This one will probably make the rounds as fast as the Welsh roadsign/autoresponder, but today’s post on Language Log has a wonderful and humorous warning about the dangers of monolingualism. The BBC News reports that Irish police have been frantically hunting for one “Prawo Jazdy,” a Polish man who had, according to the police, accumulated [...]
Archive for the ‘Nubbin’ Category
The elusive Mr. Driver’s License
Posted in Humor, Nubbin on February 19, 2009 | 5 Comments »
Link: a great post on e-mail security issues
Posted in Nubbin, Technology on January 22, 2009 | 1 Comment »
I apologize for all of these nubbins; there’s just too much going on on the web today! If you have any interest in computer security issues, make sure to read Michael Wahlster’s post Secrets on a Postcard, in which he argues (quite persuasively!) that sending confidential documents by standard (unsecure) e-mail is a major security [...]
Word clouds of inaugural addresses
Posted in Languages, Nubbin on January 22, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Thanks to reader Dierk Seeburg for sending the link to these word clouds that compare Obama’s inaugural speech to those of Bush, Clinton, Reagan and Lincoln. If you haven’t checked out Wordle, it’s a very cool language/art/geek tool that generates a word cloud that gives greater importance to frequently used words in your text. In [...]
Is LinkedIn useful for translators?
Posted in Marketing, Nubbin on January 12, 2009 | 24 Comments »
Update to this post: Make sure to read the comments for some excellent tips on how to use LinkedIn effectively. This is just a brief request for input: is LinkedIn useful for translators? I set up a LinkedIn profile last year, around the time I started expanding my base of direct clients. Since then I’ve [...]
Link: an interesting take on translation quality
Posted in Links, Nubbin, Translation quality on December 12, 2008 | 6 Comments »
Ryan Ginstrom has a really interesting post (that links to yet another post) on translation quality. Besides learning the helpful term “chokuyaku” (apparently Japanese for “literal translation”), you can find out about one translator’s novel take on the “you get what you pay for” issue; this translator spends as much time on the project as [...]
Can we make a collective resolution?
Posted in Freelancing, Nubbin on October 10, 2008 | 10 Comments »
As the Dow falls below 8,000 for the first time in over five years, Iceland faces the prospect of national bankruptcy and many Americans can’t sell their homes for what they owe on the mortgage, I think it’s time for freelance translators to make a collective resolution. So far (I force myself to preface any [...]
Introducing the Nevada Interpreters and Translators Association
Posted in Freelancing, Nubbin on October 7, 2008 | 3 Comments »
To my knowledge, Nevada hasn’t ever had its own association for translators and interpreters, and we all know what a help it is to connect with our local colleagues! Karen Tkaczyk sent me the link to the recently formed NITA (Nevada Interpreters and Translators Association), which seems to be offering a nice range of events [...]
Update on tags in OmegaT
Posted in Nubbin, Technology, Translation quality on June 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A while ago, I wrote about both my love of the free and open source translation environment tool OmegaT and my frustration with tags in OmegaT. Since then, I’ve found that the easiest solution, as long as the document doesn’t contain complex formatting, is to save the document as plain text, then translate in OmegaT [...]
An interesting post on client solvency
Posted in Freelancing, Links, Nubbin on June 24, 2008 | 1 Comment »
I’ve been handling a string of rush jobs today, but here is a link to Masked Translator’s excellent new post, When your client goes bankrupt. The information on bankruptcy is very helpful (this was also discussed in a recent ATA Chronicle article) and there is also some very good general information on client solvency and [...]
Check out…
Posted in Links, Nubbin on June 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Michelle Rafter’s guest post for The Urban Muse, on being a freelancer and being a mom. Michelle is a writer, but her advice applies to translators too! Gabe Bokor’s post about Entering the Translation Market. Gabe is a seasoned translator and agency owner, and he offers some very insightful tips. Keyboard shortcuts in OpenOffice.org. Go [...]
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Corinne McKay is an ATA-certified French to English translator specializing in international development, law and non-fiction books. She launched Thoughts on Translation in February, 2008 as a way to connect and share ideas with freelance translators around the world.
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