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
Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/148589
OPINION & COMMENT First steps TERESA TINSLEY A lesson in moving forward – and in selecting assignments carefully JULIA GRAHAM ere's a question: Do you ever feel that you aren't ready? In other words, do you find yourself waiting to do something because you need to be sure you have everything in place first? If so, you are just like me. But the million-dollar question is, will you ever be 100 percent ready? I believe that being a perfectionist is a great asset in a translator. If the service you deliver adheres to your strict standards, it will certainly meet clients' expectations and perhaps even surpass them. It was only attending the launch of The Freelance Box, the new venture of Marta Stelmaszak and Valeria Aliperta, which provides courses on productivity and marketing for translators and interpreters, that opened my eyes to the other side of the coin. When I discussed my business situation with Marta, I realised that my perfectionism was getting in the way of moving forward. She made me see that you just have to get yourself out there and keep improving your material (such as your website and your copy), rather than waiting for it all to be perfect before approaching new clients. Receiving excellent and honest advice is just one of the great things about face-to-face networking events. Much as I love the serenity of my home office, attending events can help you to get an outsider's perspective. Industry events are also a fantastic way of sharing new ideas, boosting morale, and promoting professionalism by looking to other industries for inspiration. At the Freelance Box launch, we focused on business networking, first impressions and where to find new clients. What struck me as innovative about these workshops was the focus on follow-up. We were set a number of SMART tasks for homework. H Vol/52 No/4 2013 I also attended the ITI Conference, which was a great opportunity to meet some of the people I follow on Twitter and to listen to talks from people who inspire me on a daily basis. I left feeling I was part of a larger network of colleagues and buzzing with a head full of new business and translation ideas and tips. The CIOL's Members' Day in October is the next major event on the calendar (see page 33 for details). Twitter has been another extremely useful resource. Before joining the translation industry, I never went near this social media platform; now I have become something of an addict. I've received translation work through the site, found recommendations on time management tools and apps, and followed conferences I was not able to attend in person. While I was watching the 2013 Proz.com International Conference (#portoconference) from the comfort of my garden, I came across several tweets quoting Konstantin Kisin, a Russian and English translator, that really resonated with me: 'Productivity isn't about working hard, it's about working smart… Do only what you're really productive at.' When you are offered work, it can be tempting to accept anything for fear that you may find yourself in a famine period. However, you have to consider whether you could be more productive (and consequently earn more) by devoting your time to a text you are more familiar with. Even if the rate appears reasonable, is it sufficient if you have to spend time doing extensive background research and carrying out extra quality assurance checks? Some may say it is worthwhile in order to build a specialism in the subject, but we can't be specialists at everything, so we have to draw the line somewhere. When deciding whether or not to accept projects, I now consider whether they will take me to where I want to be in one, five or ten years' time. about.me/juliagraham With the holiday season getting under way, The Express reported that the sign of a Brit abroad is wild hand signalling. Apparently, three quarters of us resort to gesticulation when abroad in order to get our message across, with 17 percent having mimed being desperate for the loo in order to find a toilet! However, the TravelSupermarket survey found that 60 percent do try to learn some words or phrases, and that we tend to underestimate our own abilities – many people can correctly identify common phrases in a foreign language, despite believing that they don't know a word. Language help for tourists has arrived in the form of 'the world's first beer-ordering app'. This translates 'one beer please' into 59 languages, including obvious candidates such as Japanese and Thai, as well as what The Daily Mail calls 'more obscure offerings' – ie, Scots, Gaelic and Welsh. The app may well cut down on gesturing but, as 'Bugsy' from Malaga points out on the Mail website, not everyone wants a beer. The Mail also contributes a piece on how Angela Merkel's Christian Democrat party is seeking to 'increase the use of German in EU institutions' – a move readers are clearly encouraged to see as threatening and, as the Mail has it, 'likely to annoy other countries'. Meanwhile, The Sun reports that the Germans are relieved that a 63-letter word has been dropped from their language. Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz has become obsolete as a result of the EU withdrawing legislation relating to BSE in cattle. Writing in The Telegraph, Anne Merritt (19 June) provides a useful round-up of recent research into how learning a language 'improves the functionality of your brain'. Presumably these benefits are not enjoyed by the six percent of Brits abroad who, according to the TravelSupermarket survey, resort to 'speaking English with a bizarre foreign accent'. Teresa Tinsley is Director of Alcantara Communications; www.alcantaracoms.com. AUGUST/SEPTEMBER The Linguist 31