Training for Translators

Classes for translators and interpreters


Corinne McKay

The best Mox yet

If you haven’t yet seen Alejandro Moreno-Ramos’ latest Mox cartoon on Obsessive-compulsive grammar disorder, do not miss it! Even funnier is Alejandro’s reply to the person who pointed out a spelling error in the cartoon. Last year, I wrote a post about my personal struggle with grammar and spelling perfectionism, and I think that nearly every translator can empathize!

Still, there are moments when I wonder if this battle is worth fighting, or just takes years off our lives. Even the mighty New York Times magazine lets typos slip through: witness “You can’t just take a statement and dress is [sic] up in a question’s clothes…” in the otherwise excellent, hilarious and spot-on article How to ask a proper question at a public event (the typo is corrected in the electronic version). Mox is already in therapy, but maybe the rest of us grammar/spelling hawks are soon to follow!


Corinne McKay

The ten essentials of freelance translation

There’s something about the number 10. Not just the connotation of “perfect 10,” but the number has an undeniable appeal. This year’s American Translators Association Translation Company Division conference was focused on the number 10 (10 sessions that each featured 10 tips on a certain topic), and people really seemed to enjoy the manageable scale of the presentations.

In my non-translation life I spend a lot of time in the mountains, so I’ve long abided by the guideline of The Ten Essentials that everyone should take into the backcountry. Outdoor enthusiasts are advised to equip themselves with a map, compass, sun protection, food/water, extra clothes, headlamp, first aid kit, fire starter, matches and a knife. This got me thinking about The Ten Essentials as applied to other areas of life, specifically freelance translation. What 10 must-have items would you recommend that every freelance translator arm herself or himself with? I’ll go with (in no particular order):

    1. Business cards; the kind without a “Get your free business cards at…” imprint on the back
    2. A reliable computer
    3. A computer backup system and potentially a backup computer
    4. A good office chair, yoga ball or treadmill desk
    5. A separate business bank account to keep business and personal finances separate
    6. A membership in at least one association for professional translators
    7. A high-quality computer keyboard; it sounds like a minor thing, but it’s important when you’re tap-tap-tapping away at those keys for 30-50 hours a week!
    8. A few good dictionaries in various flavors; print, online, general, specialized, etc.
    9. A thesaurus; some days I use mine more than my French-English resources. For those times when you just need another way to say it!
    10. At least one trusted colleague. I realize these aren’t available at Office Max, but I do think it’s hard to reach your full freelance potential without a good network of colleagues.

Readers, over to you! What 10 items should go in every freelance translator’s survival kit?


Corinne McKay

Tips for first-time ATA conference attendees

Although I just posted a bunch of links yesterday, these are too good not to share! German to English translator Jill Sommer has presented the first-time attendees’ orientation at the ATA conference for many years, and she restyled that presentation into a webinar. It covers topics such as how to prepare for the conference, how to pick the sessions you want to attend, how to market and network effectively at the conference and much more. You can watch the webinar recording (it’s free!) and/or read Jill’s blog post with follow-up questions. This really is a wealth of information for newcomers to the profession; thanks to Jill for putting all of this together! See you in Boston!


Corinne McKay

Some interesting links

If you’re looking for some coffee-break reading, here are a few suggestions:

  • From Get Rich Slowly, Eight little-known facts about the Roth IRA. I consider myself reasonably financially literate and I have to say that many of these were news to me.
  • From Spanish to English translator Lisa Carter on Milliver’s Travels, Becoming location independent. Lisa and her partner (both freelancers based in Ottawa, Canada) are experimenting with a three-month move to Costa Rica (insert sigh of jealousy here!). This post talks mostly about their technology setup, which is very interesting.
  • From Duct Tape Marketing, 5 ways to use the Internet to drive people off the Internet, with some great observations about mixing in-person and online networking.

And finally, a reminder: if you’re planning to attend this year’s American Translators Association annual conference (October 26-29 in Boston), don’t miss the early bird deadline on September 23!


Corinne McKay

The second half

International Translation Day is coming up at the end of this month; this year’s theme is Translation: Bridging Cultures (I like it!). Karmically enough, ITD is also my (and my husband’s…is that karmic enough for you?) birthday, and this year it’s a big one. Although I don’t think I’m in mid-life crisis mode over turning 40, it has occurred to me that at least from a statistical point of view, I’m knocking on the door of the second half of life. And I do think that any big milestone is a good opportunity for reflection, so I’d like to solicit some input from readers who are past the halfway point themselves. Specifically, what changes have you made in your work life (or what changes would you like to make) now that you’re in mid-life? What have you re-evaluated and what have you kept the same? Here are some thoughts that have popped into my head so far:

  • As I get older, I love translation more and more. Being a better translator is more important to me all the time. However, I find that I also get less tolerant of job stress; clients who needed the project yesterday are less and less appealing and rush work is more and more stressful.
  • Translating stuff that hangs around for a while and that people actually read is more important to me. This is why I’ve always loved international development translation, and it’s why one of my goals for this year is to take a literary translation course.
  • I find myself thinking more about my future work life. In part, this is because I had my daughter at what’s considered a relatively young age here in Boulder (30). As compared to some of my friends who are in their mid-40s and have preschoolers, I’ll be 48 when my daughter graduates from high school. That opens up lots of possibilities; teaching translation, getting an in-house job, going back to school, and so on. Right now I can’t say that I’m hankering for a radical departure from what I do now, but it’s interesting to think about.

Mature readers, any tips from you?