As one of those translators who's always said, "I love everything about my job except sitting at a desk all day," I've been intrigued for a while by the idea of the treadmill desk. Exercising while you work has been in the news of late, ever since Dr. James Levine, an obesity researcher at the Mayo … [Read more...] about "A hamster wheel with e-mail": the treadmill desk
He/she/they or none of the above: some thoughts on gender-neutral language
It's interesting how some linguistic issues seem to get solved and then are up for solution again, as seems to be the case with gendered pronouns in English. The first wave of gender-neutral language was inspired by the realization that many professions that had traditionally been all male (fireman, … [Read more...] about He/she/they or none of the above: some thoughts on gender-neutral language
Like, not enough into-English interpreters?
Here is an interesting post from the blog "Working Languages" about the EU's shortage of qualified into-English interpreters. The EU blames the candidates' poor English skills, characterized by overuse of the word "like," while the blogger argues that a larger culprit is the lack of financial … [Read more...] about Like, not enough into-English interpreters?
Translation-targeted resumes: pitfalls and best practices
What with the U.S. economy on a downward slide and the euro continuing its climb above U.S. $1.50, many translators are marketing these days. Following are some tips on writing a translation-targeted résumé that will pass muster with potential clients. Let's start with the obvious but often … [Read more...] about Translation-targeted resumes: pitfalls and best practices
Translation memory discounts: yes, no, maybe?
The issue of translation memory discounts, whereby a translator charges a lower rate for words that appear as repetitions or fuzzy matches in a translation environment/CAT/TM tool, is a contentious one. On the one hand, a client might reasonably argue that changing "press the green button" to "press … [Read more...] about Translation memory discounts: yes, no, maybe?