It is perfectly fine to serve your client directly in the language of their preference. At the same time, it may still be a good idea to have an interpreter as part of your team.
Category Archives: Translation Industry
What’s Wrong with Using Child Interpreters?
While it may be harmless or even helpful for the family in many everyday situations, I would warn against relying on child interpreters in high-stakes situations that may have financial, legal, or medical consequences.
Shortcomings of (Untrained) Native Translators
Should translations be done exclusively by native speakers of the target (“into”) language? This question has recently come up in several publications. The language industry and training programs in the US predominantly answer in the affirmative. I have speculated about some possible reasons for this attitude. A recent article in the American Translators Association (ATA)Continue reading “Shortcomings of (Untrained) Native Translators”
Lessons Learned from ATA 56th Annual Conference
This year I attended the American Translators Association (ATA) annual conference after a three-year gap. This post is a quasi-debriefing of what I thought went well this time and what I need to concentrate on in the following years. By its nature, the list will be specific to me and may not reflect everyone’s priorities andContinue reading “Lessons Learned from ATA 56th Annual Conference”
Three Things Media Gets Wrong About Interpreting
There is rarely a political drama, sci-fi story, or fantasy saga that does not involve communication across languages. It is, therefore, fair to say the general public is aware of interpreting as a profession. However, these fictional tales are often written by people not intimately familiar with language industry; nor is interpreting usually central to the story.Continue reading “Three Things Media Gets Wrong About Interpreting”
Origins of the Native-Speaker Translator Preference
An idea you hear repeated by translator training programs, translation companies and clients alike is that a translator should only work into their native language; that is, that any translation should be produced by a native speaker of the language into which it is done. I would like to examine the reasons behind this notion,Continue reading “Origins of the Native-Speaker Translator Preference”
Overview of (Some) Language Services
You may hear translation tasks referred to by many different names. Naturally, this may be very confusing for the translation services buyer. Why is my language service provider talking about localization instead of translation? What is the difference between editing and proofreading? In this post, I will try to cover some of the common translation-relatedContinue reading “Overview of (Some) Language Services”
Adaptation in Food Translation
As the only (advanced) Russian speaker in our company, I sometimes need to consult my colleagues on certain translation choices and conventions. A question I was asked recently was whether the “BLT” in the translated name of a menu item would make sense to the readers and whether it should be left in English. ThisContinue reading “Adaptation in Food Translation”
Volunteer Translation
Volunteer translation is a great way for both new and seasoned translators to gain experience, get their foot in the door, and contribute to a good cause. Many fellow translators are probably aware of some way to volunteer in this way. I will list some of the bigger organizations that require volunteer translation. Translators withoutContinue reading “Volunteer Translation”
April Issue: Things to Consider for Localization into Russian
In my personal and professional life I have often encountered social networking that have been localized into Russian. More often than not, localization into Russian reveals internationalization issues that should have been addressed at the design stage. I would like to point out some of the things to consider if you plan localizing your siteContinue reading “April Issue: Things to Consider for Localization into Russian”
Maria Guzenko 