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We have published the ATA Savvy Newcomer since 2013 and ATA Next Level since 2021. Each blog has made unique and helpful contributions to our members. Savvy Newcomer was founded to help translators avoid the “school of hard knocks” that many of us went through. It has been helpful to new and experienced translators alike as we published articles on a variety of topics. Over the years, the blog team found that newcomers to the profession, our intended audience, were not necessarily a large majority of our readers. We were reaching a worldwide community of translators and interpreters who were…
Online Training Resources for Translators
Reblogged from The ATA Chronicle, with permission As chair of ATA’s Translation and Interpreting Resources Committee, my goal is to gather information on resources of all kinds, including those related to professional development. The following discusses short-duration online training that does not lead to a certificate or university credit. Webinars Webinars are online seminars—a sort of mini-class on a specific…
6 Reasons Why New Translators Should Specialize
When you’re starting out in the translation industry, you hear a lot about specialization. People tell you to find your niche and become a specialist, not a generalist. Why? This article will give you six reasons why new translators should consider developing their specialist fields. Becoming a specialist isn’t an overnight process. There’s nothing wrong with being more of a…
Cognitive strategies for the resolution of translation problems
Reblogged from the EU’s Terminology Coordination Unit blog, with permission from the author (incl. the images) The objective of the papers is to draw a panorama of the study of cognitive strategies for the resolution of translation problems, as well as to draw the perspectives of the research. We consider that translation strategies can be of internal support (cognitive type) and…
Linguist in the Spotlight: An Interview with Izumi Suzuki
The five interviewees featured so far in our Linguist in the Spotlight series possess a collective 100-plus years of experience. This week’s interviewee boasts nearly half that on her own. Izumi Suzuki, who has worked an impressive 40 years as a translator and interpreter, is an ATA-certified translator in Japanese<>English (both directions!), as well as a certified court interpreter. Of…
Buddies Welcome Newbies 2018
This year Buddies Welcome Newbies will be celebrating its sixth year of welcoming newcomers to the American Translators Association annual conference! After its debut in San Antonio in 2013, Buddies Welcome Newbies has grown to become a well-known event right before the Welcome Celebration of the ATA conference. Designed as an icebreaker for those attending the conference for the first…
Book Review: Revising and Editing for Translators
Reblogged from Amper Translation Service blog, with permission, incl. the image Recently I came across a reference to a book on editing that caught my attention, partly because I hadn’t encountered many comprehensive guides on editing at that point and partly because this one was specifically aimed at translators. It turned out that the work had been around since 2001…
International Translation Day 2018 – Go out, tell the world, be bold!
Have you heard? ATA is encouraging translators and interpreters to celebrate International Translation Day (ITD) in a BIG way this year! A new United Nations resolution passed in 2017 celebrates the work of translators and interpreters, and to celebrate this huge step in gaining recognition for our profession, ATA is hosting a social media blitz on September 28, 2018. We…
Get out the vote 2018
ATA members should vote! We get the leaders we vote for. ATA is fortunate to have an all-volunteer Board of Directors that dedicate their time and energy to directing and bettering our organization. These directors and other specific positions are elected at an annual meeting of voting members during the annual conference each year. In September, ATA always gives voters…
Top 10 Tips for New Freelance Translators
Reblogged from Translator Thoughts blog, with permission, incl. the image If you’ve never worked in the translation industry independently before, it can be quite a daunting world to step into. How do I find work? Where do I advertise my skills? What competition am I facing? But do not fret! Help is at hand. Read our top 10 tips for…
Hone Your Craft Before You Sell—How I Would Have Practiced as a Newbie in Hindsight
I made almost every mistake in the book when I was starting out as a translator. However, I recently reflected on what I would have done differently if I knew then what I know now. This led me to come up with a specific self-practice process simulating real-world working conditions that I wish I had followed before selling my…