Like many translators and other word people, I have a low tolerance for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors in print. Thankfully it's not just me; when I took a series of editing classes with Alice Levine a couple of years ago, she opened the class with a New Yorker cartoon (you don't even need … [Read more...] about Misspelled words I'm tired of seeing
Translation quality
Two posts that translation clients should read
For anyone who's a translation buyer, here are two excellent blog posts on what makes a good client. Ryan Ginstrom's Five practices of agencies that get it gives five specific examples of how his agency clients have impressed him. I agree with these wholeheartedly; especially the feedback piece. … [Read more...] about Two posts that translation clients should read
Some thoughts on feedback and the translation process
Sorry for the unannounced week of silence here at Thoughts on Translation; I went on vacation for a week and suddenly became violently allergic to using my laptop... but it seems that the bad reaction has now passed and Thoughts on Translation is back at the treadmill and ready to open up some new … [Read more...] about Some thoughts on feedback and the translation process
Improving the quality of your translations
If one of your goals for 2009 is to market your translation services to a more discriminating client base, you'll certainly want to step up your marketing efforts. At the same time, it's important to focus on the quality of the product you're offering; don't try to sell a Yugo at Mercedes prices. … [Read more...] about Improving the quality of your translations
Link: an interesting take on translation quality
Ryan Ginstrom has a really interesting post (that links to yet another post) on translation quality. Besides learning the helpful term "chokuyaku" (apparently Japanese for "literal translation"), you can find out about one translator's novel take on the "you get what you pay for" issue; this … [Read more...] about Link: an interesting take on translation quality