The Savvy Newcomer aims to serve newcomers to the translation and interpreting professions by publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed content on a weekly basis. We strive to provide you with the answers to the many questions you face as a new or aspiring translator or interpreter.
This post was originally published on听KGH Interpretation. It is reposted with permission.听 In 2022 I facilitated a session of the Language Access Caf茅 at the NCIHC Annual Membership Meeting and was asked to speak about interpreter self-care. Prior to the meeting, I decided to do an informal survey of medical interpreters asking them some questions about their mental health. I wanted to have a little bit of data that would clue me in on some of the issues interpreters were facing. While most of the results I shared during the AMM focused on stressors and supports, I also briefly shared…
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This post originally appeared on the blog In My Own Terms and it is republished with permission. The following list is a result of collaboration by participants of Lancaster鈥檚 recent MOOC on Corpus Linguistics. This is a selection of the links that I considered more relevant for those who might want to start exploring this field. If you want to…
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This year鈥檚 Buddies Welcome Newbies features not only a new format but also a new experience. Read on to learn more about how to make the most of ATA鈥檚 61st Annual Conference and how to prepare for our kick-off event. Event details: Wednesday, October 21 6:30 pm 鈥 7:30 pm EDT We鈥檙e already loving that we don鈥檛 have to study…
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This post originally appeared on sciword and it is republished with permission. I was reading one of Kevin Lossner鈥檚 blog posts from 2010, titled 鈥淣o Monkeys!鈥. He gives 12 pieces of advice鈥攁 twelve-step program, as he calls it鈥攆or those getting started in the translation business. All of it is great advice and I think everyone should follow it, newbie or…
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One of the main reasons we encourage students to join ATA is to take advantage of the wellspring of knowledge surrounding best practices鈥攖he kind that make working for yourself a smooth ride rather than one riddled with potholes. Over the years, I have assembled a collection of ATA materials that I share with students and mentees alike. Because when we…
Read MoreThree Lessons: Humility, Collaboration, Perseverance
This post originally appeared on Word Prisms and it is republished with permission. All three 鈥 in that order 鈥 hold the key to becoming a world-class translator. An interviewer, who听was also a writer, once asked me how many words I鈥檇 translated before I published my first translated book for the American Institute of Physics. I imagined he expected an…
Read MoreInternational Translation Day: It Wouldn鈥檛 be Possible without Translators and Interpreters!
2020 has been a year of changes and 鈥渘ew normals鈥 but one thing hasn鈥檛 changed: translators and interpreters still power the world鈥檚 communications. ATA wants to celebrate International Translation Day this year by reminding the world just how critical translators and interpreters really are. Have you ever wondered how your smartphone went from an idea in an engineer鈥檚 mind to…
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This post originally appeared on Just Translate It and it is republished with permission. Searching for a balance between creativity and routine As an old school Star Wars fan, I can safely say now: 鈥淎ll is well that ends.鈥 The 42-year legendary saga ended in phews and negative remarks. For me, it鈥檚 a reminder that we should not try to…
Read MoreFreelance Finance: Setting Rates
Here at The Savvy Newcomer we understand that it can be intimidating to talk about money. It鈥檚 often a sticky subject, but we feel it couldn鈥檛 be more important to address as small business owners. One major component of succeeding as a freelance translator or interpreter is managing your finances well. If you don鈥檛 master your money, your translation career…
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This post originally appeared on Gaucha Translations and it is republished with permission. Interpreting is a professional field. What was once done by whoever was bilingual now has an established certification process. There are less and less reasons to work with unvetted providers. This timeline tells the story on the West Coast, where I live. I am from Oregon, where…
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During my undergraduate degree in translation, I felt like I was very prepared for a career in translation. I excelled in my language classes and the translation classes prepared me to thoroughly read a translation brief and identify tone, audience, and purpose so that I could carefully craft a beautiful translation. What more is there to know? Oh, how unprepared…
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