The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
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OPINION & COMMENT First steps Networking takes centre stage, half way into the first year as a translator coffee machine coating instructions. Other questions included what projects I was working on, where I found my clients, JULIA GRAHAM how they found me, my opinion of Google ast month's focus was continuing Translate, the relevance of JMB in my professional development (CPD). This business name (JMB Translations), and month it's all about networking. whether I ever found translation boring. It is Although I had been looking out for equally important to have some questions networking events and trade fairs, the first prepared, so that you are not the one event I attended was more by chance than doing all the talking. by design. A local translator suggested we kill 4 Take notes. This will help you to ask the two birds with one stone by arranging to meet speaker a question in the subsequent Q&A, up and network at the same time. I couldn't which will get you noticed if nothing else. get excited about the subject of the talk (cyber One of the main things I learnt was that threats to your business), especially not at you never know who you will meet or who 7am, but I considered it a dry run for events that person might know. A man at my table where the pressure is on, and finding and who seemed genuinely interested in our impressing new clients is the name of the profession turned out to be a lawyer. As game. Here are a few pointers I took from my someone who is looking into rebranding (yes, first experience of networking: already!), it was interesting to get the opinion 1 Get there early. At this Glasgow Chamber of an outsider, and potential client, on of Commerce event it seemed that your translation company names. From a best chance to mingle was before the talk professional point of view, he thought started. At the end, everyone was grabbing something simple like JG Translations would their coats and dashing to the office. be preferable to a more creative name. I am 2 Go through the list. You will probably receive drawn to more original ideas, but including a welcome pack. Skip straight to the names 'Translations' would certainly help people to of delegates attending and the companies identify me more easily. Food for thought! they represent. Circle anyone you think As I write, I am waiting for the postman to could be useful to talk to. Be subtle: there's arrive with my new business cards for another nothing worse than stopping to peer at Chamber of Commerce event tomorrow. This someone's badge, discovering they're not time it is for a tour of the manufacturing unit on your list and moving swiftly on. at Linn Products, a famous sound system 3 Expect the unexpected. Before you go, producer. And, this time, I will have a better prepare sample answers for possible idea of how to network. When I discovered questions. I was confident that I had a pitch the company had manuals (with pictures) in that succinctly summarised my services, but German, Dutch and English on their website, I was caught off guard when asked 'Do you I felt as though Christmas had come early. have any funny anecdotes?' This is similar to This also gave me the opportunity to try out the dreaded interview question 'What is the LiveDocs section of memoQ. As a music your weakness?' where the trick is to fanatic and lover of technical translation, I have answer in a way that doesn't compromise a feeling this event will be right up my street. your reputation. Besides, there is a limit to how much humour can be dragged out of about.me/juliagraham L Vol/52 No/3 2013 TERESA TINSLEY It was great to see recent good coverage of this year's Language Trends report by the BBC and the quality dailies, as well as by the educational press. And in the Scottish press, language policy development continues to throw up regular news items. But there was one particular language-related story that caught my eye, because it reveals how far language issues are being dragged into anti-EU political messages, and suggests that linguistic ignorance and intolerance is rife in certain sections of British industry. The article in question, 'The Intensely Irritating Reason Clothes Labels are Getting MUCH Bigger' (Daily Mail, 11/3/13), concerned European Union legislation coming into force in 2014, which requires clothing labels to be provided in the official language of the country where they are sold. 'This madness is the brainchild of the European Union' cries the author of the piece, Vincent Graff, dismissing the measure as: 'Typical Brussels gobbledegook' – though no doubt he would not be pleased to find his own smalls labelled only in Romanian. Roger Helmer, who is the UKIP MEP for the East Midlands and clearly sees himself as something of an expert on multilingual matters, noted: 'Frequently in these languages [my emphasis] the word is virtually the same… there is only a one letter difference in the spelling.' Of course, they're all foreign, aren't they? But hold your howls, the worst is yet to come. John Miln, the head of the UK clothing industry body agrees: 'All the companies I have spoken to think this is nuts.' Let's hope the belief that customers who prefer to receive information in their own languages are just being fussy is not quite so widespread as this article seems to suggest. It does not bode well for future British export success that UK companies are so reluctant to adapt their products to the needs of overseas markets. Teresa Tinsley is Director of Alcantara Communications; www.alcantaracoms.com. JUNE/JULY The Linguist 29