As we have brought up in other posts, large translation projects need more care and attention in order to maintain consistency in the translation throughout the document(s). This coherence in terminology must be respected by all members of the work team.
The client can be the one who provides the list of terminology through the use [...]
Archive for the ‘For Translation Buyers’ Category
Client Glossaries
Friday, January 15th, 2010One Japanese New Year’s Celebration
Thursday, December 31st, 2009While taking my time to look around and appreciate all that other cultures have to offer in terms of variety and uniqueness, I stumbled across this fantastic post describing the tradition on the Japanese peninsula of Oga:
http://samuraidave.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/japanese-devils-scare-the-laziness-out-of-kids/
In short, the tradition centers around Namahage, a local mountain deity who…well, he must be seen to be believed [...]
The Punjabi Language
Friday, December 18th, 2009It belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of languages of the Indo-European family, which we spoke of HERE.
It is mainly spoken in the Punjab region (between India and Pakistan) and, globally, there are some 100 million speakers of this language.
It derives from dialects such as Hindi and it basically employs the Gurmukhi alphabet for writing, which [...]
When Translation and SEO Collide
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009Working as a translator (or at least a good one) implies exercising a high level of attention to detail, the kind of nit-pickiness that will drive your friends mad but which will elate your clients. Translators need to have a strong command of both their source and their target languages to be able to do [...]
The Importance of Language in Diplomacy
Sunday, December 13th, 2009The United States government has a high demand for linguists. President Obama’s administration is looking to put more emphasis on diplomacy through more effective multilingual communication in all areas: intelligence, defense, State Department agencies, etc.
The ILR (Interagency Language Roundtable) was created and includes several agencies of the State Department. Its main focus will be increasing [...]
Is “usted” Really Always the Best Option?
Saturday, December 12th, 2009I’ve noticed lots of confusion regarding this matter: many people are under the impression that it’s correct to use “usted” at all times, in all cases.
I’m afraid that that’s not correct, however: not always, not in all cases. It depends on the objective to be accomplished.
According to the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española (http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltConsulta?TIPO_BUS=3&LEMA=usted):
“Usted” [...]
Using Latin in Legal Documents (With Glossaries)
Friday, December 4th, 2009Anyone who has ever translated or taken part, in any capacity, in a legal proceeding can attest to the fact that there is a multitude of phrases and expressions that are pure Latin and yet are used in documents in many languages without translation. They remain unchanged to maintain uniformity throughout the world in various [...]
The Persian Language
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009It belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family, which we spoke about HERE.
More than 60 million people are native speakers of this language, and they are distributed across Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Oman, the Arab Emirates and India, as well as members of the Persian diaspora.
The ISO and the Academy of Persian [...]
Specialized Translation Agencies
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009I recently read an article about the new national certification given to medical interpreters of Spanish in the United States. I think this is actually quite important, especially for the people who are receiving medical services. Unfortunately, these people have a very low level of education.
In addition, they are looking to include languages besides Spanish [...]
Translator Training
Friday, November 27th, 2009This concept is extremely important. I am not just talking about the education that a translator receives in their studies, but also about culture in general, which is even more important when a translator is specialized in a certain field or fields.
A translator’s training consists in their ability to master their mother tongue: writing, spelling, [...]
Specialized Translation Agencies
Friday, November 20th, 2009Years ago we used to see that translation agencies in various countries of the world would only work with a few language pairs, three or four at most. They worked with only one translation program and its staff was made up of only local translators.
Today the need to satisfy clients and the clients’ growing needs [...]
Health Care and Medical Translations
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009A reform to the health care system in the United States is coming, though the details of the new system are still being worked out. One aspect that is highly important in these proceedings, and often overlooked, is that all policies and practices at insurance companies and hospitals will have to be reworked and reworded. [...]
The Pashto Language
Friday, November 13th, 2009Spoken by the Khan’s or Pashtuns (inhabiting Afghanistan and the west of Pakistan) as well as by groups in India, it is one of the official languages of Afghanistan, along with Dari.
With regards to the linguistic history of Pashto, it comes from the Indo-European language of families, discussed HERE, and more specifically forms part of [...]
The Importance of Language on Websites
Friday, November 13th, 2009As I was searching for something on the Internet, I came across a very interesting point that brings up a topic of great importance for us today.
“If I can’t read it, I’m not buying it”. This is something often heard from people who are trying to make purchases online.
A lot of companies have doubts and [...]
Boosting Business with Website Translation
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009Business leaders in today’s global economic context are feeling pretty beleaguered by all the goings on (or lack thereof) of the present, and many are struggling to come up with ways to inject new life into their operations. A small bit of token advice for such distraught global businesspersons: let website translation be a motor [...]
Translations of Manuals and Handbooks
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009One of the most essential aspects of multinational companies in the 21st century is uniformity of parts, processes, procedures, etc. The offices and factories of the most successful companies look and operate exactly, or nearly exactly, the same at any branch in the world. This allows for clear communication, easier understanding of problems, and the [...]
Automatic Translation?
Friday, November 6th, 2009Automatic translations, better known as machine translations, have experienced something of a resurgence lately. Today, there have been numerous advances in the field of translation, including different programs used for translation. These advances, specifically the programs, have simplified the lives of translators and have shortened delivery times, which has enhanced both productivity and quality (consistency, [...]
Dari
Friday, November 6th, 2009An apocope of “courtly Persian,” fārsi-ye dari is, along with Pashto, one of the principal Persian languages spoken contemporarily in Afghanistan (especially in the capital and the southern and western regions).
This language is also known as “Persian,” “Persawan,” or “Afghan Persian.”
Over half the population are native speakers of this language, and it is the principal [...]
The Importance of Plain Language
Thursday, November 5th, 2009Are you tired of not understanding the texts you read or speeches you listen to? If so, you are most certainly not alone: there are scores of frustrated readers and listeners out there that know they have a fairly decent linguistic level, yet find it simply impossible to understand a lot of what passes today [...]
