Language and Translation News

Terminology is at the very core of translation: after all, as translators our job is to make something in one language understood in another! And contrary to popular belief (!) we are not walking multilingual dictionaries, which means we have to find, research, verify and choose right terms to use in our work on a daily basis.

Long gone are the days of huge tomes adorning the bookshelves – now we have the internet! However, it is one thing to pop a word into an AI tool and quite another to find your way to exactly the right way to translate that super-specific technical, medical or legal term you are unsure about.

We all know how physically challenging it can be to spend long hours in front of a computer. The wrong chair, incorrect screen height and poorly-designed computer peripherals can cause pain or even long-term damage to the neck, lower back, shoulders and elbows, to name just a few.

We all know it takes more than speaking two (or more) languages to be a good translator. It is one thing to be fluent in a language and another to produce good translations. But what other abilities do you need? Here are some ideas that I have grouped into three skillsets.