On Translation and Words

Copyright © 2010 by John Fotheringham. For more tips, tools, and tech for Mastering ANY Language, go to LanguageMastery.com Here is a run down of the top 10 things NOT to do when learning a foreign language. While what works may differ somewhat from person to person, the following should be avoided for ALL language learners: 1. Do NOT spend more than 5% of your study time on grammar, translation, vocabulary lists or any other overt information about the language. Languages are “acquired,” not learned. And acquisition by its very definition happens subconsciously over time given proper input. Which leads us to number. 2. Do NOT spend time on materials that are too difficult or don’t interest you. Motivation is one of the greatest keys to success in foreign language learning, and motivation’s favorite fuel is interest. There is a wealth of free language learning content available today; you need simply look for it (see the Learning Tools & Materials section for suggested resour...

The Translator Guide is a very useful book for freelance translators. The book is written by Adriana Tassini, who has founded BecomeATranslator.com and the Certified Translation Professional (CTP) Program. I especially recommend the book to novice translators. However, experienced translators would also enjoy reading the book because it contains some important information about translation theory and translation practice.

We need style guides for correctness, clarity and consistency in writing. They are a valuable resource for language professionals. Style guides offer very useful suggestions that are not easily found in grammar and language books. Out of the dozens of style guides available on the Internet, the two most popular style guides are the Associated Press Stylebook  and the Chicago Manual of Style . They require paid subscription. But many helpful and free alternatives are available on the Internet. Generally, style guides have different opinions on spelling. Therefore, I would suggest you to have a personal style sheet for specific words. Please have a look at the following suggestions for the capitalization of the letter 'i' in the word 'Internet': 1. Internet ( American Anthropological Association ) 2. internet ( The Times of London ) 3. Internet ( Reuters ) 4. internet ( The Economist ) 5. Internet ( United Nations ) 6. internet ( European Commission ) 7. In...

Freelance translation is a new profession. Sometimes translators find it difficult to take a decision on rates, CAT tools, sample test, etc. And things become worse if they get the wrong advice. It is always better to rely on authoritative guidance than to learn something the hard way. I came across a very informative book a few days ago. This is a must-read for anyone who wants practical advice on freelance matters. The book is written by Luke Spear, a freelance translator based in Melbourne. On translator's day this year, he decided to make the book freely available on the Internet. I would like to thank him for the kind gesture. Here is a brief description of the book (in the author's words): "LEARN HOW TO… quickly find the right hardware and software  price correctly and find out what to expect to earn  market and sell to agencies and direct clients  understand the translation work process  grow your business with valuable tips  quickly loc...

The best thing about Google Translate for Translators (GT4T) is that it is very useful without being complex. It lets us find translations (Google dictionary and Google translate) in Word, notepad, etc. by using shortcut keys. It goes without saying that one can never rely on online dictionaries and translation tools, but it would be unfair not to acknowledge their importance when they help us find appropriate equivalents.   You can find more information about Google Translate for Translators (GT4T) at the following link: http://gt4t.net/gt4t_en The Word edition (free) of GT4T is available  here .

Being a freelance translator has both its advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that we can never be sure if our new client is a reliable payer. However, we have some online resources that can help us in this regard.  The following payment practice groups or lists will help you avoid working for bad clients: 1. http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/translationagencypayment (free membership) 2. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/WPPF (free membership) 3. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/TranslationPaymentsWhoWhenWhat (free membership) 4. http://groups.google.co.in/group/transpayment (free membership) 5. http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/the-checklist (free membership; in Italian) 6. http://de.groups.yahoo.com/group/zahlungspraxis (free membership; in German) 7. http://www.paymentpractices.net (paid membership) 8. http://www.tcrlist.com/Join (paid membership) In addition to the groups or lists mentioned above, I would suggest you to con...

I have always been fascinated by the colourful world of words. Words have their own lives and it is really interesting to know about their origin and evolution. If we care to explore their latent meanings, we would be surprised to learn about some unexpected facts related to them. Sometimes we think that there is no word for our specific feeling. However, this is not true in most cases and all we have to do is to consult a very good dictionary or reference material to find the exact expression. If you are passionate about words, you would like to subscribe to the following newsletters: 1. http://wordsmith.org/awad/subscribe.html 2. http://www.worldwidewords.org/maillist/joinlist.htm 3. http://www.phrases.org.uk/a-phrase-a-week/subscribe.html