The Savvy Newcomer aims to serve newcomers to the translation and interpreting professions by publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed content on a weekly basis. We strive to provide you with the answers to the many questions you face as a new or aspiring translator or interpreter.
Many language professionals start out doing their work “on the side” of whatever else they are doing in life. When people find out you are bilingual, you may be asked to do some volunteer interpreting to help out a friend, family member, or someone in need, or you may agree or be expected to do the occasional translation—and maybe even get paid for it. Volunteering and doing small side jobs are great ways to gain experience and improve your skills as a translator or interpreter. But in order to be a professional—whether you plan on doing this work part-time or…
Read More
This post was originally published on Holly-Anne Whyte’s blog. It is reposted here with permission. I work in the international development sector so this question is very close to my heart. I know that my clients do fantastic work and do, in some cases, rely on volunteers to make that work happen. But the very fact that my clients work…
Read More
The following list was originally published on the Scientist Sees Squirrel blog, where it is updated periodically. It is reposted here with permission. Writing is a huge part of any career in science, and for many writers – no, for most writers – it’s a daunting challenge. But it’s not a challenge that you have to tackle alone. That’s a…
Read More
When I was president of the Michigan Translators/Interpreters Network (MiTiN, pronounced “mitten,” get it?) a few years ago, I saw a long-lost member at an ATA conference. We had both joined in the 1990s. I went on to a freelance career as a translator, and he ended up owning a large language service provider. I pointed out that he hadn’t…
Read More
I live in Oregon. In case you don’t already know, Oregon and the Northwest are overdue for a huge earthquake. A few times a year, the state runs preparedness campaigns. I feel very concerned when I am reminded of the earthquake by the local radio. But despite my sincerest intentions, the only thing I do is buy extra cans of…
Read More
This post was originally published on Content Rules. It is reposted with permission. Usually, when someone tells you that your translations are poor, the first tendency is to blame the translators. Blaming the people doing the work might make sense. However, in my experience, the cause of poor translation is often not the person trying their best to translate the…
Read More
New year, new goals. Each new year provides a blank slate for tackling personal and professional goals. Is studying for the ATA Certification Exam one of your goals for 2022? Preparing for an exam with a 20% pass rate can be daunting. The Certification tab on ATA’s website describes the exam as a “mid-career credential for experienced, professional translators or…
Read More
This post was originally published on Integrated MarCom Translations blog. It is reposted with permission. No doubt you’ve heard it before: If you’re trying to increase your exposure, grow your network, and win more clients, you’ve got to work the social media scene. You may even have created your own Twitter account, grouped your Facebook contacts into relevant audiences for…
Read More
The article “Defining Translation Quality” (Koby, Fields, Hague, Lommel, and Melby) is the third article in a series of articles. This particular article starts by referencing the first two articles. It mentions that the first article talked about the scope (how broadly one defines translation) and specifications (how explicitly requirements must be stated) concerning definitions of translation and that the…
Read More
The Spoken Language Interpreter Job Description, authored by Norma Andrada, Heidi Cazes, Helen Eby, Julia Poger, and Rafael Treviño, might be called a job description, but I swear it’s one of the simplest and most straightforward ways to answer client and employer questions about what interpreters do. The variety of the authors’ backgrounds and locations definitely enrich this solid and…
Read More
This post was originally published on Slate. It is reposted with permission. Ben Yagoda blogs about British words and phrases that have entered the American lexicon at www.notoneoffbritishisms.com. This summer, journalist Matthew Engel took to the BBC website to bemoan the corrupting influence of U.S. words on British English. Readers were invited to weigh in with their picks for the…
Read More