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 Vistaprint. We think it's time to focus on the essentials, and we'd rather donate to the needy than buy more things, but we digress.

So here's our question for you. We all have a lot to be thankful for, in our private lives and in our professional lives. What are you the most grateful for this holiday season? If you are grateful to have a specific person in you business life, then pick up the phone and tell them -- or send a cute card. 

For us, it's easy. We are grateful for each other. There would be no Twin Translations without both twins. We are lucky that we get to work with our best friend every day.

We'd love to hear from you! Please leave a comment if you'd like. 

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, translation agencies and translation buyers. Please click on the links below rather than copying and pasting into an URL, as doing so will invalidate the link. This survey studies linguists based in the U.S.

Thanks, in advance, for helping a young colleague with her formal academic research!

1. Translators:
Click
here to answer a survey

2. Agencies:
Click
here to answer a survey

3. Buyers:
Click
here to answer a survey

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 your own. However, Caitilin, who is married to a Microsoft engineer, correctly pointed out that recent data suggests that it's easier to hack into accounts that have combinations of numbers and special characters than into accounts with four random words after another. Try it -- just choose four random words from the dictionary. We just tried this with our Mother Jones magazine and came up with defense/sense/similar/common. The image you see here came from this very funny website (visit the site for a larger image of the cartoon). Thanks for sharing, Caitilin!

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 23 through December 31, 2011, we will be offering a 10% discount, so the price is now $270. Just mentioned that you saw this discount on Translation Times and we will give it to you! If a two-hour session is too much, then you might like the discounted one-hour session (regular: $150) at $135 for either yourself or someone you really love. Now for the small print: sessions must be booked and paid by December 31, 2011 (pre-payment is required), but can be redeemed for up to one year from purchase.

Happy holidays!

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 by Uruguayan journalist and Spanish-language expert Ricardo Soca. The e-mail presents one highly useful word a day and gives you a lot of interesting historical and etymological background on the term. It's a quick, fascinating read, and it makes us feel a bit smarter every day.

To sign up for free, please visit the Spanish-language link of La palabra del día.

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 and interpreters. That's why we were very excited to hear that Common Sense Advisory had teamed up with InterpretAmerica, a national forum for the interpreting profession run by Katharine Allen and Barry Slaughter Olsen, and had been commissioned to do the first-ever study on interpreting in the North American market. The entire 88-page report is available for free on the InterpretAmerica website. 


Here are some of the main findings as detailed by Nataly Kelly, chief research officer at Common Sense Advisory (CSA), on the CSA blog:

• Most interpreters specialize in multiple areas. The majority of interpreters reported working in diverse settings and across geographic boundaries, even though associations are divided on the basis of industry sector as well as countries, regions, and states or provinces.
• By and large, interpreters are translators. The vast majority of interpreters also do written translation work. Nearly eight out of 10 interpreters reported that they also work as translators. This does not mean that the reverse is true (that most translators are interpreters).
• Interpreters are getting older. The data reveals a clear "graying of the profession," as the majority of interpreters are now getting on in age, while smaller numbers of new recruits are entering the field.

You can download the entire study, titled "The Interpreting Marketplace: A Study of Interpreting in North America" by Nataly Kelly, Robert G. Stewart, and Vijayalaxmi Hegde here. Please remember that the Common Sense Advisory holds the copyright to the report. When citing the data, please be sure to attribute it to the source. Happy reading!

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 sector.

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 ended up having dinner with her in Santiago de Chile in April earlier this year, but we digress.

Tom's tote and laptop bag.

We could not believe that Tom gave us these gorgeous tote bags that his wife, artist Alison Ruth, had designed and made for us. Judy got a little teary-eyed when she received this fantastic gift. We are very grateful for this thoughtful present and will proudly carry our eco-friendly totes around town and across the world.

Now, we are not getting paid to say this, but wouldn't these make a great gift for a fellow translator, interpreter or small business owner in your life? You can order them on Alison's website, where she also offers a great variety of other useful, unique, handmade and very pretty gifts. Plus, it's nice to support another small business, isn't it? Alison is a very talented artist, and turns out she's been working with a needle and a thread for more than 30 years. We are very impressed, as we couldn't even knit a scarf in school. Thanks again, Alison and Tom!

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 there!



The New Mexico Translators and Interpreters Association is proud to announce a special session of Judy Jenner's popular and acclaimed Entrepreneurial Linguist seminar, Saturday, November 12, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Who: Judy Jenner
What: The Entrepreneurial Linguist: The Business-School Approach to Freelance Translation and Interpreting
When: Saturday, November 12, 2011 from 12:00-3:30 pm (bring a brown-bag lunch if you like; light refreshments provided during breaks)
Where: Albuquerque Public Schools City Center Building, 6400 Uptown Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109
How: Email nmtia.mail@gmail.com to register, and send a check for $15 (NMTIA members) or $40 (non-members) to: NMTIA, PO Box 36263, Albuquerque, NM 87176
More details: The seminar's website can be found here: http://www.entrepreneuriallinguist.com/