ATA conferences

Translator Exercise Routines?

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Translator exercise routines. XD Photo credit: https://twitter.com/translationtalk

The whiteboard pictured above made its appearance at this year’s American Translators Association conference, and it kept us entertained all weekend long:

As you can see, a lot of us weighed in. There are many gems in there–I’m partial to the one about running from court to jail and back–but the whole thing got me thinking about how this is a really important question. How do we stay healthy and manage our stress?

The number of serious responses both on the whiteboard and on Twitter clue us in to the fact that exercise really does work:

We’re all different, but we all need to get this whole fitness thing done somehow. So I figured I’d share the set of tools I personally use to get the job done. Here we go…

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The Best-Ever Response to “What Do You Translate?”

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The plaque on the outside the building of Faulkner House, 624 Pirate's Alley, New Orleans.

I’m writing this from New Orleans, replete with local food, watching the riverboats and unwinding after the American Translators Association’s annual conference. No, I’m not just trying to make you jealous. This is all relevant information, I promise. The ATA conference is fun and productive every year, but this year one of my favorite moments … Read more

“Pictures and Sound” Presentation Slides

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Image saying "Pictures and Sound: Translating Television and Other Audiovisual Media."

As many of you know, last month, I gave a presentation at the 55th annual American Translators Association conference called “Pictures and Sound: Translating Television and Other Audiovisual Media.” After the presentation, a few attendees asked me for copies of the slides. At the time I replied that I had no plans to release them, … Read more

Pictures and Sound: Audiovisual Terminology

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Tomorrow November 8th, I’ll be presenting my first-ever American Translators Association conference session. If you’ve ever wondered what translating audiovisual content is all about, come join me for session T-10: “Pictures and Sound: Translating Television and Other Audiovisual Media” from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. So that attendees don’t have to give themselves hand cramps … Read more

Guest Post: What Exactly Is Literary Translation? by Lisa Carter

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At the ATA‘s 54th Annual Conference in San Antonio last fall, I had a chance to chat with Lisa Carter of Intralingo, one of my favorite blogs on literary translation. One thing led to another, and we got to thinking about how everyone probably defines “literary translation” differently. Lisa tackles the question of “What is literary translation?” in her online course First Steps in Literary Translation, and I tackle it whenever people wander into my office asking “What do you do in here, anyway?”

So hey–why not each have a go at it and let our readers share their thoughts, too? And lo, a guest post exchange was born. Please welcome acclaimed Spanish>English translator Lisa Carter as she gives us her take! (You can see mine on her blog at https://intralingo.com/posts/what-is-literary-translation.)

 

What exactly is literary translation?

By Lisa Carter

 

Have you ever asked yourself this question? I have. And I’ve asked it of others, too. Quite often. The answer to this one simple question is never as straightforward as it would seem it should be. You see, the answer changes, depending on who you talk to and when you talk to them.

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2013 in Review, Part 1 – Filthy Lucre

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Learning from the past is good for us! Which is surely part of why one of the popular topics each January is the “Year in Review” post, like those I recently read by fellow translators. Two favorites: Corinne McKay uses some questions to take stock—”what went right in 2013, what needs to go better in 2014, and where do you want to be a year from now?” and Carolyn Yohn looks back at the goals she set for 2013 and evaluates where she is now in relation to them.

These list-format posts are popular for some very good reasons, and it’s not just that we human beings love lists (though we do). It’s because:

  1. We humans love lists!
  2. Actively summarizing things helps us understand them. Just like a recap at the end of an essay helps the reader understand it, the very act of summarizing events in your own life helps you, the writer, to understand them better.
  3. Learning from our past = good. Hopefully we’ll do more of the things that had good results and remember not to do some of the things that had bad results. And we can tell ourselves it’s for the readers, too: maybe they can avoid some of our mistakes or repeat some of our successes!
  4. Knowing where we are in the present = crucial. It’s pretty hard to honestly confront where we are in life, which is why it can be painful to get on the scale at the doctor’s office or terrifying to see a financial planner. But if you don’t know where you are, you’re less likely to get where you want to go.

So, okay! I will follow my colleagues’ example and figure out where I am. What the heck did I do in 2013, anyway?!

Read on for Part 1, the money side of things, or stay tuned for Part 2, the professional development side.

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ATA Conference Notes from a Buyer’s Perspective

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I saw and learned so much last week at my first American Translators Association conference that it will definitely take some time to process it all! But I had the unusual experience of attending for the first time both as a translation vendor and as a translation buyer, and there were definitely some things I noticed from a buyer perspective that I found fascinating.

So, all you freelance translators out there: here are four things that make you leave a good or bad impression on a potential client.

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