Happy Update: Helping a Colleague Recover

(Update: We have removed the donate button because this campaign has concluded. We are beyond grateful to all our friends and colleagues who have contributed. We are happy to report that Álvaro  now has a full-time court interpreting position in California and is doing much better! We raised more than $10,000 for Álvaro and his wife. Hard to believe, but true! See  here for the...

The True Spirit of Christmas: Helping a Colleague Recover

(Update: We have removed the donate button because this campaign has concluded. We are beyond grateful to all our friends and colleagues who have contributed. We are happy to report that Álvaro  now has a full-time court interpreting position in California and is doing much better! We raised more than $10,000 for Álvaro and his wife. Hard to believe, but true! See here for the update and...

Last-Minute Holiday Gifts for Translators and Interpreters

If you've had a crazy month and forgot to get presents for your favorite colleagues, then you might be panicking at this point. After all, it's December 22, so there isn't much time left. However, there's no need to give up on gifts even if it's a bit late. The following are the only items we could come up with that are directly related to our profession and require no shipping and no wrapping. Happy holidays! The...

Make It Meaningful

This is the season to be grateful, and indeed we are. We are also liking the many holiday cards we are receiving from family, friends, colleagues, clients and vendors from around the world. We don't want to sound ungrateful, but we wanted to bring up an important point that can turn a simple card into something meaningful as opposed to something that has no value. Let us elaborate. A few days ago, we received two cards from two people (actually, one person and one corporation) we had never heard of. Both had just signed their...

Sounds Fishy: Chinese Textile Company

Our friend Jennifer Horne recently sent us this information about a fishy-sounding translation project. We are happy to post it here to share it with colleagues who might have been contacted by this particular person as well.  Of course, one usually doesn't know for sure if the project is a scam until one has actually  been scammed. However, this project surely is full of red flags.  Does this one sound familiar? If yes, does anyone know how the scam works? Is it one of those where the "client" sends you a fraudulent...

The Wait Is Over: Mox Illustrated Guide to Translation

As of today, fans of Mox's hilarious translation and interpreting cartoons are in for a treat. Alejandro Moreno-Ramos, Mox's talented creator, released the long-awaited book of cartoons. We'd been keeping our fingers crossed that he would release it before the holidays, and here it is! We can't wait to receive our copies, and this is definitely the gift we've been looking forward to giving to friends and colleagues in...

Open Thread: What Are You Grateful For?

Ah, the holidays are here. Instead of being relaxed and serene, many of us are running around, stressed out about a million things we have to do. We try to buck the trend and try to not focus so much on stuff but rather on people and on the true spirit of the season -- whatever one's beliefs may be. In that spirit, our tally for items bought on Black Friday: $0. On Cyber Monday: $40 for new business cards, on sale at...

Online Survey for U.S.-Based Spanish/English Translators

We were recently contacted by Dina Nicolorich, an Argentine translator who is getting her graduate degree at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. She'd kindly asked us to complete a survey that is part of the research for her thesis, and we were happy to do so (it took less than 10 minutes). In the spirit of collegial collaboration, we promised Dina that we would spread the word, so if you have a few minutes, please fill out the highly confidential (this is Germany, after all) online survey. Dina is looking for translators,...

Password Security: Food for Thought

Today's food for thought comes courtesy of Caitilin Walsh, the president-elect of the American Translators Association. Judy and Caitilin were recently discussing password security, and how difficult it is to keep all our passwords straight. We've written about Keepass, the free password management software that we use. It can randomly assign complex passwords (with letters and special characters) or lets you create...

Discounted Entrepreneurial Linguist Sessions

We rarely promote our own services on this blog, but since the holidays are coming up and many are looking for presents for the translator/interpreter in their lives, we wanted to share an offer we came up with for Judy's Entrepreneurial Linguist consulting sessions. Here are the details. The regular rate for the completely customized two-hour session (in person in the Las Vegas areas or via Skype) is $300. From November...

Spanish-Language Word of the Day

There's nothing quite like learning something new -- and as translators and interpreters, we do need to learn new things, specifically new words, on a regular basis to expand our vocabulary. We've long been addicted to "La palabra del día" (word of the day), and we know many fellow Spanish translators who also love this daily dose of wisdom. It's a free e-mail sent by La Página del Idioma Español. The site was founded...

ATA Boston 2011: Video Highlights

For those of you who did not make it to the ATA conference in Boston and for those of you who would like to relive the memories: enjoy this video, produced by the ATA! See you in San Diego next year...

Interpreting Marketplace Study Available for Free

Many of our readers might be familiar with the Common Sense Advisory, the only research firm that studies the translation, interpreting and localization market. Every year, they produce a myriad of in-depth reports and studies about our industry. Their clients are language service providers and companies of all sizes around the world -- and naturally, not freelancers who do not have the need for formal marketing research. However, the data is highly interesting, but also a tad on the expensive side for individual translators...

Interpreters: Life/Death

We've really enjoyed sharing this public service announcement video by TAHIT (Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators), and many of you might have already seen it. If not, you are in for a very powerful message. Our new favorite newsletter for interpreters, Interprenaut, featured this video in last month's newsletter. Have a look at a situation when interpreters can make the difference between life and death. This is a great video to underline the vital importance of interpreters, especially in the healthcare...

Tote Bags for Translators and Interpreters

Our Twin Translations totes. A lot of great things happened to Judy during last week's American Translators Association (which she attended sans twin), but one of her favorite moments was receiving a surprise gift from fellow translator Tom Ellett. Tom, who lives in Ontario, Canada, is always full of great ideas. You might remember that he was the one who recommended graphic designer Sandra Busta to us. We actually...

Upcoming Workshop in Albuquerque: November 12

For those of you in the American Southwest who did not have the chance to attend last week's fantastic American Translators Association 52nd Annual Conference in Boston, there are many wonderful seminars in your neck of the woods that don't include a trip across the country. We wanted to let you know about the Entrepreneurial Linguist workshop that Judy will be giving in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the New Mexico Translators and Interpreters Association on November 12. Please see below for more info. Hope to see you...

ATA Conference in Boston: Where to Find Judy

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since the two of us met up in Denver to attend the 51st Annual ATA Conference in 2010. Unfortunately, this year there won't be a twin reunion at the conference. Dagy has other commitments in Europe, and will be in the U.S. for a full month starting in early December.  As our dear readers might know, Judy is all about meeting up with friends old and new. Here's...

Google Adwords: Another $100 Up For Grabs

We've been receiving a lot of these free Google Adwords coupons lately, and we are happy to give them away. There's no catch at all. The only thing is that whoever get it has to be a new user of Google Adwords -- which we are not. So: we are giving away a $100 certificate for Google Adwords. As usual, you have to answer a question. This one is a bit trickier. We will give the certificate to whomever answer the question correctly (if there are several folks, we will draw names). The certificate must be used by November 30, and...

Sounds of Nature

The "light thunderstorm" theme. As always, our web guru is responsible for one of our newest obsessions: Ambient Mixer. It's a free website that lets you listen to some very relaxing sound recordings of things like rain, beach, etc. We are particularly fond of the scuba diving recording (even though it's a bit spooky), grassland and rain, rain, rain. There are also some oddball recordings to be found, including...

Enciphering Web-Based E-Mail

This nifty tip comes from our resident web guru, who's great at finding free new tools that make our lives easier -- and safer. It's an online encryption method that works with web-based e-mail accounts (and Outlook, too). It's also an excellent tool for sending important information via Facebook. There's nothing to download and it's completely free. Here's how it works: 1) You copy and paste the text you want to encrypt on the website https://encipher.it/2) You create an encryption password3) You send the message, and...

Kiva Needs You: Volunteer Translators (Spanish->English)

As our readers might know, we are big fans of micro-lending site Kiva, and we've posted about their need for volunteer translators before. Kiva just recently contacted us again and asked us to help spread the word about their need for Spanish->English translators. We think doing pro bono translations is a wonderful way to give back to the community. This is also a great alternative for relatively...

Affordable Promotional Items

Close-up. Our dear readers might know that we think it's very important to keep marketing and advertising costs low for small businesses. Many small businesses fail because they can't control their expenses, particularly on the advertising and promotions side, so we don't want any T&I businesses to fall into this trap. Luckily, most of our advertising is done on the web, which is largely free except for the cost...

Upcoming Webinar: Pricing Strategies

Conference season is here and we are excited to attend workshops and events around the U.S. and Europe. However, professional development from the comfort of your own home is also fantastic, and Judy is looking forward to presenting a session on "Pricing for Translators" on Monday, October 17, 2011 at 4 p.m. British Summer Time (see the world clock to convert to your time zone). It is being  offered by eCPD...

Vienna in December

Living room. Can you spot Junia? As our dear readers know, Dagy lives in Vienna, Austria, while Judy lives in Las Vegas, NV, USA. In spite of this formidable distance, we spend a lot of time together. This year, we've already had more than two months of twin time, and there's more to come: Dagy and her other half are going to spend the Christmas holidays in Las Vegas, which is fantastic. The only challenge: finding...

NOTIS Event in Seattle: Last Day to Sign Up

Time flies -- it's International Translation Day again this Friday! Have a great day, dear translators and interpreters around the world. Many associations are putting on events, parties and get-together to celebrate the event, and we even heard that the Florida association is going on a cruise.  Judy is happy and honored to have been invited to celebrate our big day by giving two workshops at the Northwest Translators...

Handmade Cards for International Translation Day

Back in June, Judy had the pleasure of meeting multi-talented translator Justyna Mackowska in Dublin, Ireland, where Judy gave a presentation at the Irish Translators' and Interpreters' Association. Justyna came bearing gifts: an adorable handmade card with sheep on it (Judy loves fluffy Irish sheep). Now Justyna came out with a fabulous new card in honor of International Translation Day (September 30). Have a very close...

Online T&I Courses Offered by Prestigious German University

Our dear colleague Bianca Blüchel of Germany just shared this professional development opportunity with us. The well-known Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz at Germersheim is offering  affordable online courses in both translation and interpreting this fall (classes run from October through December). These are for interpreters/translators who have German as one of their working languages (the website is entirely in German), and the line-up of classes is quite fantastic. The best part? You get to attend classes at...

Self-Exploitation, Anyone?

We recently learned about the launch of a new website. Its business model made us wonder if the industry has hit a new low. Meet London-based www.sostranslatorchat.com (we are purposely not providing a link to this site, and you will see why). They seem to find it appalling that translators, just like any other professional service providers, traditionally charge minimum fees. So they set out to change that, offering clients chat-style “translations” at no minimum charge, live and online, whether they need a few words or merely...

Fill in the Blank

Now that Judy has gone back to school for one class -- criminal law at a local college-- ten years after finishing her MBA, we thought it was time for one of those "fill in the blank" questions that seem to be so popular on university exams. We were thinking -- what does the internet (or Internet, depending on the style guide) mean to you professionally? Fill in the blank: "The Internet is ________________________________." We'd love to hear what you have to say, dear reade...

Webinar Questions Answered

Thanks to the 100 language professionals from around the world (full house!) who attended Speaking of Translation's free webinar on August 31, which Judy was delighted to present. The topic was "Choosing your clients wisely: the benefits of being selective," and we received a number of good questions at the end of the session. Unfortunately, Judy wasn't able to answer them all, but here are two more questions and two more answers for your reading pleasure. Question: Do you recommend that translators track the inquiries that...

Google Adwords: EUR 50 Up For Grabs

It's time for another raffle -- we love raffles! We recently received a coupon from Google Adwords, but it's only for new users of this nifty online ad system, so we are not eligible to use it. Thus, we figured we'd raffle it off among our loyal readers. It's for EUR 50 and has to be used by the end of September.We will randomly choose a winner from the readers who answer the following question correctly: Dagmar has recently started learning a new language. Which one is it? Good lu...

Choosing Your Clients Wisely: Free Webinar on 8/31

We don't know about you, but we love free stuff, especially free professional development! Well, here's a free webinar for you: join Judy this Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 10 AM Mountain Time (convert it to your time zone) for a half-hour webinar on "Choosing your clients wisely: the benefits of being selective." The webinar is hosted by our friends and industry veterans Corinne McKay and Eve Bodeux through their Speaking of Translation webinar series.  There's no catch and no string attached. No one will try to sell you...

One Dog, Many Verbs and Nouns

Luna and one of her favorite toys, Foxy. Happy Friday, everyone! For those of you who haven't seen it, we wanted to share this amazing video of Chaser, the world's smartest dog (not surprisingly, she's a Border collie). Chaser knows more than 1,000 words and successfully responds to commands that involve both verbs and nouns, such as "paw lamb." After receiving that command, Chaser walks over to her toys and puts a...

Singular or Plural?

We've noticed a strange phenomenon lately. Perhaps you've heard of it. It goes like this: one-person companies that usually offer services have outstanding websites with lots of information about services provided, background, contact information, etc. It's fantastic that all these small businesses have a web presence. The strange thing is that we've realized that many of these solo providers -- whether they be graphic designers, accountants, freelance web developers, translators or interpreters -- refer to themselves in the...

Book Review: The Prosperous Translator

We've recently read several outstanding books about translation and interpreting, and it's time that we reviewed them. First up: Chris Durban's "The Prosperous Translator: Advice from Fire Ant & Worker Bee." Full disclosure: we received a free review copy of this book from Chris, who is a colleague and friend of Judy's. Of course, we receive quite a few books, and receiving a book doesn't guarantee a good review....