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CAT |  |
General
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Tool Kit * It's a Whole New World Out There—XLIFF Finally Finds the Support It Deserves XLIFF is a new standard for exchange of translation data that is finally finding some support among some tool vendors. This article gives you an overview of why we need this standard and how translators can benefit.
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Tool Kit * Playing the Name Game A plea for an overhaul of terminology in the translation industry. Is "CAT" a good term and what are some alternatives?
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Tool Kit * Quality Assurance and Translation Memory Computer-assisted translation tools are widely accepted among professional translators to streamline translation. How can we use these tools to implement quality assurance beyond the bare-bones-approach of repetition? Here are some tips.
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Tool Kit * What Makes a Translation Environment Tool a Good TEnT? A minimal best-practice checklist for translation environment tool developers.
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Translating Adobe FrameMaker and InDesign files in Across A brief guide to working with Adobe FrameMaker and InDesign Files in Across. Many translators hesitate to take on projects involving these programs, this guide attempts to demystify the translation process for these files.
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Немного об автоматизированном переводе Brief explanation of CAT tools principle and problems freelancer may have with the "beast".
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Trados
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Getting Started with TRADOS Freelance in Two Minutes Hopefully this article will help you get rid of all prejudices against TRADOS and begin using basic Trados FL functions in two minutes. To do so, you only need to focus on vitally important Trados features and skip all the others.
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Visual Basic Run-time error 5 in MS Word 2000 How to fix the Microsoft Visual Basic run-time error 5 in MS Word 2000 because of corrupted Trados template
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Wordfast
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Exchanging TMs between Wordfast and TRADOS The article explains how to exchange TMs between Wordfast and Trados if they are saved in the .txm format.
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Translating Excel Files with Wordfast The article explains how to translate Excel files with Wordfast.
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Translating HTML Files with Wordfast This article is about translating HTML files with Wordfast. It is a step by step guide to translate HTML files using Wordfast.
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البداية مع وردفاست This is a quick practical guide to Wordfast. It aims at removing the barrier to learning CAT Tools through mastering this efficient easy-to-learn one. Reading this article, one is requested to do the exercise included to get familiar with Wordfast's main options and settings. Arabic-specific considerations are highlighted, as well.
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Computers and Technology | |
Hardware
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PDAs and the Interpreter Palm OS(r) based PDAs offer the possibility of keeping large amounts of data on a tiny footprint. While they currently do not offer every capability a notebook computer can, their use in the interpreting booth can be convenient and space-saving, and they can faciltitate the review of documents and terms on the road.
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Multilingual Computing
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Articles on Multilingual Computing Authored and Co-Authored by Jeff Allen Descriptions and links to a number articles already published by Jeff Allen. These topics relate to Machine Translation in general, Machine Translation postediting, localization, speech technologies, speech-to-speech translation, minority language translation tools, and even using the Bible to train translation systems.
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Improved Translation Quality with Machine Translation Dictionary
Building This article describes a project which specifically aimed at improving the quality of Machine Translation (MT) output by creating a custom user MT dictionary. Productivity results are provided as well as examples of the resulting output.
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Operating Systems
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Is It Possible to Translate on a Mac? A summary of the translation tools available for Mac OS X.
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Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows and Word for Translators The use of mouse is one of the main triggers of Repetitive Strain Injury, tendinitis and other similar muscolosceletal disorders. Sufferers of these disorders report that they feel less pain when typing compared to when mousing. Thus, a desire to avoid mouse as much as possible. Once keyboard shortcuts have been mastered then one can work much faster and be more productive.
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Linguas OS - Linux for Translators: a Review of Linguas OS Linguas OS is a Linux distribution created specifically for professionals in the translation industry, including Free Open Source Software tools to perform all of the tasks that professional translators must do every day in their work.
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Switching to Another Operating System
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Software
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Desktop Search Programs This article offers a brief overwiew of some new desktop search programs, such as Google, Yahoo, AOL, Microsofts and others. It explains how they work and how to get and use them, providing the links to the Internet websites from which you can download them.
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How to Translate PDF Documents (Using a Heterogeneous Set of Tools) This article describes a workflow for translating text documents which are only available in the PDF format. A heterogeneous set of tools is used, consisting of free and non-free software. The workflow is ad hoc and it is meant to illustrate what you can do, not what you should do.
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PDF and TIFF files We will describe an optional way of transforming Acrobat Reader files into files that can be read by Microsoft Office Word. The following method can be used to convert .PDF text files to MS Word files. It will not convert images or tables. Word files are needed, if we will use a CAT tool, such as Trados, SDLX, or Wordfast. In this way, we can also distribute a large PDF file among several translators, proofreaders, or editors.
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PPT.Helper: A real help! Though there are several ways to translate PowerPoint files, ppt.helper is the easiest and most effective.
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Tool Kit * Are We Not Profitable? Perhaps translators need to take a more business-like approach to their work? You can't economize on (or rely on a pirate copy of) something that ensures your business's survival!
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Tool Kit * Dealing With the PowerPoint Nightmare Although PowerPoint is one of the formats that hardly any translator can escape it is clearly the most tedious of the Office programs for translation.
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Tool Kit * Software Localization Tools? Do We Really Need Those? What are software localization tools? Do translators need to invest in other tools than translation memory tools? Maybe not but this article gives you an overview of what these tools are and who could benefit from using them.
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Tool Kit * The Quasi-Religious Aversion to PCs You may not like PCs for good reason, but does stubbornness pay?
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Tool Kit * Translating Help Systems Translating help systems without expensive help authoring systems.
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Tool Kit * Translating Software Development Formats: The "Flat File View" Navigating the plethora of software development formats and tips on how to translate them.
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Translating Desktop Publishing Formats: Fiendish Files and Funky Formats The common denominators of desktop publishing programs seem to be these: they are expensive, they're not very intuitive for users, and they present considerable obstacles for translators.
This doesn't sound good, but here are the brighter aspects: Yes, they are expensive, but you may not even need to have them installed on your computer when you translate them. They are very difficult to learn on a real expert level—after all, desktop publishers and prepress specialists are well-paid professionals—but as translators we only need to translate the files, not design them.
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From Language to Literature | |
Chinese Cultural Knowledge
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2008 Beijing Olympic Game Meets Challenge：Chicken without sexual life? With the 2008 Beijing Olympic coming soon, China is faced with a serious problem—how to express their culture clearly through accurate Chinese translation. Dish translation is one of the utmost important aspects pertaining to conveying Chinese culture.
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What are the differences between Chinese Simplified and Chinese Traditional. This article is basically a Comparison between Simplified Chinese and the Traditional Chinese in the context of English to Chinese translation, and it's only intended to provide some very basic information to people who are looking for Chinese translators but do not quite know much about the differences of the two variations.
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Differences between Brazilian and European Portuguese
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Are There Many Differences Between Brazilian and European Portuguese? With this article, I intend to share a little bit about my experience as a Brazilian translator living in Portugal for about 8 years.
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Techniques | |
Localization
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How to Translate AutoCAD Drawings with Unicode Characters Using TRADOS or Other CAT Tool Describes 3 methods on how to translate AutoCAD drawings with Unicode Characters. Professional translators are used to work with Translation Memory software packages that help them to re-use repeated phrases, and check words in specialized glossaries, but AutoCAD doesn't have this capability itself.
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Localization Life Cycle Establishing a localization agency is not as easy as it may seem. In this brief illustration, we will try to draw the outlines of the localization cycle.
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Proofreading
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Correct Your French or English Web Site (or Your Clients’) with WebElixir. Typing, spelling or grammar mistakes on translators’ web sites are the worst – to look like a professional, you must look totally professional in all your texts and presentations. It does not matter how “good” you are at translation; if your web site does not reflect this, you loose. There is now a tool to spot those pesky mistakes in your html code before they hurt you.
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Proofreading Your Work An often-overlooked step in the translation process, proofreading is nonetheless essential to providing clients with the best possible translation. This article outlines the best tips & techniques to ensure accuracy and perfection in the final document.
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Review of Translation Quality Assurance Software*
Comparison of three of the most popular TQA tools in order to find out their strengths and weaknesses, and therefore help translators, project managers and proofreaders to select the optimal TQA tool for any particular job.
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Terminology
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Search Tools for Translators How to make the best use of online linguistic resources: the present and future of terminological research from the freelancer's point of view.
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Tool Kit * Terminology Management Translation memory users tend to underuse the terminology management component of their CAT tools. This article is a plea for greater consideration of these important components.
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Translating Together With Another Colleague
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Dual Translation and Its Benefits This article looks at the benefits and prerequisites of the technique of dual translation, which consists of having two professionals partner together in translating in order to maximize the quality of the outcome and shorten the time put toward producing a quality translation ready for use.
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الترجمة الثنائية وفوائدها Dual translation and its benefits. This article looks at the benefits and prerequisites of the technique of dual translation, which consists of having two professionals partner together in translating in order to maximize the quality of the outcome and shorten the time put toward producing a quality translation ready for use.
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Translation
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“Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody”: Can THIS ‘story’ be translated into Arabic?
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Software Localization versus Translation The article explains the differences between software localization and translation.
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Translating a Website A short guideline to translating Websites.
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Tips for Direct Clients | |
Globalization
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Analyzing English Brand Names for Chinese Market.
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Translation for the Global Travel Industry: Attention to Detail Pays As the World Travel Market takes place in London, Christian Arno, director of one of the UK's leading translation agencies, considers how travel industry professionals can achieve a return on their investment in language services.
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Web site Translation as a Way to Promote Your Business Internationally Nowadays a multilingual Web site is a must for successful international
business. Find out about translation services for your Web site and how they
can bring you maximum revenue in foreign internet market.
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How to Buy a Translation
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Misconceptions about Translation The article gives some general information about what translators do and what they generally do not do.
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Tips for Saving Money on Translation In our globalised world translation services are often a vital necessity as well as an unavoidable business overhead. There are, however, certain easy steps that can be taken in order save money on translations.
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Translation Services: How to Hire a Translation Services Provider. If your company is involved in international business, one thing is certain – sooner or later you’ll need to hire a translation services provider (TSP). Naturally, you want a high quality translation at the lowest possible cost.
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Trouver un traducteur ; l’achat d’une traduction Une collection de tuyaux et de précautions à prendre si vous avez un document à faire traduire.
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Translation Agencies | |
Tips for Project Managers
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The Insider’s Guide to Project Management in Translation Agencies There’s no denying that translation project management is not without its stresses...
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Working as a Freelancer | |
Dealing with Agencies and Direct Clients
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“Show me the money!!” — Credit Control for Translators You pay your bills on time don’t you? Why shouldn’t they? You’ve done the work so they have to pay… This article describes techniques for calling in unpaid invoices.
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20 Rules for Dealing with Agencies and Direct Clients Here are a few tips for dealing with direct clients and translation agencies (based on personal experience and accounts of colleagues):
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What's the point of doing a test? The 'cons' of being tested (no pros here!)
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Whether or Not to Perform a Short Unpaid Test To agree or not on performing a short unpaid test is a very difficult decision to make. On the one hand, agencies have the right to get to know your skills before hiring you. On the other hand, you have the right to get paid for your time. This article is advising translators to perform tests in exchange for a flat fee so that the rules of professionalism apply for translators as they do for other professionals.
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Working for Translation Agencies as a Freelancer: A Guide for Novice Translators The article includes a few practical tips for beginner translators on how to work with translation agencies on a freelance basis. It discusses such issues as job acceptance and assessment, agency verification, purchase orders, deadlines, quality assurance, readability and accuracy of translation, as well as payment.
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Немного о технологии перевода Some moments of translation technology that are not so clear for clients of a freelancer.
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 Off-Site Articles
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On Negotiations (by Roger Chriss) How to get what you want while negotiating with an agency or direct client.
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How to become a translator and/or (court) interpreter
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Finding Your Way in Translation Today Several helpful hints prepared in the form of a PowerPoint presentation for those of you making only first steps in the cyber world.
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Should I Become A Translator? Answers to questions asked by those interested in translation as a career.
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So You Want to be a Translator.
Reflections of a Fairly Young Translation Entrepreneur One translator’s take on the pros and cons of the translation trade drawn from her own experiences.
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Tips for Breaking into Today’s Translation World Once you have come to a decision and if the answer is yes, do not hesitate!
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Marketing Tips
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9 Rules of Marketing Some essentials on effective ways to sell yourself as a professional freelance translator.
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Blogging as a Professional Translator and Interpreter Through this article we are going to observe how your blog can help you promote your translation and interpretation services.
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How to Build a Professional Web Site In this howto you will find some valuable tips on how you can build a professional and appealing web site that reflects your quality and business strategy. It is aimed at beginners as well as translators with more advanced html knowledge.
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More Marketing Tips Advice and ideas on how to attract new clients for your translation business.
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Promote Your Translation Services Through the Open Directory Project If you want to promote your translation services get your website listed in the Open Directory Project.
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Tips on setting up and marketing your new website This article gives tips on setting up a new website for beginners. From finding a hosting service to publishing your first website. Also included are tips on search engine optimization to help bring more traffic to your website, to enable the major search engine web crawlers to easily locate all of the necessary information and to get your website listed higher in the rankings.
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The freelance translator from A to Z
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1 مهنة المترجم التحريري المستقل من الألف إلى الياء The article summarizes the content of the series of recommendations (that will follow) and gives some reading keys. It is mainly intended to guide freelance and/or in-house translators through the practical sides of the profession, and encourages them to ask themselves some crucial questions.
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2 تنظيم الوقت والالتزام الشخصي وما يلف لفه
Title: Time organization and personal commitment. The second article of the series shows the practical importance of time management in order to produce both quantity and quality. It focuses on the deadline and its meaning in the translation industry.
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3 آليات عمل المترجم التحريري المستقل (الجزء الأول) Title: Work tools; Email; Bank Account; Postal Address; Mobile Phone; CV; Website; Fax, Scanner and OCR. The third article provides a brief presentation of the work tools as they should be used and adapted to the particular needs of the professional freelance translator.
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4 آليات عمل المترجم التحريري المستقل (الجزء الثاني) Title : Work tools ; Internet connection ; Hardware and Software. The fourth article aims to present useful and minimum Hardware and Software required to be able to do translation jobs. It gives a panoramic overview of the commonly used tools.
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5 (آليات عمل المترجم التحريري المستقل (الجزء الثالث Title : Work tools; glossaries; search engines; corpora; professional websites and forums. The fifth article studies some key functions in the use of glossaries and corpora with a selected list of specialized references. A valuable contribution of Mohammad Didaoui, Head of the Arabic Translation at UNO Geneva, about Technology and Heritage in Arabic translation, ends the article.
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6 التعامل مع الزملاء؛ تكوين فريق عمل؛ تقاسم أعمال الترجمة الكبرى Title: Dealing with colleagues; translators’ teams; sharing big translation projects. This sixth article tries to tackle some features of translators team work. It gives a picture of the professional scenery analyzing daily practices among and between translators.
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Tips for Translators
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Home Sweet Home—A Mother’s Guide to a Career at Home as a Translator Important aspects of working as a translator at a home based office. A short guide to this job for translators, who have children and who, realistically speaking, are mostly
women and mothers.
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How Valuable Time Can Be to a Freelance Translator and How To Organise Your Workday and Life A common and widespread assumption among those who are not familiar with this job is that being a freelancer implies more freedom of movement than working as an employee. In practice, you can work "when" and "if" you decide to. On the contrary, unless you pay the due attention to the organisation of your time, you will discover how easily your job will turn to a kind of prison.
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Knowing Your Capabilities Is Knowing Your Limitations How to determine what your specialist fields are and establish your daily output.
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My Golden Rules for Quality Assurance Methods that help me to meet the quality requirements of the most demanding customers from various countries and areas of business, both translation agencies and direct customers
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Organizing Your Project Files Translators need to store a surprising number of electronic documents efficiently to cope with their daily workload. A tidy folder structure for the specific requirements of freelancers can save the day. The author succinctly describes one way to stay organized.
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Wordsmith Quality Model WQM 10 – An Attempt to Make a Homebrewed Quality Model Quality, like any product or service is a mixture of many tangibles and intangibles. Same in the case of translation and localization sector. I would rather say that Quality in this business is all the more complex and nuanced. Our Quality Model, called LQM-10 or 10 point Language Quality Model is a weighed average of the factors described in this article. However no quality model can be said to be perfect and exhaustive.
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Off-Site Articles
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Polishing Your Translation Style (by Ivan Vandermerwe) Polish your translation style, and win more jobs from your clients! That’s right-“win” more jobs. Clients have a wealth of resources in the Internet, and they can easily find countless translators online for their projects by doing a simple search in Yahoo! or Google. Minor improvements to your translation style will ensure that clients think of you before going to the major search engines. Read on and profit!
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Tips for Translators (by Chantal Wilford) Chantal Wilford offers a lot of good, solid advice for those just starting out, as well as for experienced translators.
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Translation as a Profession
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A Short Guide to VAT for Translators in the EU This article is an attempt to battle through the acres of red tape and bureaucracy surrounding VAT in the EU, especially those bits relating to small businesses operating internationally - as freelance translators tend to be. It contains some (hopefully) useful information on whether or not you need to register for VAT and how VAT works across borders. It also contains links to relevant sites in all EU countries.
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Die Normalübersetzung in Österreich The article (in German, by Edith Vänghelov) describes the new Austrian Standard (ÖNORM D 120 t) for the certification of translation agencies (Übersetzungsbüros) and freelancers. "Nicht nur Schrauben kann man normieren. Auch Übersetzungen. Zumindest auf dem Papier. Seit 1999 gibt es dafür die ÖNORM D 1200 (Dienstleistungen - Übersetzen und Dolmetschen - Übersetzungsleistungen „Anforderungen an die Dienstleistung und an die Bereitstellung der Dienstleistung") und die ÖNORM D 120t (Dienstleistungen - Übersetzen und Dolmetschen - Übersetzungsleistungen „Übersetzungsverträge")"
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Proverbs and Translation A number of proverbs are employed to explain some aspects in translation.
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Running and Translation: Experiencing the Translator’s High Have you ever thought about how much running and translation have in common? After reading Murakami's book "What I talk about when I talk about running," I wanted to share my thoughts on the subject.
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The Talent Principle as a Start Point A conference interpreting relating article.
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TRADUCTION DU FRANÇAIS EN TURC, DU TURC EN FRANÇAIS
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Translation: Is it a Talent or a Profession? This article is attempting to answer the question of why we are in dire need for talented translators and what do we mean by it.
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