In my previous text, I told you a little bit about the idea of plain language. And I did my best to use plain language for that purpose 😉 In this text, I’m focusing on the subject of plain language in translation. Can you use plain language as a translator? Can you simplify the language of the texts you translate? How to apply the rules […]
Plain language. Prosty język. Lenguaje claro. Linguagem simples. Leichte Sprache. What is plain language? INTRO The first time I heard about plain language, or Simple English, was a long time ago, in my university days. Then, several years ago, the notion of prosta polszczyzna, or plain/simple Polish, came within my orbit. So, the concept of plain language has been around me for some time now. […]
Remember the MythBusters show? Today, I’m going to become a myth-buster myself, to bust a couple of common myths about translation and translators. What is a myth? Do I mean “a story from ancient times, especially one that was told to explain natural events or to describe the early history of a people”? Of course not. The myths I’m about to deconstruct here are, as […]
Technical writers! To the outside world, it may seem you’re experts-above-all, who know a technical area inside-out, every nook and cranny, and write this knowledge down in understandable English. Those who actually do the job know very well that this is partly true; technical writers have broad technical knowledge, but their expert knowledge often comes from subject-matter experts (SMEs). However, usually SMEs and technical writers […]
In my previous article, I gave you a long list of the key dictionaries (mostly online ones) that we use at Translatorion when translating and proofreading. I hope you’ve found them useful in your language-related activities. If you have any questions concerning more specialised dictionaries – feel free to ask. A dictionary is more than a tool – and the art of writing and translating […]
Translators and dictionaries – are they synonymous? For most people, I guess, a dictionary is the most typical artefact associated with translation. Well, for some people, translators are actually like walking dictionaries. But the truth is translators are NOT dictionaries incarnate – they do not know all the possible meanings of all the possible wor(l)ds. One thing is for sure, though: skilful and effective use […]
I think everyone has been through something like this at one point in their lives. You’re listening to a lecture, a webinar, or you’re just asking someone about something. For example, you’d like to know how a nuclear plant works. You get a very simple answer indeed: “In a coolant-filled vessel, fuel rods undergo a controlled nuclear reaction with the use of a moderator that […]
This happens all too often to freelance translators who start their journey. You buy your first Computer Aided Translation software (CAT), learn the basics, set up a project, and finish a job or two. There comes another job; and another; and another one. You feed your CAT with anything and everything that comes by, piling in projects. However, you don’t use the CAT to its […]
INTRO As long-time language learners, we may forget when and how the whole process of language acquisition started (and it may seem like there is no end to it ?). And yet, there must have been a time when we uttered our first words in the second language, and they didn’t have to be “mum” and “dad”. Are you able to track your language learning […]
Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash If you buy a blender, a washing machine, or a machine with conveyors for wrapping cardboard boxes with heat-shrink film, you’ll get an instruction manual, a user guide, or a similar document. Even though these three devices are radically different, their manuals share similarities, especially in the case of various industrial machinery. If you translate such texts, you’ll find […]