About

About this blog

There’s Something About Translation is a blog about the practicalities of life as a freelance translator, by a freelance translator.

Read on for useful tips and detailed guides on the things they don’t teach you in translator school, interviews with other translators for insights into what works (and what doesn’t), and reports on events and conferences to help keep informed about hot topics in the world of translation.

If you’re an aspiring translator, a newcomer to the industry or an experienced wordsmith, this is written for you.

There’s Something About Translation was described by Marci Alboher in the New York Times as a day-in-the-life blog with an insider’s perspective. Its content has been syndicated on Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist since 2007. More recently, There’s Something About Translation was ranked 6th in the Lexophiles list of Top 10 Blogs for Language Professionals
in 2009.

About Sarah

I’m Sarah Dillon, a full-time professional translator working from French, Spanish and German into first-language English. I’ve run my own freelance practice for over 5 years, have an MA in Technical and Specialised Translation and am actively involved with the UK’s Institute of Translators and Interpreters (ITI) and the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT). (For a full professional bio or if you’re interested in hiring me, see my business website www.sarahdillon.com.)

I write this blog based on my experiences as a freelance translator, and on the experiences of colleagues I meet.

I like translation a lot. Being my own boss, it would be easy to rest on my laurels but I never want to stop getting better. This blog is a way for me to share my learnings and chart my progress to world domination.

Originally from Co. Clare in the west of Ireland, I am currently based in Brisbane with my Australian husband. At times it feels like communicating between these two cultures is the biggest challenge of all.

Professional background

I’ve been providing freelance language services to businesses all over the world since 2004, but you can read me toot that particular horn over at my business website. Round these parts, it’s enough that I’m happy and busy in my work. (Note that I’m never too busy or too proud to consider new working partnerships, so don’t be shy about getting in touch if you have something I might be interested in.)

Particularly memorable jobs from my pre-translation life include selling non-slip industrial shoes to Germans, teaching English to French chemists, spray-painting the first Audi TTs and providing technical support to Swiss network administrators. I also pull a mean pint of Guinness and can clear out an Irish pub with aplomb come closing time. I like to think all this demonstrates the true diversity of my communication skills.

After graduating from my first degree in Ireland, I moved to London with my meagre possessions in a little handkerchief on a stick. I spent five years in the big smoke gaining great corporate experience and oh, a Masters in Technical and Specialised Translation.

It was here that I initially launched my freelance translation career from my little flat in Balham, in a desperate attempt to avoid taking the Tube during peak hours. Happily the factors motivating my career choices have expanded, as have my transport options.

Language background

Lots of people ask me if I work with Irish, so here’s the story:

I grew up in the west of Ireland speaking English as my first language. Like all schoolchildren in Ireland I was obliged to study Irish, or Gaeilge, until I finished secondary school at 17.

Like schoolchildren the world over, I disliked being obliged to do anything so I dropped Irish as soon as I could. (Like the proverbial hot potato, you might say.)

These days I have a healthy interest in Irish but an equally healthy awareness of my limitations. This is why I don’t run marathons or count Irish among my working languages.

Thankfully I’ve always been one to learn from my language mistakes.

When my university studies began in Limerick, I had a eureka moment when I realised that the best way to perfect a language was to live in an environment where it was spoken every day (clearly where I went wrong with Irish).

Luckily my lecturers agreed. I spent most of the next four years putting the ‘applied’ into my Applied Languages degree, with accredited work and study placements in France, Germany and Spain. These days I’m proud to be able to say that I lived and worked in five European countries over 10 years.

I’m now based in Brisbane, Australia, where most of the time I live a life of sunshine, outdoor activity and green initiatives. This is a feeble but well-meaning attempt to neutralise my enormous carbon footprint from all those frequent flights.