May

23

Swear-way to heaven: everything you ever wanted to know about cussing

Filed Under languages | 2 Comments

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Catching up on past episodes of Lingua Franca, I was amused to hear a pair of experts in linguistics, Dr. Keith Allan and Prof. Kate Burridge, describe taboo subjects and the way in which we use slang and swear words to censor our language. It can’t be easy for academics to speak about [...]

May

16

Beware the fine line between spamming and "reaching out"

Filed Under client relationships, freelance workers, starting up in translation | 1 Comment

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Translators who buy email lists of industry contacts to send their CV to, beware: you could be making enemies of the very people you wish would hire you.
As editor-in-chief of Wired, an online magazine reporting on technology trends across all spheres of society, Chris Anderson is a key industry leader. So if you [...]

May

12

Adding a frisson of excitement to dictionary use

Filed Under translation profession, working habits | Leave a Comment

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John McGrath over at Errata has made it official. Bulky printed dictionaries, the mainstay of translators the world over, are now fetish objects - how very exciting.
Check out his full post here.

May

9

Is Skype overrated for business use?

Filed Under freelance workers, technology for translators | 3 Comments

Skype is running an advertising campaign with a difference. They’ve kitted out Rebecca, their 26-year-old Australian travel nomad, with some mobile Skype gear. She has to remain in perpetual motion for 33 days while travelling around the world, using Skype to blog, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and MySpace her way into our hearts and minds. [...]