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 professional associations, you can often publish a public profile. Clients use this profile to decide who to work with. It should be brief, but it has to tell your story. However, sometimes our public profile is not visible. Go to your profile settings on the platform your association uses and verify that your profile is visible. You can generally select items from your profile to share publicly, such as your phone, address, email, and social media profiles. Be intentional about what you share. This information can be seen by the public. That means both your clients and other people…
Ramadan: A month of joy, celebration and fasting
By Hicham Zerhouni For over 1.5 billion Muslims around the world, Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim Calendar, is the holiest time of year. For Muslims, it marks the month when the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). During Ramadan Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset for 29 or 30 days, depending on the moon sighting of…
Minutes from The Savvy Newcomer Logbook
June 15, 2015. After a few months of letting The Savvy Newcomer ship fly the flags of other bloggers, the Captain and Crew had a team meeting to rediscover the world of original content. It had been a few months since they had connected as a team, and thanks to the valiant efforts of Mate Christaki, who had valiantly kept…
Feeling lazy? A sure-fire way not to get work
By Riccardo Schiaffino Reblogged from About Translation blog with permission from the author Novice translators often get advice on how to get work and how to successfully conduct their freelance business. Several leading translators, in fact, have published books aimed at less experienced colleagues (among these books, I especially recommend those by Corinne McKay, the Jenner twins and Chris Durban). However, what if…
Feeling lazy? A sure-fire way not to get work
By Riccardo Schiaffino Reblogged from About Translation blog with permission from the author Novice translators often get advice on how to get work and how to successfully conduct their freelance business. Several leading translators, in fact, have published books aimed at less experienced colleagues (among these books, I especially recommend those by Corinne McKay, the Jenner twins and Chris Durban). However, what if…
24 Networking Tips that Actually Work
By James Clear Reblogged from ATA Chronicle with permission The idea of networking makes many people uncomfortable—or confused. It is easy to see why. When most people think about networking, it seems insincere at best—and selfish at worst. This, of course, is the complete opposite of what networking is supposed to be—friendly, useful, and genuine. It is easy for most of us…
The Interpreter’s Voice(s) – 1
By Brian Harris Reblogged from Unprofessional Translation blog with permission from the author (including the image) The other day I was reading a comprehensive manual of interpreter training by a Spanish friend when I came upon a quotation that confirmed something I’ve long suspected. It’s from an article by the late Hildegund Bühler. She ranks the qualities of a ‘good’ interpretation. Most Expert…
8 Skills you Must Have to Succeed as a Freelance Translator—and How to Get Them
By Tess Whitty Reblogged from Marketing Tips for Translators blog with permission from the author (including the image) Having been a freelance translator for over 10 years, I can definitely say it is my dream job. I love what I do. However, when I started researching a career as a freelance translator in 2002, I did not know much about the…
15 tips on how to increase your chances when contacting translation companies
By Riccardo Schiaffino Reblogged from About Translation blog with permission from the author Our tiny translation company does not advertise for translators, since we do most work internally or with the help of a small group of trusted colleagues. Yet, every day I receive on average a dozen messages from translators offering their services for various language combinations. Unfortunately, most of these messages…
11 tips for new freelance translators on the hunt for their first assignments
By Nicole Y. Adams Reblogged from NYA Communications blog with permission from the author (including the image) A while ago a new colleague on a translators’ forum asked for advice on how to secure those all-important first assignments and set up shop as a freelance translator. I think we’ve all been there when we started out and know how frustrating it can be to…
Our “Mother Tongue”: Keeping it Fresh in a Foreign Land
By Helen Eby Estemed friends, It seems to make much time that I don’t write to you.—Ramón, in “Ramón Writes,” an Argentine column published by the Buenos Aires Herald every two weeks, as a humorous take on Argentine Spanglish. Ramón had trouble saying such simple things as “It’s been a long time since I’ve written to you.” Today, we laugh…