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/961437
thelinguist.uberflip.com APRIL/MAY The Linguist 27 OPINION & COMMENT Carolina Casado Parras CL MCIL is a freelance translator and founder of VibrantWords Translations. TL specialisation. My experience until then had been in the field of aeronautics, which happened by chance in 2011. However, I was not willing to let my specialism choose me; I wanted to pick something that would make me jump out of bed in the morning, ready for work. Education and literature were clear interests from the beginning: I had the academic and professional knowledge, and writing is one of my passions. But I had read and heard enough to know that it would be difficult to make ends meet as an emerging specialist in these fields. Patience is a good friend, as I have learned, so I put the question of specialisation to one side. And, sure enough, one Friday afternoon it clicked. According to my research, most people choose their areas of translation based on previous experience, subjects they love or the experts they are surrounded by (e.g relatives and friends with whom they can discuss terminology). I considered all of the above and came up with the areas I could add to education and literature: tourism, arts and culture, and gastronomy. I am not an expert (yet), and this is why I do not sell myself as a specialist in these fields. I have, however, read, learned, listened and watched enough to feel confident to tackle such texts, with the due amount of research. A destination in sight Today I am typing from my home office and looking back at the most incredible year of my professional life: my metamorphosis from non-specialist linguist to translator-marketer-accountant-web designer, and it certainly feels like a milestone. So where do I stand now? Well, I continue to work on my CPD, approaching translation agencies, warm- emailing potential direct clients, trying to gain visibility through social networks, fishing for ideas to write about on my new blog, and of course, working too. There is still a lot to be done, but my recent accomplishments keep me going: translation projects in subjects I love; pro bono work for Translators without Borders, which has opened the door to a new field; colleagues who have made a difference, and have given me the chance to work with them; and, most importantly, the realisation that I have it in me to confront the possibility of failure and turn it in my favour. And although I have not arrived there yet, and the path ahead seems a bit windy, I can now clearly see my destination. And, let me tell you, that is some view! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Across 7. Spanish neighbourhood. (6) 8. Finno-ugric and Samoyedic are the two main branches of this language family. (6) 9. A hunger for French. (4) 10. 'Tölva' in Icelandic, from words meaning 'number' and 'prophetess'. (8) 11. A North Germanic language, like Icelandic. (7) 13. Perhaps Igpay Atinlay in pig _____. (5) 15. Dravidian language spoken in both India and Sri Lanka. (5) 17. The only official EU language related to Arabic. (7) 20. Skewered pickled herring, from German. (8) 21. Any predatory gull, from Old Norse. (4) 23. Birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen. (6) 24. Verdi's version of Shakespeare's Moorish tragedy. (6) Down 1. Originally a story from Nordic or Germanic history. (4) 2. In Norway, it's the world's third largest city north of the Arctic Circle. (6) 3. In Icelandic 'hlaðvarp', from words meaning 'load' and 'throw'. (7) 4. Finland in Finnish. (5) 5. In education theory, it is rasa. (6) 6. Composer who wrote Finlandia. (8) 12. Long boa snake, possibly from Sinhalese henacandaya. (8) 14. Surname of Stieg, Swedish author of The Millennium Trilogy. (7) 16. Iceland in Icelandic (appropriately!). (6) 18. Men hold dearly what the Romans called witnesses. (6) 19. Form of transport coined originally in Swedish in 1952. (5) 22. English rendition of the adjective in Hans Christian Andersen's Den grimme aelling. (4) Crossword no.19 Solution, page 30