Thoughts On Translation

8 Comments »

8 Responses

1. on November 6, 2010 at 1:33 am | Reply Jean-François Richard

   Bonjour,

   Voici des sites qui pourraient vous intéresser :

   - http://tsrali.com, offert par Terminotix (la société que je représente), contient des bitextes provenant des textes de la chambre de communes et du sénat du gouvernement canadien;

   - http://www.webitext.com, offert par le Conseil national de recherches du Canada, contient des corpus parallèles provenant de différentes sources et interrogeables par domaines;

   - http://youalign.com, une solution en ligne d’alignement de documents. Permet de créer des bitextes à partir de vos documents. En format de sortie, vous pouvez choisir un fichier TMX qui peut ensuite être importé dans votre mémoire de traduction.

   
   
2. on January 15, 2011 at 7:30 pm | Reply Allison Wright

   I am relieved to see that the range of texts you translate is varied. There is much talk of specialization, and I whilst I avoid translating documents where I know I cannot deliver quality, I was beginning to feel that the variety of subjects dealt with in last, say, 15 jobs, was making me a traitor to the ideals of our profession. I now realize that versatility – in addition to specialization in a couple of fields – may also be regarded as an advantage!

   
   
3. on November 15, 2011 at 11:25 am | Reply Becca Thornton

   Very true Allison, I agree with you! Some people have a varied life experience and genuinely know vocabulary for a lot of different subject matters, and then there are others (like me) who just really enjoy learning new vocabulary and the constant challenge of a new and interesting topic. The brain is a sponge, and I really believe it’s to your own detriment to focus on the same genre rather than expanding your own knowledge. I really love translation work because you are not only breaking down communication barriers, but also constantly researching and learning new things for your own general knowledge (increasing intelligence!)! Varied translations make for a versatile personality!

   Becca

   
   
4. on November 17, 2011 at 8:47 am | Reply adrien

   Hi everyone,

   I am currently studdying a Masters of translation (Fench and English) and an English to french translator.
   I would like to know if someone could tell me which company could give me work to do at home (as most of you guys do) without meeting this new employer (I have studdies to attend to and therefore can’t travel to other countries for interviews).

   
   
5. on January 15, 2012 at 9:21 am | Reply Erin

   Do you outsource? When you list projects that you are working on, does this mean you are working on them personally or you are managing them, perhaps using freelancers to assist you?

   
   
   • on January 17, 2012 at 8:06 pm | Reply Corinne McKay

     Hi Erin and thanks for your message. No, I don’t outsource much other than splitting projects with my translation partner. These are all projects that I’ve worked on myself.

     
     
6. on January 27, 2012 at 10:18 pm | Reply Tamara G. Suttle, M.Ed., LPC

   Allison and Becca, I am not a translator but want to note that specializing or nicheing your business can be a good practice from a marketing standpoint in that it allows you to focus your time, money, and message on marketing your business. Nicheing doesn’t limit the types of work you take on . . . but it does give those looking for your services a great way to remember your name and services . . . . With the ability to “hang your hat” on a particular peg i.e. identify you with a particular specialty, it’s much easier to remember you and to tell others about your work. And, by the way . . . marketing research has shown that if people believe that you are good in one area, they typically assume that you are also skilled in related areas.

   Corinne, love your blog. It’s chocked full of useful tips . . . even for non-translators!

   
   
   • on February 3, 2012 at 3:04 am | Reply Corinne McKay

     Thanks Tamara, I’m glad you liked the post and thanks for visiting. It’s really helpful to have some input from freelancers who aren’t translators (since we translators tend to have a bit of a bunker mentality!!).