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.
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform industries, many translators and interpreters are asking themselves: Is there still a place for me? The answer is a resounding yes, but it comes with an important caveat. The future of translation and interpretation belongs to those who can do what machines cannot, that is, bring cultural competence, empathy, and context to language. At least, thus far. Cultural competence has always been at the heart of effective communication. It enables professionals to interpret meaning beyond words, including humor, idioms, tone, and intention within specific cultural frameworks. While AI can process vast amounts of…
What I Care About
By Helen Eby What have I learned over the last few months? I care about people. María Díaz. Wow! She was one of my students in a class in Woodburn. She was a nurse in Mexico, and came to the US because her son needed medical treatment. She knew no English when she came, but she had been managing five…
Medical Translation Regulations
By Surinder Singh Partly reblogged from The Language Blog by K International with permission from the author (including the image) Medical translation is serious business. Mistakes can be a matter of life or death. As such, medical translation is one of the most heavily regulated segments of the translation industry. Translation vendors and clients alike must navigate a complex labyrinth…
Buddies Welcome Newbies at ATA56
By The Savvy Newcomer Team If you’re a newbie to the American Translators Association, or to translation or interpreting in general, and you’re thinking of attending the ATA conference in Miami this November, then this post is for you – so read on! The Savvy Newcomer Team would like to tell you about an event that was a huge success…
Keeping a Steady Pace: Balancing work, volunteering, and family life
By Daniela Guanipa Derek Yorek was a complete stranger until he appeared on television this year, leading the world-famous Boston Marathon at mile one. He savored his accomplishment for literally five minutes of glory; then suffered for three endless hours until he crossed the finish line. One doesn’t have to be a marathoner to know that pushing oneself to the…
Top Five Benefits of Attending ATA’s 56th Annual Conference
By ATA’s President-Elect, David Rumsey Republished from The ATA Chronicle, June 2015, with permission from the ATA It’s that time again to start thinking about your plans for ATA’s Annual Conference. This year’s conference is being held in Miami, Florida, November 4-7, 2015. Maybe you’ve never attended, or maybe it’s been a while, but apart from the sunny weather and…
The Savvy Translation Blogger—Blogging Frequency, Blog Content, and Reblogs
By Catherine Christaki and David Friedman Here at the Savvy Newcomer, we often get questions from our blog readers about social media and blogging. We would like to share some answers and advice concerning some of these questions below and would like to encourage you to feel free to email us your questions anytime. Our topic of discussion today is…
Adaptation versus Translation
By Brian Harris Reblogged from Unprofessional Translation blog with permission from the author (including the image) A book I’ve been delving into (see Sources) and an article I’m composing myself both use the terms translation and adaptation. This obliges me to consider what the differences are between the two terms. Amongst academics, the old study of translation has now been joined by a…
All work and no play? How to achieve balance between your freelance translation work and the rest of your life
By Tess Whitty Long and irregular work hours seem to be the norm among freelancers, but it does not have to be this way. In fact, I am a living testament and firm believer that it should not be this way! Many highly successful freelance translators do not work long or irregular hours. Instead, they have learned to manage their…
The story of a U.S. Intern in France
By Kimberley Hunt I’m Kimberley, currently living in Paris as an intern at a translation agency. I’m also a French translation student at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. In Paris, I translate and proofread for the company’s finance division, which means I spend a lot of time reading annual reports and frantically searching glossaries for investment fund terminology with…
15 FREE Tools for Translators (and Not Only) that You Might Not Know You Need
By Flo Bejgu Reblogged from Inbox Translation blog with permission from the author (including the images) The advancements in technology have made it possible for people of different languages, traditions and customs to come into contact. As was expected, translators and interpreters quickly became essential for society, because they are the only ones who can make conversations between foreign individuals possible. Every translator…