The Savvy Linguist serves a worldwide community of translators and interpreters who are looking for practical solutions to everyday problems, ideas for growing their business, and support as they achieve their career goals. With high-quality, peer-reviewed content, you will find the answers to the questions you face as an innovative language professional.
… in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes Ben Franklin, in a letter written in 1789 How can we prepare to get through the storms of life? My mother-in-law, my husband and my mom died in the last six years. While I was deeply saddened by this, I still had to take care of most administrative issues for them and keep looking to the future. I wanted to have work and clients after this was over. As freelancers, our clients disappear when we disappear. How did I keep clients through these crises? Years…
When translation clients ask for favors
Here’s a situation we’ve all probably encountered: clients asking for favors. “Any chance you could quickly translate 25 words?” “Do you have time to look over a couple of sentences in a source document in your language?” “You’re so great with this piece of software; any chance you could take a quick look at a problem we’re having?” A client…
The Savvy Newcomer Resources page
It was a genius who said, “Never memorize something you can look up.” But as any good translator or interpreter knows, you have to know where to look it up as well! In this case, you’re in luck: The Savvy Newcomer has done the work for you with our Resources page. You can find the list, which contains links to…
Translator Competence
Reblogged from Carol’s Adventures in Translation blog with permission from the author (incl. the image) Translators and the need for speed I’m very excited to be writing a guest blog post for Caroline, who I met at the XXXIV Semana do Tradutor in Brazil in September. Caroline indicated that I was free to choose any topic relevant to translators or translation,…
Resources to Help Ensure Translation Payment
One of the questions that many newer translators ask is “How do I find good clients?” This question is often closely followed by a second: “How do I know they’re good?” To address this topic, specifically regarding scams and non-payment by translation clients, Ted Wozniak recently presented a session at the ATA conference titled “Ensuring Payment Before, During, and After…
What Happens When Translators Go on Autopilot
Personally, I do not believe specialized human translators who actively use their brains will ever be replaced by machines. But if you put your brain on autopilot and work like a machine, then you could be at risk of becoming some kind of zombie cyborg competing with full-fledged machines! Here are some common problems I have seen in myself and…
Translation Certificate vs. Certification
By Helen Eby and Daniela Guanipa “I have a certificate, therefore I’m certified.” Wrong! So, you completed a certificate in translation from institution XYZ, you were given a nice diploma of completion, and surely, you are now a happily “certified” translator, who can go on and certify translations, list yourself as a certified translator in professional databases, and so on,…
Tips on Getting and Keeping Agency Clients
After a ten-year stretch as director of the interpreting department for a mid-sized language company on the East Coast, I have recently reentered the freelance world. The language industry has changed considerably for independent contractors since I last worked as an interpreter, and while there is more work to be had, there are also more interpreters and more rigorous standards,…
Funny mistranslations in hotels
Reblogged from the Translation and l10n for dummies blog with permission from the author (incl. the image) Every translator, linguist, language lover and grammar nazi has been there. Wherever we travel, our eyes are checking everything around us for grammar and translation mistakes. The following mistranslations are some of the most ‘famous’ ones, they can be found in many webpages online. I…
Computer-Assisted Translation Tools: A Digest
I recently asked the community of translators on ATA’s Business Practices listserv to weigh in on the pros and cons of the Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools they use. The question sparked a well-attended discussion, and brought helpful insight on using CAT tools in translation. I have compiled the conversation’s highlights here for the benefit of all. Functions Translators first adopted…
NAJIT Scholar Program – May 19-21, 2017
Posted with NAJIT’s permission Our team at The Savvy Newcomer caught wind of a great opportunity for students and recent graduates – check out the information below to learn more! What is the NAJIT Scholar Program? The Scholars program of the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT) selects up to five scholars currently enrolled in or who have…