewarding profession that allows me to make a living doing what I enjoy.
Maya, Greece
I have got this passion and way with words to make the world a better place through communication.
Karlotta, Iceland
I love solving translation problems and I’m passionate about working with language issues.
Anonymous
Because it gives me freedom to do what I want, and when I want.
Joanna, Polska
It gets me closer to creation.
Elizabeth
I enjoy understanding other cultures, other people and facilitating communication between cultures and people.
Sarah
Because I like it. Pure & simple.
Sian, UK
I like the analytical challenge of bridging two cultures.
Carol, UK
Because I love the challenge of looking for the perfect equivalent.
Ana, Spain
I translate because I think it is important to facilitate communication among people around the world.
Melisande, Brazil
I translate because since I was very young I felt it was the only thing I would like to do in my life. I cannot think of doing anything else. I love languages, culture and diversity, and this profession gives it to me.
Claudia, Brazil
Because I love reading, writing and solving problems.
Mercedes, Spain
I love learning, and learn, not just one, but many things every day.
Jamie, Netherlands
I love the mental process and challenge of crafting words that communicate the concepts, ideas and information formulated in one language into another language… without leaving the reader with the sense or suspicion that my words have been translated.
Lenka, Czech Republic
I translate because I love the job. I just enjoy dealing with words and see the transformation from the original text into something completely different.
Julia, Austria
Because 3 hours of translating feel like half an hour.
Anonymous, Puerto Rico (USA)
Because I love it, am good at it. I have fun. I always learn something new. And the good money is a great added bonus!
Marion, Austria/UK
Because of my passion for words.
Carlo, USA
Out of love. For language. People. Communication. Different cultures.
Nataliya, Bulgaria
I translate because I do love my job. It was my job that helped me get up when I had my worst days in my life.
Simona, UK
I enjoy helping people to communicate and create understanding not just of words but also of cultures.
Liu, China
The passion will never die.
Cristiana, Brazil
I translate because helping two people communicate with each other in a way it would not be possible without my help is one of the best things in the world.
Constanze, Germany
I translate because I love to identify the vision of the author behind the text and adopt it to the reader’s linguistic & social background in the most effective way possible.
Tatiane, Brazil
I translate because I love communication and I am very proud to make it happens in my language pair: English – Brazilian Portuguese.
Gabriela, UK, Romania, Colombia
Because I love facilitating communication between people. If we understand each other bettwe, the world becomes a better place.
Anonymous, USA
Because it fulfils a human need: to communicate.
Maria, Brazil
I translate to help people communicate, express themselves in/to the world.
Claudia, Argentina
For the love of words and the passion of linking worlds.
Anonymous
I translate to help save lives.
Cecilia
Because it comes naturally.Because it defines me.
Anonymous, Argentina
I translate because it’s my mission in life.
Anonymous, USA
Because it’s the only thing I know how to do properly.
Carla, Scotland
For the sense of satisfaction at finishing a translation and making the meaning clear.
Anonymous, Scotland
For the sense of satisfaction I get when the meaning clicks into place in a tricky sentence and all the components come together like a Rubik’s cube.
Silvia, Romania
I translate because it gives me the feeling of being useful, of doing something meaningful, somehow making my mark on the world, and I love it.
He, China, UK
For my love of languages, help to spread understanding between peoples. And the joy and pain of living elsewhere.
Lesson 63: Translation market research: what areas to include?
Last week I tried to convince you why doing a proper translation market research is an important step for your business. This week, we’re digging deeper! I’d like to look at eight areas that I found necessary to research and talk about them a bit more in detail. And next week we’ll discuss where to find reliable information. Continue reading
Lesson 62: What is market research for translation business and why you should’ve done it when starting out?
When I was doing a business course a while back, one of the first things the tutor asked was whether we’ve done some research about our intended markets. At that point, many of the start-up entrepreneurs who were participating in the course with me had a number of ideas, limitless passion and willingness to work hard to make it work. But we all lacked something and I’m eternally grateful to my tutor for pointing it out at the very first step of my business journey. Continue reading